Wear your glasses!

[NHBull]

This morning I  was fishing  a popper from the back of the boat when I tried to set hard 20 ft  from the boat.....in doing so, I missed and the lure flew to the front of the boat hooking my buddy just above the temple.  He wasn't wearing glasses as it was just sun up..  2 more inches and and we would be calling him cyclops!  

I was able to remove it, but haven't been so scared in years.

 

He laughed about it on the way home, but did just buy some low light glasses

 

Stay safe boys!

[FordsnFishin]

I'm always waiting for that to happen! I've had some close calls but have yet to stick myself. I try to wear my shades at all times just for that instance.

 

Knocking on wood, that I never hook my eyeball.

[detroit1]

While visiting my grandparents in Kentucky many, many years ago I met their neighbor who lost his left eye while fishing his small pond. He got snagged on something, kept pulling..trying to break free. It did, and he said it sounded like a gunshot,and then it dislodged his eyeball. I don't know if his story was factual or not, but at 8 yrs. old, I believed him....

[38 Super Fan]

If I'm fishing, or anybody around me is, I'm always wearing sunglasses. Unless it's low light, then it's clear safety glasses. I don't take any chances when it comes to getting a hook in the eye, that's scary stuff.

[scaleface]

I use to work with a guy that had a weird eye . He wasnt blind just had a big dark spot . One day i finally asked him about it and he said it  was a fishing hook accident when he was a kid . He was getting a snag undone and it flew back at him .

[TOXIC]

And remember......do not wear glass lense sunglasses.  Poly-carbonate only.  That bit of advice is direct from the guy who made the RX lenses in my Oakley's.  If you think a hook to the eye is bad, imagine 1000 shards of glass.   

[CTBassin860]

Always have them on and I always have a backup pair in the truck just in case. I took a 3/4 oz punch rig to the chest the other day. That felt bad enough, never mind taking that to the eye. The polycarbonate lenses are designed to spiderweb and not shatter, but scratch much easier than the glass lenses. I'd rather keep my eye than worry about a scratch any day.

[boostr]

Always do. Had a crank bait come back at me one time that hit me right at my right eye, luckily I was wearing my glasses. Wrap arounds are the best to wear.

[XpressJeff]

I am guilty as charged!

[islandbass]

Excellent advice. I wear my polarized glasses 99% of the time and that 1% not is usually because I forgot to bring them. 

 

For or self preservation, if I have to yank my rod and I always do it in such a position such that if it  were to come back the lure wouldn't hit me. However this tactic does and will not protect anyone behind you or work if you move into its path. You know, like when you played dodgeball as a kid and you see the ball coming toward your right and you know to dodge left but somehow, you still manage to move right anyway. ?

[Angealy]

I'll keep this in mind when I'm fishing.

I almost always wear some sort of safety glasses when cutting the grass or using power tools but not so much fishing.

[Falkus]

I always wear my glasses to prevent from the UV on my eyes. The second reason is the flying hooks. I would rather to get my Costa Fantail's glass get cracked than getting into my eyes. 

[geo g]

Good point you bring up.  I have been to the hospital several times over the years, with treble hooks buried deep to the top of the bend.  Although its been in the belly several times, it could have been in the eye just as easily.  Glasses are a must!

[Gundog]

This thread reminds me of a time I was fishing with a friend. As I was making a cast the line looped around one of the eyes of the rod and the spinner bait swung back and hit my friend in the unmentioned area (yup) and stuck there. He was bent over from pain and I was hunched over laughing. I was wearing my glasses but he wasn't wearing a cup. 

[N Florida Mike]

Here we go wih this again. I tried not to say anything but....I got a 5/0 hook in my right eye when I was 24 .Out nite fishing. Girlfriend took me to the hospital .5 hours of surgery. Detached retina, and shattered lense. Thank God the doc saved the eye but it was close. I now wear a strong contact in that eye and have enough sight to help the stronger eye.

I wholeheartedly agree with the post, for obvious reasons !!!

[SJS]

Went to the emergency room last month with a crankbait buried deep in my calf, fortunately I was fishing a pond less than a mile from the hospital, but I did have my sunglasses on.  The nurses thought it was pretty funny actually.

[Bruce424]

Glasses saved my eye due to the same thing...missed on a fish with a rattletrap flew back and hit me in the lens...jolted me. Haha

[Airbornebass]

On 8/8/2017 at 11:09 AM, TOXIC said:

And remember......do not wear glass lense sunglasses.  Poly-carbonate only.  That bit of advice is direct from the guy who made the RX lenses in my Oakley's.  If you think a hook to the eye is bad, imagine 1000 shards of glass.   

I wear glass lenses.  They are Costa Del Mars so hopefully shatter proof.

[dan94]

Reading this is making my eyes hurt 

[RPreeb]

If it's sunny or cloudy-bright, it's prescription polarized sunglasses.  If it's overcast with flat light, then I'll be wearing my regular bifocals.  I try to avoid pulling on a lure in such a way that it would snap back at my head.  No guarantee, I feel like I keep the risk of catastrophic injury minimized.

[JT Bagwell]

This is exactly why I am so big on Wiley X glasses. All of the frames and lenses are impact rated for safety. Some of them are even ballistic rated (you just have to read the specs to see which ones carry this rating).

 

But one hook or weight in the eye can result in permanent vision or complete eye loss.

 

It is a big deal to me.

 

 

[CybrSlydr]

That's one thing the Army drilled into me - a cover when outdoors and eyepro when doing just about anything.  

 

Picked up some spiderwire polarized shades at Cabelas this weekend.  Dunno how good they are impact-wise, but the should withstand anything I can throw at them!