An embarassing confession

So I think I may have mentioned in my first post here that I’m just getting back into fly fishing after a seven year break. I’ve been hitting it pretty hard in the past couple weeks, driving for hours to find water that isn’t blown out due to the run off. I ended up at the upper Madison near Yellowstone this weekend and caught a lot of nice browns and rainbows. Just like ridin’ a bike!

Over the past couple of years I’ve been trying conquer a lot of my fears in many areas of my life, and when I started fishing again I wondered what would happen when… well, let’s cut to the chase:

I AM AFRAID OF SUCKERS.

Deathly afraid. Some people are afraid of heights, some people are terrified of snakes or spiders, and I am horrified by any sort of sucker fish. Actually, I’m afraid of any fish with a suckery mouth, especially if they also have noticable scales. This includes everything from actual suckers and carp, to whitefish and grayling.

To me, slow water might as well be toxic waste. I won’t step into it for anything because I know they’re down there. To make matters worse they’re highly visible and not in the least bit afraid of me. Now I know that suckers are everywhere, but at least in fast current they’re harder to see and a bit less likely to end up on the end of my line.

I think it started when I was in junior high and I had a small 10 gallon aquarium with a few bandit catfish that I thought were kind of cute. Well, one year during Christmas break I had a friend take care of my fish, and when one of my tiny little catfish died, he felt bad and went to the pet store and got me the “coolest” sucker fish he could find. It was some kind of horrible prehistoric black sucker with giant lips, huge scales, and ridges down its back. To make matters worse, the damn thing was at least 7" long, and could barely turn around in the tank. I hated that fish. I hated feeding it disgusting brine shrimp. I hated looking into his disgusting mouth. After a while I stopped paying attention to the aquarium and eventually the monster died. Despite the fact that I was utterly terrified, my mother forced me remove the beast after a few days, which I did with bare hands. It crunched in my hand. It crunched. It stunk. I threw up.

Since then I won’t go near a sucker. For a while I could stomach the occasional whitefish, but only if they were little. But the problem got worse and worse and now I won’t go near any sized sucker.

So anyhow, I knew when I started fishing again this year that I would eventually hook into a whitefish, and I’d been mentally pumping myself up to deal with my ridiculous fear and finally allow myself to remove it from the fly.

I caught him on Sunday. At first I thought it might be a brown, but my whitefish alarms were going off like crazy. I tried pulling him up to get a glimpse of his noggin but he wouldn’t surface. I calmly removed myself from the water (because what if he touches me!) and fought him until he was close enough to shore to get a look at him. Sure enough, a 14-16" whitefish. I looked at him for a while the way a kid looks off a high cliff down into the quary where his friends are yelling “jump!” I started to move towards it and…

…quickly jerked the rod into the air to break the tippet. My standard chicken-sh*t sucker-on-the-line manuvuer.

It’s embarassing. It’s a bit costly too, but mostly just really embarassing. I make it a point now whenever I start fishing with somebody to tell them that I’m afraid of suckers. “Let’s get the teasing over with before we start. And also…if I hook into one, do you think you could come over and take him off the hook for me?”

When I hear people around here talking about carp on the fly rod it’s enough to make me lose my lunch. I’ve shot carp with a bow a few times and can remove them from an arrow without too much distress, but having to get near their giant carp lips just gives me the willies.

There is hope! Really, if you want to. Seriously, your fear is ‘learned’ and thus can be ‘unlearned’. Check it out, I have had experience in helping others with a different ‘learned’ fear. And no BS, those fears are as real as if someone was in front of you with a gun. Real now, but,not permanent.

As castwell said, the fear is real just as a fear of snakes or fire or being outdoors is real. This fear can be unlearned. If your in my area email me (your profile doesnt tell us the area you are in) I have no problem removing them from the hook. Untill you can find someone to help you through the fear.

Eric

Two suggestions

  1. Behavioral Psychologist
  2. A tool to remove hookes without touching the fish

Hope you find a way to lessen your anxiety.

Jed

try some long handled forceps or a Ketchum Release. That way you should be able to get the hook out without coming in contact with the fish.

There was an article on here not too long ago about buying the big plastic sewing needles, clipping an end off, and using it as a hook remover. Look in readers casts in the features section and look for hook removal tool.

As far as the suckers phobia. It might not hurt to do some light reading on systematic desensitization. Its a tried and true cure for phobias and anxiety. You basically re-create the fear through imagination (gradually) while at the same time practicing relaxation techniques. Eventually you come to realize that there is nothing to fear from the imagined event and this confidence translates itself into real situations. It can effectively be self administered (or done with a close friend or family member) so you wouldn?t need to go to a psychologist or anything. It seems ridiculous but it really does work. I think if you just type in systematic desensitization in Google you should come up with some good stuff. Hope this helps.

You REALLY won’t like the hornyhead suckers we have in the NC streams!
Yuck!

Hey sm2k,
Like you, I too have a bit of a problem with touching those fish you mentioned. My flyfishing is concentrated mostly in NW Wyoming twice a year and whitefish are frequently attracted to my offerings. Since they’re usually lip-hooked, I hold the hook and shake them off. I couldn’t say I have a “fear” and my knees don’t shake, it’s that I prefer not to handle them.
I have never caught a grayling but I imagine I would probably also try to shake or break them off my hook for the same reason.
Until you mention this “fear” I thought I was alone with this problem.
Perhaps a “support group” could be started to help us overcome the problem. Until then …

Mark


I’d rather be in Wyoming!

Here is a free start. Derision and humor. Start by noticing the mouth, to you resembles what the mouth of a trumpet player might look like. Start by calling them all “Bugle-mouth”. When you get one on, go “tootely-toot-de-toot”! Derision. Make fun of the “stupid 'Bugle-mouths.” Turn the whole experience into an event to look forward to.

Hi. I’m a psychologist and I have one important question for you. It’s important to be honest:

Did you break the tip of the rod when you quickly lifted to break off the tippet??

As Jackster said, suckers are things of beauty compared to horny heads, particularly in their spawning colors. Get a look at one of those ugly critters and you’ll forget all about being afraid of suckers.

debarb your hooks. that way you need only get your forceps/hemostats or (goodness forbid) fingers on the fly before waving goodbye to that poor sot of a sucker fish that unwittingly grabbed onto your line!

Marty
MFTG

[This message has been edited by MrFishingToughGuy (edited 20 June 2006).]

sm2k

Email me


RRhyne56
[url=http://www.robinscustomleadersandflies.com:925e0]Sweetness On The Water[/url:925e0]
[url=http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/huntwild/wild/species/bgl/:925e0]Good Ol? Lepomis Macrochirus[/url:925e0]

sm2k Terry, AKLooker, on the for sale page here is selling a bunch of “Fear No Fish” stickers. I suggest you buy the all, put one on the mirror in your bathroom, one on each of the widows of your truck (car, vespa, electric car,what ever you drive). Your sucker fears will be gone from the constant reminder of the “Fear No Fish” stickers. good luck


I learn more about the world while talking to myself when fishing alone

Think about this next time you catch one:

The thousands on this forum grab the fish by the lower jaw (check for teeth first!), and remove the hook either by hand or with forceps. The only fishes I wouldnt do that with are:

Piranha
Shark
Baracuda
Manta/Sting Ray

But I’m pretty sure you will recognize one of those if you catch one. If we all can do it you can too. Get a friend to show you how a couple times. Next you gotta learn how to gut them when they are keepers. Its also easy. Have faith in yourself, and you’ll get over it. I do admire you for sharing it with all of us.

Migs

Migs - you forgot Pike…unless of course you know something I don’t know about them?
No you got me skurming…Pike by the lower jaw…woah!

Dr. Phil…

Pike, Musky and Walleye, oh yeah and steelhead and spawning salmon…they’ve got teeth like a dog!
What I would do is…1) Go to a stream/river (with a trusted firend) that has suckers in it and just watch them for a while. 2) Start fishing for them. 3) Catch them and have friend remove them from the hook until you feel you can do it. 4) Continue doing this until the fear is gone.
This way, you face up to your fear, but you have moral support as well.
Jonezee…a Vespa? Haven’t heard that one in ages.

Thanks for all the replies!

On one hand this problem is a little comical. A fisherman who’s afraid of fish? What?

The fear though isn’t by any means minor. For instance, I’m slightly afraid of snakes, and will jump a bit when I see one. But for the most part I can pick them up or observe them without any real fear after the initial shock (well, I don’t go trying to pick up rattlers of course!).

Suckers are a different story. The fear is overwhelming. If I were to try to touch one at this point I would begin to shake heavily and probably start crying. It’s very odd. I have at times tried to picture in my mind touching them… well, at least touching whitefish. That’s why I thought that maybe I’d be able to grab one after my extended break from fishing. The fear was overwhelming though. When I picture suckers in my mind I have the same irrational, excessive response as when I’m actually confronted with one. I’ve used these types of visualization techniques to get over my fear of wading in fast water (I didn’t even know I was doing it, but as a kid I would imagine myself being swept down stream and force myself to stick with the thought no matter how frightening), but realistic fears of physical danger are much easier to get over than unrealistic fears of “gross” things.

I’ve touched suckers before. I used to catch a lot of squawfish on the Blackfoot when I was younger, and caught a number of whitefish and removed them successfully in my teenage years (I’m all too familiar with the “whitefish squeeze”…ick). I even remember once catching a giant sucker in the missouri and handling it when I was probably 11 years old. I’ve caught and handled a lot of other “ugly” fish that I’m not afraid of: bass, walleye, sheephead, perch, etc.

The hook remover idea is a good one. I do have one of those gizmos, but just proximity to the fish frightens me. Like I have to remove myself from the water if I have one on the hook, even if I’m wearing waders. I’ll have to see if I can do it.

The idea of trying to lessen my fears by making light of the things about the fish that disgust me the most is a good one. That may help as well.

Thankfully I’m the type who thinks that a 99 cent fly can catch just as many fish as a 2.99 fly! If you happen to be in Montana and catch a whitefish with a bead head hares ear in its lip, you can be sure that I’ve recently been in the area. Enjoy the fly. Haha.

I think what I’ll do is try to use a hook remover on a small whitefish and gradually work myself up to larger ones. The small ones don’t have as pronounced scales and don’t squish as much.

Okay, at the risk of being insensitive - I ain’t sure I’m buyin’ it.

Internet’s made me goosey, I guess.

Sorry…