Fly Fishing – Catch and Release Yourself
by: Rick Chapo
When fly fishing, many anglers prefer to catch and release their fly fishing
prizes. Still, what should you do when you’re the prize?
That’s Gotta Hurt
If you become a fly fishing fanatic, you will inevitably hook yourself one
day. Of course, this has never happened to me, but my “friends” have done it
repeatedly. Being a thoughtful and observant person, I’ve seen how they go about
unhooking themselves from a fly. Again, this is never happened to me. Ever. No,
I won’t take a lie detector test.
The Barb
The best hook removal method depends on the location of the hook barb. The
barb is the part of the hook that keeps the hook from simply sliding back out of
the fish or, in this case, you. The essential question is which direction will
result in the least damage from the barb.
A “friend” of mine once managed to hook himself through the flap of skin
between the thumb and forefinger. The hook penetrated from the top of this hand
through to the palm. The barb had gone all the way through the skin. In such a
situation, the best method is simply to cut the line at the base of the hook and
push it the rest of the way through the skin. This technique will result in a
minimum of damage.
Another “friend” of mine once slipped on a rock and hooked himself something
fierce in the meat section of the palm about an inch below the pinkie. There
wasn’t anyway to push the hook through, so it had to be pulled back out the way
it went in. The problem, of course, is the barb could have caused a lot of
damage on the way back out. So, what’s the solution?
There are two solutions [excluding the hospital] to avoiding barb damage. The
first requires two people. The hooked individual should press the hook slowly
toward the curve of the hook. Put another way, you want to compress this curve
of the hook. This sounds brutal, but actually should cause the barb to retract
from the meat of your hand. The second person then applies pressure to both
sides of the entry point to pull it open. The hooked individual should then
GENTLY slide the hook out trying to follow the curve of the entry path. Sounds
painful, but it works.
If you’re alone, follow the same instructions but you’ll have to do without
the pressure. Just go slow and easy. If the hook doesn’t slide, don’t force it.
Just head off to the local emergency room.
Catch and release is a good way to fish. Even if you catch yourself.
All information by
Alexandre Egorov Kondratiev HC1AJQ Quito - Ecuador
|
