Three summers ago, when the South Fork was running too high for wading, I was walking a high bank throwing grasshopper patterns. It was a beautiful day, only an occasional drift boat to share the water with, lots of hoppers in the wild grasses and bushes in the lightly wooded area, and a light SW breeze to help the hoppers find the cutts and browns. The fishing was slow, but my hopper patterns were getting some looks and some hits. Don’t recall actually catching anything, but was having a good time.
I had to veer away from the bank to go around some heavy undergrowth at the waters edge, and ended up walking through some downed trees. I stepped over a branch with my right foot, and as I swung my left foot to clear it, I misjudged and caught the branch with my foot. The branch slammed into my right calf. Felt like someone had hit me with a baseball bat.
I had something of a cut, a bit of bleeding, and quite a bit of pain. But I kept fishing, walking another mile or so downstream, fishing where I could, before heading back to the truck. Within a few days the cut healed and the pain subsided, but I did have a bit of a bump on the calf. I pretty much went about my normal summer and early fall routine of hiking and wade fishing. About two months later, I started to have some redness and pain on touching the area.
My doctor, after examining the wound area, suggested that he dig around a bit to see what was going on. A quick stroke of the scalpel, some poking around with a tweezers - and out comes a one and a quarter inch by quarter inch piece of tree branch !!
My only fly fishing injury was when I was fishing in the Black Hills of South Dakota (I know betty, there are no trout in the Black Hills).
Was fishing a little stream had to cross a split rail fence. The cuff of my pants caught on the top rain and I fell in a heap and severely spraine my right ankle. Spent the next day in a wheel chair so we couuld do some sight-seeing and then the next week on crutches followed by a couple more weeks in an ankle brace.
Here’s a sketch of the scene… I’ll let you paint your own picture:
Winter in New England; new fly fisher in Redball neo’s with lug soles; dumb luck put on a LL Salmon for which the rod in hand was at least 1wt too light; (bad) instinct to run the shore line to try and save the situation… 2 broken fingers, some significant bruising in a variety of places, and the butt cap of the reel seat gone. 3 face plants in all, but I DID land the fish… in the 6lb range, still my best LL to date!
I’ve been pretty fortunate to only sustain bruises and a few scratches from my fishing ventures; maybe a little hurt pride from time to time but nothing serious.
A friend of mine though did experience a pretty significant injury on an approach to fish. We were in the Boulder mountains in south-central Utah for a week long trip doing nothing but fishing high mountain lakes full, and I mean full, of rainbows, brookies and the occasional cutt. We were on a trail that led past 3 lakes. I was a youngin’ and my best friend’s uncle was with us. We all had our waders and boots in our packs and float tubes strapped on too. While attempting to climb down a small cliff section (yep, we were lost and off the trail…) uncle Mike slipped a bit and I think the float tube bounced off the cliff behind him making him teeter towards head first down the cliff. When he grabbed for whatever was close he caught it, but still fell forward. He dislocated his shoulder in the process and was in a good deal of pain. He did suck it up and we kept hiking and fished some beautiful water.
I was wading in north Sarasota Bay and had done well, catching and releasing redfish to 30 inches.
While I was walking (and doing the Florida shuffle) I felt something hit my foot. I knew it was a stingray. The pain began to move up my leg. It wasn’t bad, but it was uncomfortable.
I returned to the boat and took my wading boot off. You could see a small puncture wound, but that was about it. No blood.
The pain went away and I thought nothing of it.
Two months later, I was heading for the Keys to do a little bonefish. My foot started to get sore, but I pressed on.
That afternoon, it was swollen and inflamed. I head for the nearest emergency room.
The doctor gave me antibioltics by IV and a prescription for another. The treatment worked. I returned to fishing.
This would fall into the fishing hurt catagory. I was in a small plane crash on Oct 4th in 96. Both femurs were severly broken and my right knee was smashed pretty good. The accident happened the afternoon before archery season, so that was tough not hunting at all. So, by Feb I was really going nuts and was getting good at hobbling around on my walker.
So, I decided to take a ride up to fish Spring creek near State College. There was about 6 inches of snow on the ground as I put my rod in my teeth and set out to the stream with my walker. I got some rather strange looks, but I did catch some fish. More importantly, I finally got out of the house and on the water.
Mine was not fishing related. I was at work and graped a tray of 9 pkg of hotdog buns. Now we all know how much that can weigh. I bent over to put it on the bottom of the rack and BANG! blew the bottom 5 disks in my back
black wooley bugger in the thumb way past the barb. but screw that I didn’t push it all the way through. I took my forcepts and pulled that son o the b with all my might. pop gos the hook after 2 or 3 hard tugs!!! . never felt it at all weird? lucky me
Like fishaholic, I have only been stuck with hooks. A few times to the bend in my hand/fingers. and once through my jeans deep into my calf. (That last one was like a #6 hook) it hurt pretty good nonetheless.
Oh and almost tearing a groin muscle on a bank while walking. one foot slid one way, and the other stayed put. lets just say I did the splits and I’m not that flexible.
My injures are not fishing related, but here is the list.
Poked 3 inches of dried wood into the webbing and joint between my left thumb and forefinger, pulled it out and had to tuck in the tendons and stuff.
Broken both great toes, playing soccer.
3.Internally tore 2 inches of meat from my left calf muscle, and had it curl up near my ankle, playing ball hockey, wrapped it up and went to work. Military Doc said it should have been surgically replaced!
2 inch crescent shaped scar from putting a cam-net over a tree in the dark on my right wrist.
right knee cartridge, split in two, by shearing force , had it operated on and it pretty good now.
Broke my right ankle, was told by the army medic that it was a third degree sprain, wrap it up and it will be ok, walked on it for five weeks and traveled from one end of the country to the other, saw a Doc and he said “Breaks like this are usually in a cast” so I spent 9 weeks in a cast trying to force the already healing break into the right position.
tore my right shoulder apart in three places needed it operated on, I know what LF is going through, with the Physio therapy.
8.Broke my right wrist in two places, through the joint, and the styloid process right off, playing indoor soccer.
9 had a 200lb man land on my neck playing Full contact/no rules Water polo
Tried to play the next week with the foam brace on not a good idea!
Both feet flat, and have the heel and foot, pain of a 24yr Canadian Military Veteran.
non fishing related, lost vision in my right eye for 3 weeks because i burst a blood vessel getting hit by a plastic golf ball.
fishing related, had a 3lb largemouth bass on a popper, went to lip him and he thrashed and threw one of the hooks into my thumb fish was still on hanging on the other hooks from my finger, he thrashed again and ripped it out and flipped off the hooks and into the water
2 major car accidents 36 years ago and no injuries.
2 accidents in 27 years on the job.
1,800 lbs of bundled Lead Bars landed on the end of my middle finger, on my right hand and I tore off the end of my finger, pulling my finger out of the Lead Bars. (The most pain I ever had)
I opened the left cover of my No. 1 Machine (While it was running) to remove a loose conduit and a Cam rotated right on top of my left hand and tore it wide open. Later, my Maintenance Man put a wire brush handle under the Cam and it broke it in half.
My finger & hand healed just fine!
Sports Injuries
City League Softball- I took a throw from center field, right in the side of my face. I was knocked out cold for 15 minutes (Concussion)
In 20 years of City League Basketball- So many sprained ankles, that my ankles are twice as large than normal ankles. I took numerous elbows in the face and nose. I wised up and moved from Center to Forward.
Walking Mishaps
Came close to getting struck by Lightning, Twice.
In 25 years of Walking, there have been a few falls.
Night Walk in Portland- I was looking at the Christmas windows at Meir & Frank and tripped on the curb and fell right on my face and broke my glasses.
Hiking a 3 mile trail at Sauvie’s Island- A long blackberry vine caught the right side of my shirt and when i turned around (still walking) to look at the vine source, my left foot tripped over the only root on the whole trail and I went face first into the trail.
Doug
This ocured at the Jackson Lake Dam in Grand Teton. The fracture was MOSTLY to my pride .( A bit to knee and ankle) Wet wader boot/foot slipped off brake and onto gas pedal. The park ranger actually suspected alcohol was involved. After about a $300 or so tow bill, I was merrily on my way again. The truck was actually teetering on one of those big log/barriers. Wheeeewwwww!
My worst fishing injury (so far and let’s keep it that way) was a pretty nasty hook in the thumb.
I was fishing a rather large crank bait for bass and hooked a pretty decent specimin at about 4lbs. When I reached down to grab the critter by the lower lip so I could remove the rear set of trebble hooks from it’s mouth, the darn thing decided, at that moment, to shake it’s head.
Well, the rear set of trebbles were in a very angry 4 lb largemouth bass. One of the front hooks was buried deep in the fleshy pad of my thumb. Eveytime the bass shook his head, the hook went deeper and tore a larger hole. After what seemed like an hour (probably about 15 seconds), I managed to grab the fish with my left hand and get a firm grip on his lower jaw. That seems to calm the bass down and they stop shaking their heads around.
I took the hook out of the fish and threw him back (I probably should have taken it home and eaten it for what comes next). The hook’s angle was such taht there was no way I could have pushed it through as it would have been under my thumbnail.
Considering it was my first fish of the evening and there was still about 3 hours of fishing time left, I did what any dedicated angler would do. I grabbed the needle nose pliers out of the tackle box and on the count of 3 pulled the hook (and a hunk of flesh) out of my thumb.
I had a 1st aid kit with me so I cleaned it out with an alcohol swab (oh the fun that caused) and put some neosporin on it and bandaged it up with a big hunk of gauze and some tape, wrapped a little plastic over the end of it to keep water out and more tape and continued to fish.
To date, that was my worst fishing injury and I sure do hope it stays that way.
Marco, my pride injury happened on Martha’s Vineyard the first year that I had my sand pass. Let’s just say that I got getting the truck stuck out of my system. The trail was roped off for nesting birds so you had to do a 180 turn around. Instead of the good ole 3 point turn I tried to make a tight turn. Well, my right front tire went over the lip of the sand and that was that.
At low tide all I could do was “slide” down the beach with my tires just not getting up and over the lip. My truck was just feet from the ocean when a couple Islanders saw me and felt sorry for my situation. After a few laughs and a check to make sure that I had all the required equipment all I needed was a good shove. I was so far out on the sand that a tow truck probably would have never made it to me. That was a lesson learned and so far I have never gotten stuck on the sand again.
to remove a loose conduit and a Cam rotated right on top of my left hand and tore it wide open. Later, my Maintenance Man put a wire brush handle under the Cam and it broke it in half.
