Fisherman First Aid

When I arrived at the ramp today my buddy Jesse was waiting on me. He had caught a nice bass and when he tried to lip the fish it went wild and hooked Jesse in the thrashing episode... buried a #4 gama treble up to the bend. He successfully released the fish, cut the O ring and had been unsuccessfully working on the hook for the better part of an hour with his pliers. He asked if I could help.

I was a boy scout from age 7 until 17 and I had read the handbook cover to cover numerous times. The line yank hook removal technique had always interested me. It looks like it’d be pretty dang painful. This technique requires only one tool…a length of fishing line. Odds are if you’re thinking about removing a hook from you or your buddy, some line is within arms reach from you.  I like to get a piece of braid about three feet long and double it up. Place the double line behind the hook and run the two tag ends through the loop on the other end and have the victim press down on the eye of the hook as hard as they can stand. Slide the loose slip knot down the hook as close to the skin as possible and tighten up on it. I like to wrap the line around my hand…make sure that the victim is pressing on the hook eye, this is very important. Next I tell them I’m going to count to three but before I finish saying the word “one” I yank that string like I own it, as quick and hard as I can. This will only work on rigid body parts…fingers, hand, feet, leg, scalp etc. If the hook is in the nose, ear lobe, lip etc. It’s best to push the hook all the way through and cut the hook point with barb off with your pliers then remove the hook the way it went in, If it’s in the eye…take a picture, post it on Facebook and take the unlucky soul to the hospital.

The hook came out of Jesse’s finger in text book fashion, he put some Neosporin on the wound and fish the rest of the day.

I’ve done this three times in my lifetime…two of them this year and none of the victims said they actually felt any pain. Familiarize yourself with this technique because it can save a trip to the hospital and get you back on the water quickly.