The saga of the silly old fool.

[Fishing Rhino]

Fishing has been so so lately. Good fish, the braggin' kind have been few and far between the past few weeks.

Didn't get out Sunday, Monday or Tuesday. Screaming northeast wind, among other things.

Today was a perfect day. Cloudy, sprinkles, light breeze.

Perfect to try something different. Hmmmmm, how 'bout wacky wormin'?

Not your normal wacky wormin', this is wacky, wacky wormin'. Two worms on the hook. Not hooked in the middle. Hooked about a third of the way. Make sure they make an "X", and do not lay beside each other.

Two *** five inch chartreuse/pepper worms.

First cast. A bass about two pounds. OK, the wacky thing doesn't scare 'em all away. At least one liked it. Lose one worm in the process.

Put another on. Work my way along the shore. Toss the spinnerbait. Catch two small bass. Try the Space Monkey, one hit, no fish.

Two hundred yards or so along the shore from where I started, I catch another nice bass on the wacky, wacky rig.

This one about three pounds. Lose another worm.

The wacky wacky seems to work just fine. Let's try a variation. Hook the first worm in the middle as per the usual method, then hook the second through the body an inch or less from the end. Either end, makes no difference.

In this case, the second was a four inch chartreuse/watermelon laminate.

The hook, for those taking notes, 5/0 circle hook Gammy or Owner. Have both, not sure which was tied on.

At the northeast corner of the pond, I head south, along the eastern shore.

Another cast, another bass. About like the last. They seem to like the T-bone wacky as well.

Get to an underwater ridge of rocks that are perpendicular to the shore.

Hooked and lost two nice ones last week when they took the ten pound braid into the rocks. I've read that braid is good when it comes to abrasion resistance.

I disagree, it popped like sewing thread when they got into the jagged rocks.

To make sure that didn't happen again, I tied a four foot length of YoZuri 30 pound test leader to my braid with a blood knot.

Let's see what happens now.

Cast. Bam! A bass grabs it a couple of seconds after it hits the water, and heads for the rocks. Sorry, not this time fella, or gal.

Boat another nice bass in the three to four pound range. Release it, and make another cast.

Bam! On the first twitch an even better bass gets hooked, then boated, then released.

The T-bone is hot stuff.

A third cast. A couple of twitches, and a snag. Then the snag begins stripping line from the reel. Rocks be damned, the hybrid is doing its thing.

Now I've got a monster (for this area of the country) at the boat. Larger than the fish in my avatar.

I've got a nice Rapala digital scale to weigh the gal.

Hmmmm, it's in the Rubbermaid container about four feet ahead of where I sit, below the lineup of my rods.

Easy to get to. I lean forward, reach between two rods, and my hand stops. Uh oh, the Xrap front treble is now buried in the fat of my palm at the thumb.

Take a look. It's past the barb.

Put the reel the lure is attached to in free spool so I can get back in my seat and ponder my next move.

First, return the fish to the water unweighed and unphotographed.

On to the hook imbedded in my hand. Looks nasty, but only hurts when the hook gets moved around.

What to do? If I had an extra hand, I could use the string extraction method. But I don't, and I'm alone.

Maybe if I lock the forceps on the bend, I can effect the same motion by rotating the hook so the side opposite the barb spreads the puncture, while trying to jerk it out.

A couple of tries convinced me that was futile.

OK, how 'bout if I just shove the hook on through? If I can't cut the hook, I can at least squeeze the barb closed, then slide it out.

Simple enough, right? Wrong. Try as I might, I could not get the point to pierce the skin on the way out. All I got for my effort was a bump that looked like a pimple when I tried to force it through.

Surprisingly, none of this was extremely painful, and I did not want to quit fishing considering how they were biting.

Finally, wisdom prevailed. Go to the emergency room and get it removed.

So, I paddle across the pond. I briefly consider just dragging my canoe away from the shore, but with over two grand of equipment on the canoe, I decide it best to load it into the back of my truck, go to our house, and stow the canoe safely in the locked garage.

This I do with the Rapala dangling from my hand.

Once home, I put a few layers of packaging tape around the tail treble so it can do no damage or get snagged.

Then with masking tape, I secure the lure in a neutral position so it's putting no pressure on the treble in my hand.

Get the the emergency room, the doc tells me I'm lucky he's there today. He's the only one who knows how to remove a fish hook.

Sorry, I tell him. I do too, but I'd need a third hand. He asked me how I'd do it, and when I tell him with the string technique, the wind goes out of his sails.

That's what he does.

I can tell you it is completely painless. Tie the line, get the hook lined up, press the shank downward, one swift tug, and it's out.

Back to the house. Load the canoe. Back to the pond. Resume where I left off.

Caught six more, two of which were larger than the one I wanted to weigh. All caught on the T-bone wacky rig.

Never thought about weighing or photographing them. Just keep on fishin'.

[mrlitetackle]

good story, and glad to hear you could go back for some more fishing.......

hooks and hands, bad news!!!

[Fishing Cowgirl]

Thanks!

I am so going to try that wacky wacky rig on friday!!

[UrbanRedneck]

Hooked and lost two nice ones last week when they took the ten pound braid into the rocks. I've read that braid is good when it comes to abrasion resistance. I disagree, it popped like sewing thread when they got into the jagged rocks.

Yep, you learned the hard way as did I.  Anytime Im using braid around abrasive cover, especially rocks, I use a longish leader of mono or fluoro.

[Big-O]

Thanks Rhino, My hand hurts just thinking about it...  ;D reminds me of a few of my past experiences and just like you, get back in the saddle cause the fish are waitin on us

Big O

www.ragetail.com

[burleytog]

Hooked and lost two nice ones last week when they took the ten pound braid into the rocks. I've read that braid is good when it comes to abrasion resistance.

I don't know where you read that as it is common knowledge that braid and rocks go together like a knife and soft butter.

[Fishing Rhino]

Hooked and lost two nice ones last week when they took the ten pound braid into the rocks. I've read that braid is good when it comes to abrasion resistance.

I don't know where you read that as it is common knowledge that braid and rocks go together like a knife and soft butter.

These are not the articles, or items I read, but they convey the same message.

Braided Fishing Line

Posted on Aug 19, 2008 under braided fishing line | No Comment

Those of us that share a passion for fishing have certainly realized the many advantages of using braided fishing line on various applications.

Braided fishing line is one of the strongest types of fishing line in relation to its diameter. Braids are made by braiding or weaving fibers of a man-made material like Spectra or micro-dyneema into a strand of line. Braided fishing lines are resistant to abrasion. This line is so strong that you have trouble breaking it when you get a snag. A fish is very unlikely to break it.

http://www.braidedfishinglineblog.com/

and:

Sufix Performance Braid

From castability to abrasion resistance and knot strength, this incredible new line excels in every category that's important to you. In fact, its soft, supple feel makes it completely compatible with spinning reels - something that very few braids can claim.

The exclusive Y6 Digital Braiding process produces a tighter braid pattern that won't unwind under the severest conditions. A specially formulated finish protects Sufix Performance Braid from abrasion caused by contact with logs, rocks and debris, so you'll be fishing this line long after your buddies have respooled their reels.

PowerPro Line

An innovative manufacturing process known as Enhanced Body Technology permeates this revolutionary braided line with a protective layer that will not peel off. This results in a line that is 10 times stronger than steel and winds easily on to any type of reel without retaining memory. The smooth surface texture allows PowerPro Line to effortlessly sail quietly through the guides.

This high-performance Spectra braid handles like mono and has one of the highest strength-to-diameter ratios available. Enhanced Body

Technology delivers a compact, abrasion-resistant line with a smooth surface texture and virtually no spool memory.

Braided Fishing Line Caught More Fish

A braided fishing line is made by weaving multiple strands of fibers like Spectra or Micro-Dyneema into a strand of line. Braids are much more expensive than any other lines in the market due to the difficult weaving process. They are sometimes called Super lines.

These fishing lines have little or no stretch with very small diameter for their strength. They're not stiff and have no memory. Braids are very strong and abrasion resistant.

Power Pro Braided Fishing Line. 10X stronger than Steel. Micro Filament Spectra.

Power Pro Line Will not cut guides: Smooth casting: Super strong: Ultra sensitive: Cuts through the air for long casting. Cuts through the water. No false hits. Zero stretch. Rocks and coral will not cut this line. The best line for surf fishing, deep sea fishing, trolling.

The reel was spooled with PowerPro Spectra, Red, 10 pound test.

[Fishing Rhino]

Thanks Rhino, My hand hurts just thinking about it... ;D reminds me of a few of my past experiences and just like you, get back in the saddle cause the fish are waitin on us

Big O

www.ragetail.com

Actually, not very painful at all, as long as I did not jiggle it around.  It sure looked nasty though.

[tyrius.]

Hooked and lost two nice ones last week when they took the ten pound braid into the rocks. I've read that braid is good when it comes to abrasion resistance.

I don't know where you read that as it is common knowledge that braid and rocks go together like a knife and soft butter.

Agreed.  Braid is not the best choice for rocky areas.  When fishing those areas one should use a good sized leader of mono or flouro.  Braid may be resistant to certain types of abrasion, but it's not resistant to rocks!!!

[Fishing Rhino]

Hooked and lost two nice ones last week when they took the ten pound braid into the rocks. I've read that braid is good when it comes to abrasion resistance.

I don't know where you read that as it is common knowledge that braid and rocks go together like a knife and soft butter.

Agreed. Braid is not the best choice for rocky areas. When fishing those areas one should use a good sized leader of mono or flouro. Braid may be resistant to certain types of abrasion, but it's not resistant to rocks!!!

I also agree now.  But I was going by what I had read that pretty much parroted what I cited in my prior post.

I find it very odd, and more than a bit frustrating that Power Pro claims their Spectra cannot be cut by rocks or coral.  Some of the other stuff I've read more than likely were consumer reviews of braid on the BPS and Cabella web sites.

Since I had been away from rod and reel fishing for more than a few years, many of the products are new to me.  I search the internet to learn what I can to help with the learning curve, and to avoid making the error I did with the braid.

There are times the info is just junk, as it was in this case.

I should have know better, since I often use (after reading about it on this forum) the stamped sheet metal cutter from dental floss to cut braid.

In fact, the Power Pro Spectra comes with one on the package to cut the line when you've stripped what you need from the spool.

[Daniel My Brother]

That was a great read. Congrats on a great day!

[tyrius.]

Since I had been away from rod and reel fishing for more than a few years, many of the products are new to me. I search the internet to learn what I can to help with the learning curve, and to avoid making the error I did with the braid.

I was exactly the same as you.  I didn't fish at all for a few years before picking it back up 2 years ago.  I've made my share of mistakes since then!!!  But, you can usually get all the good info you need from here!

[avid]

the wacky wacky rig.

I like it.