Nightmare fuel.....worst Bass fishing injury I've ever heard

[AlabamaSpothunter]

I'm out fishing yesterday on the lake, and I start complimenting a homeowner on their new Bass boat, and the gentlemen goes on to tell me what happened to his father recently while out on said new boat.

 

The father and son were out fishing, and the father was throwing a Rattletrap.   The father gets the trap stuck in a tree and proceeds to start trying to free the bait by ripping it with his rod.....we've all done this a million times.   

 

Long story short, the Rattletrap becomes free and flies back at the father, managing to hit him in his eye.   The rattletrap hooked his actual eyeball.

 

They immediately go the ER, but because it's such a traumatic and rare injury, they didn't have the optometrist surgeon specialist on hand, so the father had to leave the treble hook in his eyeball until the surgeon could get there.    They are hopeful the father can regain his vision and will make a full recovery.   

 

I'm almost vomited hearing this story, and I simply can't imagine how much I would freak out if that happened to me, or somebody I was fishing with.    I felt so bad for the son, and obviously the father, I can't imagine doing such a lovely fun activity, and within a nanosecond it turns into pure nightmare fuel.

 

I suggest the next time you think about ripping a stuck lure free, you remember this story.   That or you always where glasses while fishing and aren't afraid of catching a bait anywhere else on your body.  

[Jar11591]

Brutal. I’m not a “braid cures all” guy but that is one of its benefits, it lacks the ability to store and return energy to sender like monofilament does. Comes with the caveat of less sensitivity of course. I’ve had a bait fly back at me from a friend yanking his bait out of a tree branch, but luckily it was a Texas rig and it only got me in the leg. Left a big welt though, felt like a paintball hit. 
 

This story will make me even more cognizant when I inevitably air-mail a bait 60’ high arbor-side. 

[Functional]

cant imagine being out by myself and having to drive the boat in with a lure in my eye. 90% of the time I have some type of eye pro on but makes me want to bring out a clear set now.

[IYAOYAS]

I can honestly say I "caught" my wife. She was tying a slip bobber rig on my line crappie fishing one day in the back of the boat trying to help. While I was waiting for her to finish. I said "Are you done?" and I thought I heard "go" but evidently it was "no" I pulled on the line to retrieve the hook and get a minnow baited and she yelped. I look back and she has a #2 gold eagle claw stuck completely through her bottom lip. lol I had to cut the barb off and pull the shank through. I was in trouble for that one for a long time.

[FryDog62]

Here's a recent photo of a friend of mine (expression enhanced for effect) but you get the idea. He freed a hook that came back so fast he thought the guy next to him hit him on a backhanded cast. Had it been in the eye, he would have probably lost his sight.

 

I wear sunglasses 90% of the time (plastic lenses) for this reason. The other 10% that I don't is because I'm launching at sunrise and can't see well enough to wear dark sunglasses. However, am planning to get some either yellow or clear lenses next for early mornings... 

[BigAngus752]

Yup.  We've all been hit many times either freeing a snag or swinging and missing.  I've had hooks stuck in my clothes and in my leg.  Heck, I had a flying jig take my hat off of my head in a near miss.  I wear glasses at all times when fishing.  I have some light amber for when there isn't much light.  

[Bluebasser86]

I was fishing with my friend when I was probably 13 or so? We were both big fans of inline spinners and I was fishing my favorite red 1/8oz rostertail when I cast into a honey locust tree that was overhanging the water. I yanked a few times and it didn't come loose, so I resigned to breaking it off. When I got my line right to the breaking point, the hook straightened and that stretched to the max 8lb Berkley Trilene sent that thing screaming back at us so fast it was hissing through the air until I heard the "smack!" and Corey hit the deck in agony screaming it had hooked his eye. When I got him to uncover his hands from his eye, the hook had stuck in his brow just above his eye, but his eye had several broken blood vessels, I assume the blade must have flipped down on impact and smacked him in the eye. It was so close to being a similar incident, I don't ever look at my bait when I'm trying to break one off anymore. 

[JHoss]

Sheesh that's brutal. I hate to admit it but I've hooked an uncle in the neck, an aunt in the face, my dad in the elbow, and myself in the knee. To be fair, all the injuries to others occurred when I was a kid. The whopper plopper to the knee was as an adult doing exactly what got the guy in the OP. Braid trick got it out and I kept fishing. Still have those pants with a hole in the knee. They're a great reminder to not pull straight back towards me if I'm hung anymore. 

[Harold H]

Why I'm glad I wear glasses when fishing, and rarely use treble hooks

[thediscochef]

I had a very close call with that same sort of thing a couple years ago and I've been vigilant about comebackers ever since. 

i was fishing my beloved red eye shad, hung up on a rock and it launched itself back at my face. I turned at the last second and it stuck one barb in about 1.5" below my right eye, right where my beard starts. I wear glasses but those don't stop everything. The guy landing his boat was very wide eyed when i ripped it out of my face lol

[Smirak]

I was fishing many years ago and had a similar incident happen to a friend. Luckily, it hit his head and just dug in there. Pushed the barb thru, cut it off, kept going. But it was so much blood (right above the eyebrow) that my buddy couldn’t see and it scared the bejesus out of me. I try and remember to always turn my head at the very least when I rip a bait like that. I remember about 20% of the time. My costas have saved me more than once…

[TnRiver46]

I had a friend of a friend also get hooked directly dead center in the eye ball. I’ve tried to put the pic on here before but Google denies it 😂 

[bassmedic46]

When I was working as a Paramedic I responded to several calls involving fishing hooks in the eye and elsewhere. I’m very careful that I don’t snag myself or anyone near me. 

[Swamp Girl]

I was in near wilderness with a group of guys when one guy hooked another guy right beside the eye with a musky lure's treble hook. It was a long and horrible drive to a hospital. 

[gim]

3 hours ago, thediscochef said:

The guy landing his boat was very wide eyed when i ripped it out of my face lol

Good lord. You are a savage.

[thediscochef]

17 minutes ago, gim said:

Good lord. You are a savage.

Yes

[AlabamaSpothunter]

I "liked" everyone's stories, not the fact you or others had to go through pain.  Hearing all the other stories makes me realize this isn't all that rare at all.  I just never heard of anybody personally getting hooked in the eyeball. 

 

Something extra tragic when folks are seriously injured or killed doing a relatively mundane hobby.   With base jumping, it's part of the deal, Bass fishing.....no so much.

[GreenPig]

 A Chug Bug with both trebles buried in my right cheek didn't improve my looks or ability to catch fish. It's very difficult to dodge a 100 mph lure while sitting in a Jon boat.

[DaubsNU1]

Couple years back was fishing just after dawn. Another fishermen boats over to me and asks for help...he had embedded square bill treble hook in his shoulder. Tree snag...fired back his way...managed to turn around and avoid the face shot. 

 

But he couldn't get it by himself. I was able to remove. 

 

He thanked me with a few lures (I initially refused...but he insisted). Said I saved him from an embarrassing trip home and and giving his wife ammunition to tease him : ) 

 

I try to keep eyewear on when fishing...low light polarized in the early morning or cloudy days, standard when the sun is shining. Thanks for the reminder @AlabamaSpothunter!

[GRiver]

I gotten hooked, usually trying unhook a fish, or the rod falling and snatching the line through my fingers until it meets the hook. 
But holy cow, every one’s stories of face hooks and eyeball gouges. Dang, I didn’t think I’ll be able to sleep for a week.

        I’m going to order me a hockey mask, like the one Jason wears, yea, that’s it. I’ll put Tackle Warehouse, and Bass Pro stickers on it, yea that’s it. I could all so put polarized lens in the eye holes, yea that’s it.

Shouldn’t look too bad should it?

 

[Lottabass]

1 hour ago, GRiver said:

I gotten hooked, usually trying unhook a fish, or the rod falling and snatching the line through my fingers until it meets the hook. 
But holy cow, every one’s stories of face hooks and eyeball gouges. Dang, I didn’t think I’ll be able to sleep for a week.

        I’m going to order me a hockey mask, like the one Jason wears, yea, that’s it. I’ll put Tackle Warehouse, and Bass Pro stickers on it, yea that’s it. I could all so put polarized lens in the eye holes, yea that’s it.

Shouldn’t look too bad should it?

 

Hehe!  You'll have to change your screen name to Jason@GRiver.  🤣

[AlabamaSpothunter]

5 hours ago, GRiver said:

I gotten hooked, usually trying unhook a fish, or the rod falling and snatching the line through my fingers until it meets the hook. 
But holy cow, every one’s stories of face hooks and eyeball gouges. Dang, I didn’t think I’ll be able to sleep for a week.

        I’m going to order me a hockey mask, like the one Jason wears, yea, that’s it. I’ll put Tackle Warehouse, and Bass Pro stickers on it, yea that’s it. I could all so put polarized lens in the eye holes, yea that’s it.

Shouldn’t look too bad should it?

 

Haha, Bassmooch actually has a face mask you can....I think it's meant for using while on plane but it could perform double duty 

 

M5 Tournament Face Mask – BassMooch

[Cabinlife]

When I was in 3rd grade I skipped school and rode my bike to a local lake, first cast with my trusty Zebco and the mepps I was dying to try out landed in the back of my head. Tried to remove it but couldn’t, luckily there was an officer near by. I showed him the lure and he took me to the ER….the mepps in my head was the easy part, the ER calling my mom and her having to pick me up was the hard part, I think she said “wait till your father gets home about 100 times. Fortunately that was the last head shot I took. I’ve had a few minor ones in my hands. 
I fish a lot of top water/frogs at night and always wear clear glasses, a missed hook set that comes flying back is hard to duck if you can’t see it 

[Alex from GA]

Many years ago I was on a jetty in S Calif and another fisherman walked up to me with a jig through his ear.  A west coast jig is a cast metal 2-6 oz piece of metal with treble hooks like a diamond jig.  I bent the barb down and removed it.

[AlabamaSpothunter]

Elite Series pro John Garrett posted this on social media earlier.....apparently his granddad pierced his ear for him