hook in your hand??

[zack]

Have any of you actually yanked a hook out of your body using a piece of string and how did it work? I just bought one of the first aid kits for this and wonder if I'll have the guts to use it.

[Loomis]

I've hooked myself a few times, and I don't think I own line strong enough to pull out a hook. Your skin on your hand is pretty soft and line would prob remove a hook just fine. I had to use pliers to remove two hooks from me. One in the arm and one in the knee cap. A freind yanked the one out of my arm and it took him two (painful) tries. I yanked the one out of my knee and it took several tries. Not much fun either way.

[Pitts]

Your other choice if you can turn the hook so it will come thruogh the skin very quickly is to push through and cut off the barb with a good wire cutter.
My father had a story backed up by my uncle when he speared my uncle through the foot with a sucker spear. They hauled him home and cut off the barb with a hacksaw. This was back in the 40's.

Ouch!!!!

Pitts

[lindyrigger]

In Boy Scouts, they taught us to push the hook through also and then cut off the barb and then pull the hook back through. This can't be fun. When I was dating my wife, she hooked me in the back of the head and I pulled it out. This was not fun. My wife said she caught a big "sucker" that day.
LindyRigger
(Eagle Scout class of '89)

[cisco]

I have seen the string method of yanking the hook back out the penetration hole, and it worked fine. My problem is that I could not use string with one hand while hook was embedded in the other -- so, it was the old push thru and cut off method. No fun either way.

[gettum]

When I was in Ely Minnesota last year, and passing the time before going canoeing, I stupidly got a hook in my finger. Went to emergency room there and just as I expected, they see that a lot and were real experts. The doctor even had sterilized pair of pliers ready to go. He gave a local anesthetic and with a quick flick of the wrist yanked it out THE SAME WAY IT HAD GONE IN! He emphasized that this is the best way, provided the barb had not caught any tendons etc. He strongly cautioned against the practice of pushing the hook through and then trying to cut the tip off. Just another hole that could get infected I guess. In any case, the next day I was fine and ready to go on the 5 day canoe trip. Caught many walleye, but no more fingers!

[Roger Mayer]

Never mind the hand!!!!

And that ain't an over extended eyebrow I have either!

http://www.baynet.net/~mayerrc/hooked.jpg

Roger Mayer

[Pooch]

Think "Barbless". Just ask my buddy Terry...
Pooch

[Starfish]

I stuck a huge hook (one tine of a K15 Kwikfish treble) straight in next to the first knuckle of my hand last fall. It was real obvious that the string trick wouldn't work. Luckily I was able to pull it straight back out-- felt it rub against the tendon-- but the barb was firmly stuck under the skin. I finally decided to sterilize a knife (had a buddy hold a lighter) and then made a tiny incision to let the barb out. Two days later it was good as new! (Of course I made sure I was current on my tetanus shot...)

[Backwater Eddy]

OWIE-Pain, 101 & 102

Last season I managed 2 hooks that I needed to extract on my own.

The first one was a 5 O/T off set through my index finger, this one came out fairly easy, but I got a bad infection a few days later. That was much worse than the hook.

The second was a 7 O/T circle cook in the side of my palm, deep, very deep. No way to push it through so it was a grab and twist like pulling a staple from a old post, didn't want to come out either. But it did after a 1/2 hour of torture.

Circle hooks are a nasty one if they get deep, yuper, serious hurt. I will never synch a circle hook on a leader again without a pliers! I also will pinch off the barb first, not last.

Hooks happen so get a shot for tetanus, eventually you will need it.

Backwater Eddy

[Airwave(OH)]

I have done this little trick a few times and believe it or not it works slick. The hard part is convincing the person your doing it to that it works.:) Be it yourself or someone else.Just don't be afraid to jerk,cuz they won't give you a second shot at it. It really does work..

[henckel]

LAST EDITED ON Mar-14-01 AT 01:09AM (CST)[p]Not sure what the kit is that you bought, but I've used what you'd probably call a string method a couple of times. No, you can't do it on yourself if you've hooked yourself in the hand -- it takes two hands to remove the hook. I've done it on a fly fishing partner with a good-sized streamer in him and on my son on a spoon that had a big, single hook on it. I may have done it a couple of other times over the years, too. I just can't remember. I learned it long ago.

The method is pretty simple (though it isn't so simple to describe in words). You just loop some stout line through the bend of the hook with one hand, then push down on the shank of the hook with the other and give that loop a quick jerk. By pushing down on the shank, you push the barb free. The quick jerk does the rest by pulling the hook back straight out of the hole where it came in.

I wouldn't want to do it around anything sensitive -- eyes, for example. But on a hand -- or in the case of my young son in the back of his head when we were 75 miles from the nearest doctor -- the hook came out fast and painless. The removal operation was done and the hook was out before they knew it. Then you just treat the wound with a first aid kit and a band-aid.

I've demonstrated this method a time or two as well when I've given talks for people who have never seen it before. (And no, I didn't start by purposely bury a hook in myself. I've done dumb things before -- but never that dumb.) All you need to do is take an old piece of chamois (thin buckskin would probably also work) and nail it to a board. Then sink a hook into it and you can practice removing that hook from the chamois or buckskin until you can do it easily.

This method would not work with multiple trebles in you. Also, remove the lure from the hook before you begin. You don't need that flopping around. And if it's a crankbait with more than one treble, you'd likely bury the other one in your friend (suddenly your victim?) when you jerk the first hook out. -- mark

[Mattman]

Just used the string method this January. While landing a 7 pound Lake Trout I got the treble hook from my Airplane jig stuck in my middle finger. I really didn't like being attached to a big thrashing Laker. After freeing myself from the fish I called my buddy on the radio and he came to help me. Two people really makes this easy. I pushed down on the shank of the hook and he jerked the string. It hurt, but not NEARLY as much as I thought it would. Its a great method for removing hooks. Learn it and remember it. Always have a piece of superline handy.

[rvvrrat]

Anyone know the location of any instructions with pictures? Sounds like something I should learn.

[Fin Addict]

Loop a fairly strong string under the curve of the hook. Apply pressure to the side of the hook w/o barbs. (Reefrunners are backwards) Then have your buddy pull fast and hard. They pop right out if done right. Tried to get my 240 lb buddy to do this for me in a canoe once. He passed out to the bottom of the canoe before he pulled so I ended up pushing it through myself w/ a pliers and cutting the eye of the hook off to remove. Make sure the person doing the pulling will really pull or a simple process becomes very painful.

[AquaMan]

My father stepped, bare foot, on one of my rapalas on the dock when I was a kid. His older brother got a real kick out of removing it for him. Especially when the other set of trebles hooked into the top of my dads foot when uncle Bob pulled too hard. With a scream from my dad, Bob let out a roar of laughter that brough tears to his eyes. I got my tears later.


AquaMan~~~~~~~~~~~~~

.·´¯° --- "It all begins and ends at the water's edge"

[eyewinder]

I've shared parts of this one here before, but it bears repeating. A couple summers back, I jerked a Shad Rap off of a branch, it whistled back to the boat, and embedded two of the rear treble's three hooks through a long-sleeve cotton shirt and past the barbs into my arm. What to do?

Removed the treble from the lure, cut the hook free from the shirt, then tried to push the barbs through the skin -- hook points too dull -- no go. So, using sidecutters, cut one of the hooks as close as possible to where the three joined on the treble. Then, using the line method, pulled the two hooks out (one at a time), slick as you please.

There was virtually no pain nor damage to me, but the surgeon (my fishing partner) turned white as a walleye's belly, and was a bit wobbly following the procedure.

[Paul H]

Been there - done that - 4 times

#1 Tiny treble - alone - finger - pushed through - cut - etc. no bif problem - but was hard , cold,wet,etc.

#2 Bigger treble in face -- Emerg room - no fun - but did a good job

#3 Big treble in hand - emerg room - lousy doctor - should have done it myself

#4 tiny treble in left hand - alone- - great bite going - didn't want to leave - spent 45 minutes - tried pushing through - using ice to numb it - even cut the skin at the push out point - tried the string 3 times - used some 20 lb super line braided - doubled it - kinda' chickend out 3 times - finally had to push the hook against the boat - looped the line through - turned my head - closed mt eyes and yanked - **&&$$ - figured nothing - no pain and thought nothing happened - looked down and - hook was out.

It really is /was painless - would try it again in a minute - bought the kit for the next time ...

[Ron Cramer]

Was taught this method over 30 years ago by my uncle. Any type line will work. If small test line just loop it several time to make it stronger. Have done this at least 2 to 3 time a year for someone or myself. It works slick and it is painless if done right. Have gotten so good at it have taken several out on my own but it is eaiser with 2.You don't need to waste your money on any kit as you will always have fishing line aroundwhen it happens.

[cisco]

I know the feeling -- it's hard to work on someone else, since you have no ideal what it feels like. As for my hook holes, the worse pain by far was when I embedded a hook deep into the second joint of my index finger. There was no place to go with bone in the way to push thru, so it had to be backed out -- and I turned white as the snow covering my part of Minnesota.

[John N]

Zack, (or anyone) where can you get the kit? From reading all the posts, it sounds like a pretty simple procedure, just the same, I assume the kit might have some illustrations, and I'd like to look at a picture of this before pulling the trigger on myself or someone else. If I understand it right, you have to hold the shank, kind of pressing it so as to tend to remove pressure from the barb, loop the line through the bottom of the "J", and give it a yank. And I assume that holding the shank in place prevents the shank from flying up and embedding the hook deeper, instead of the desired result of having the business end of the hook fly up and out of the skin. Thanks...John.

[BILL]

MY WIFE AND I HAD AN EXPERIENCE WITH THE BILL DANCE METHOD.
WE WERE TROLLING WORM HARNESS'S FOR WIPERS AND MY WIFE LANDED A 5 LB'ER. DURING THE STRUGGLE ON THE BOAT FLOOR SHE GOT ONE OF THE HOOKS STUCK INTO HER ARM. I JUMPED ON THE FISH TO TRY AND HELP AND THE OTHER HOOK CAME OUT OF THE FISH AND UNDER MY THUMB NAIL. NOT A PERTY SIGHT. I CUT A PEICE OF LINE AND REMOVED THE HOOK FROM HER ARM WITH A QUICK JERK AND THEN SHE DID THE SAME THING TO ME. I'M SOLD ON THE METHOD. IF YOU USE THE METHOD MAKE SURE YOU HOLD THE SHANK SO THE LINE WILL JERK THE BARB END STRAIGHT OUT. I THINK IF YOU DON'T HOLD THE HOOK SHANK IT COULD ROTATE DRIVING THE HOOK IN A CIRCLE AND THEN YOU WOULD HAVE TO CUT THE BARB OFF AND BACK IT OUT. I'LL TELL YOU ONE THING YANKING THE HOOK OUT WITH THE LINE IS A HELLAVA LOT LESS PAINFULL THEN WHEN YOU GET THE HOOK IMBEDED UNDER A THUMB NAIL!!!!!

THE NETS GO OUT TONIGHT ON PUEBLO AND TOMMORROW MORNING WE START MAKING BABY WALLEYES! LETS HOPE FOR ANOTHER GREAT YEAR.

[Don]

I was musky fishing with a big bucktail with a no. 4 treble.Well, anyway I had a hit from a musky and set the hook and the bucktail came flying at my face.At the last second, I put my hand up to protect my face from being hit.The no.4 treble ended up in one of my fingers.I was fishing by myself and I thought now what am I going to do.Well my solution was to run the hook all the way threw and cut the barb off.I put a bandaid on and continued fishing.

[Don]

In response to my own reply the treble was 4/0 size.

[Stump]

Hello all, Ive found the string method the best and most painless way to remove a imbeded hook from yourself.It can be accomplished yourself as well.My hook removal kit consists of a piece of braided line about 8 in.long (with loops on each end to fit pointer and middle finger of opposite hand in) ,a couple of alcohol wipes,neosporin and bandaids.Easiest way is:(1) snip the line from the hook (2)loop ends of braided line on fingers of opposite hand or hand that you would normally use (3)place the line over the hook so its hooked on the curve of the hook (4)next is to push the eye of the hook down toward your skin where the hook is(if you cant reach it with your hand or fingers,use the edge of something...boat,dash ,ect.this is a little trickier with a trebble hook,but can still be done alone(5)give braided line a quick pull,surprisingly it doesnt hurt as much as you would expect.....yet at this point I could only imagine what it would feel like hooked in "my" lip or jaw OUCH!!! Tight lines and bent poles to all.John

[zack]

I got mine from Cabela's Tackle Shop Catalog page 130. order # WM-11-0392 $6.99.

zack

[John N]

Thanks Zack. I see it here in that catalog, and I'm going to order one. John.