Flying Lures

[dramabeats]

I'm sure we've all done it - you set the hook on a fish or what you think is a fish and the lure comes flying at the boat at warp speed

One of my fishing partners is newer and thinks a good hookset is unnecessary and I'm going to hit him with a lure (nevermind that he's at the back of the boat so this is unlikely)

I really only set the hook hard with texas rigs and jigs - if he got hit at all it would be with the weight

 

Anyone else have this experience with others in the boat?

[scaleface]

I thought this was going to be about the fishing lure and yes I have some and they do go backwards . 

 

On topic , I've never hit another person with a lure flying back but have hit myself numerous times but only been  impaled   once .

[FrnkNsteen]

My wife and I were fishing one day with a family member sitting in the middle. He's one to swing for the fences on every hookset and hit her with his jig three times that day. Luckily, none embedded or hooked her, but we had to cut the third one out of her jacket.

 

Had to finally tell him to either settle down or at least change the direction of his hooksets.

 

I understand the need to set the hook, but some people go overboard in my opinion. If you're constantly thinking you need to set the hook like that, you may want to consider sharpening your hooks! No need for that in my opinion!

[WRB]

Bullet weights become real bullets when bass anglers insist using the old bubba swing for the fences hook set.

Anglers have been blinded from bullet weight taking out a eye.

Reel down and swing your rod to one side on a hook set. The serious damage comes for trying to free a snag by pulling with the rod pointed at the snagged lure and the bullet comes back at high velocity.

Tom

[Bird]

Freeing lures from limbs has created more flying baits then hook sets.

One good WHACK you become more patient and make a trip to the bank on the next one.

[Bluebasser86]

I've been hit with baits, rods, and small fish. 

[Big Rick]

1 hour ago, dramabeats said:

Anyone else have this experience with others in the boat?

After having a 2/0 worm hook removed from my eyelid I absolutely refuse to fish with more than one other person in the boat. And that person is on the BACK deck. My boat is 18' long and rated for 3 persons. 

 

The aforementioned hook missed my actual eyeball by a miracle. Lesson learned. No fish is worth going through life blind in one eye. 

[Jar11591]

Me and a fishing buddy have traded shots with weedless frogs on swing and miss hooksets before. Always good for a laugh. 

[gim]

I've taken a crank bait to the back of the head before.  The barbs went in too.  Honestly that was not the worst part though.  The worst was the initial "thump" when the lure itself hit me in the head.  It felt like a rock and I almost fainted.

After we were done fishing, a quick trip to urgent care got the hooks out.  They had to numb the area with an injection of lidocaine which didn't feel the greatest.

My Father is the guilty party on this one and I made him pay for my $40 copay at urgent care.  Its kind of a joke and we laugh about it now, but at the time it wasn't funny at all.

[RDB]

I’m a cross their eyes hook setter with jigs & t-rigs, especially in heavier cover when I need to get their head turned quickly.  It doesn’t happen a lot but most of the time if a lure comes flying back at me, I take it on the hand.  It’s kind of an instinct thing like blinking and I have never been able to break the habit.

[T-Billy]

I took a 3/8 tungsten to the elbow cap a few weeks ago. That one sucked pretty bad. Whacked my teenage boy in the back of the head with a flying pound and a halfer a couple years ago. That one was pretty dang funny. 

  I never fish without glasses and insist anyone else in the boat wear them too. Keep your eyes safe. Everything else is merely a flesh wound.

[roadwarrior]

3 hours ago, Bird said:

Freeing lures from limbs has created more flying baits then hook sets.

Not me, I learned my lesson when my brother impaled himself. If i can't reach a lure

I cut it off, no questions, no regrets.

[flyfisher]

try fly fishing in the wind with heavy weighted streamers and you will at some point take a fly to the back of the head....don't ask me how I know

[Log Catcher]

One time I was fishing with my brother. He had his shirt off while fishing. I set the hook with the T rig I was using. Here comes the bait and a small bream out of the water. The fish hit my brother in the back and fell off the hook and landed back into the water.

[Sphynx]

2 hours ago, flyfisher said:

try fly fishing in the wind with heavy weighted streamers and you will at some point take a fly to the back of the head....don't ask me how I know

Yep, I've been there.

[N.Y. Yankee]

I think it's something we all need to be mindful of, especially with others close by. I mean do we really need to set the hook so hard we dang near fall over backward? Most I have ever needed is a snap upward but I dont have the experiences y'all do. I think if your hooks are sharp (you sharpen them don't you?) It shouldn't be that dramatic unless you have a bungee cord on the end of your line. I do fear a 4/0 shooting at me, but if any of you have been fly fishing and had a #4 bass bug hook you with 40 feet of #8WF line in front of it, you know THAT is NO FUN either!

[CrashVector]

Never understood why some fishermen set the hook like they're trying to do the clean and jerk in an Olympic weightlifting competition.

 

You kept swinging away while I was on the boat with you, and you'd never be in my boat again.

 

It's a fish that at most...weighs 13lbs.  There's zero need to jerk so hard your lure comes through 3 feet of water with enough force to fly 20-30feet at 20mph.

[gim]

26 minutes ago, N.Y. Yankee said:

I think it's something we all need to be mindful of, especially with others close by. I mean do we really need to set the hook so hard we dang near fall over backward? Most I have ever needed is a snap upward

 

I could never quite figure out why some people fish together on the front deck of a bass boat when there's an empty back deck not even being used.  They're literally standing right next to each other slinging lures with hooks attached when they could be spread out, which would greatly mitigate the chances for an accident.  Its all "perfectly safe" until it isn't and it happens to you.

 

A quick snap upwards is all it should take.  Some guys set the hook like they're shark fishing lol and almost fall over backwards.

[FrnkNsteen]

7 minutes ago, gimruis said:

 

I could never quite figure out why some people fish together on the front deck of a bass boat when there's an empty back deck not even being used.  They're literally standing right next to each other slinging lures with hooks attached when they could be spread out, which would greatly mitigate the chances for an accident.  Its all "perfectly safe" until it isn't and it happens to you.

 

A quick snap upwards is all it should take.  Some guys set the hook like they're shark fishing lol and almost fall over backwards.

They don't have to be in the front of the boat with you.

 

In the example I spoke of above, the person setting the hook was in the middle seat of my 19.5 Stratos, so right at the front of the windshields and my wife was sitting in her chair on the back deck.

[gim]

2 minutes ago, FrnkNsteen said:

They don't have to be in the front of the boat with you.

 

I agree.  I was simply pointing out that sometimes I see two anglers standing on the front deck and there is literally no one on the back deck.  Spread out and use the entire boat for cryin' out loud.

[FrnkNsteen]

24 minutes ago, gimruis said:

 

I agree.  I was simply pointing out that sometimes I see two anglers standing on the front deck and there is literally no one on the back deck.  Spread out and use the entire boat for cryin' out loud.

If we are including being hung up. I was fishing a creek with a friend one time. He was throwing a #5 Mepps and got hung up on a rock across the creek. 

 

He snapped back on the rod and that Mepps let loose and was coming right back at us. He got turned just enough to get hit in the shoulder and that treble buried in so deep we couldn't ****** it out. Had to push it through and back out his skin so we could snip off the barb so we could back it back out.

[RDB]

19 minutes ago, gimruis said:

I agree.  I was simply pointing out that sometimes I see two anglers standing on the front deck and there is literally no one on the back deck.  Spread out and use the entire boat for cryin' out loud.

If the other angler knows what they are doing, I will let them fish the front deck (especially friends or a team tournament).  I hate getting front ended all day and want to make sure others have an enjoyable time in the boat.  It’s much easier when I don’t have to worry about positioning for the other angler.

 

48 minutes ago, CrashVector said:

Never understood why some fishermen set the hook like they're trying to do the clean and jerk in an Olympic weightlifting competition.

I agree you don’t need to rip a hernia but IMO, a strong hook set is sometimes needed.  With jigs, etc., the quicker I can get control of the fish and get them moving to me and away from danger, the more likely I will have a positive outcome.  It’s less about hook sharpness and more about fish control.

[gim]

14 minutes ago, RDB said:

If the other angler knows what they are doing, I will let them fish the front deck (especially friends or a team tournament).  I hate getting front ended all day and want to make sure others have an enjoyable time in the boat.  It’s much easier when I don’t have to worry about positioning for the other angler.

My Father has been fishing most of his adult life.  Accidents happen.  Believe me, no fish is worth taking a lure to the face or head.  It may be "easier" if you don't have to worry about positioning for the guy in the back, but its a hell of a lot safer for that person to be back there.  Its only a matter of time when two people are that close in proximity and they are both slinging lures.  What's more important to you, safety or convenience?  Just sayin'.

[RDB]

7 minutes ago, gimruis said:

My Father has been fishing most of his adult life.  Accidents happen.  Believe me, no fish is worth taking a lure to the face or head.  It may be "easier" if you don't have to worry about positioning for the guy in the back, but its a hell of a lot safer for that person to be back there.  Its only a matter of time when two people are that close in proximity and they are both slinging lures.  What's more important to you, safety or convenience?  Just sayin'.

I hear you and I’m not arguing, I’m just sharing my rational.  In 50+ years of fishing, I’ve never taken a hook from another angler and I’ve fished shoulder to shoulder thousands of times.  I’m much more concerned when there is a little more room like fishing out of a Jon Boat…anytime I have been hit, it’s almost always when we are 6-7 feet apart.  I’m not going to share the deck with a complete novice but if it’s someone who has a clue, I’m completely comfortable with it.  

[WVU-SCPA]

At times I'm sure others look at me and think "easy killer" when setting the hook.  However it is a very measured approach depending on many factors such cover, amount of line out, depth, and angle. 

 

Snags are one of the reasons I shy away from heavy line and usually fish lighter then needed.  I'd rather not be in a situation were the lure is not retrievable and your options are pull on or leave a length of 50 lb braid behind.

 

Fly fishing adds a how different dynamic.  The below image was result of pulling out of a tree after a missed strike.