Anyone concerned about...

[wacky rig]

...infections from cuts received when removing deep hooks. This happens to me all the time because of the way I fish. After the fishing day is done, I always treat every cut with peroxide and if needed, neosporin and bandade. What I am more interested in knowing about, is there a possibility of a more serious medical problem resulting from a close encounter with a basses throat or teeth? Thanks in advance. Just a FYI. I have a great technique that results in 95% survival rate when this happens.

 

[roadwarrior]

No problemo...

Get a tetanus shot which is good for ten years. All outdoorsmen should have this shot, it eliminates 99% of your concerns.

If you are a hunter, you should also have a rabies shot.

[wacky rig]

Mucho gracios RW. Add that one to the list next time I see the man with the stethoscope.

[BucketmouthAngler13]

i get tetnis every 10yrs.

I leave all cuts open, and let them air out.

(inless they are really bad. the i put antiboitics on them for 2 days.)

[GeneinTX]

I recently retired from the army and was innoculated for everything. About a month ago, I buried a treble hook into two fingers. They were so deep that fat and other stuff came ut with the hook barbs. Since I regularly recieved a teneatus shot the se deep puntures healed up with no pan at all.

[jomatty]

what is it about the way you fish that leaves you so cut up after every trip?  i really am curious.  i get my fair share of cuts and what not but most trips are accident free.

matt

[MyKeyBe]

That which does not kill me only makes me stronger. ;D

[wacky rig]

Hi Matt. It is a combination of things. First. I drift fish out of a kayak. Second, I toss a wacky-rig trick worm or senko more than all other baits combined. Third, here in Texas the wind blows constantly except in the dead of summer. There are many a day when it is impossible to sense(see,feel,etc..) the bite. So you play the guessing game. To cut down on fish shallowing the bait, I retrieve the bait after about 30 seconds or so. Unfortuneatly about 1/3 of the fish have the hook in the gullet.

The hook is removed by turning the fish with it's head down. Once I find the hook, I place my index finger over the bended area, invert it, and pop it out. This works with a 1/0 gama round bend hook that is barbless. My index finger fits perfectly over the hook. It's not pretty, but it is affective. Rarely will a fish bleed when using this technique.

Russ  

[DEISWERTH]

I don't worry about it to much, maybe I should, although I had a tetnis shot about 3yrs. ago, so I guess I'm good-to go. On a good day of fish, my fingers do get pretty rough from lipping smallmouth and the occasional brush with a hook.

[Brian_Reeves]

I never worry about it.  I don't get cut too often fishing though.  Most of the time I use needle nose pliers to do the de-hooking for me.

[fourbizz]

The only times my hands get torn up is from bass thumb, or better yet TOAD PALM!!!

[NCthompson]

whats bass thumb?

[fishingrulz]

whats bass thumb?

When your thumb gets sliced from lipping bass.

[Fish Chris]

"Toad palm" is the coolest injury I can imagine ! I'd pay just about anything to have a palm which was so ripped up from big fish teeth, that it was bleeding :-)

Oh..... but how many of you have suffered from a good, old fashioned, line cut ??? ......and I'm not talking about the line sliding over your hand or fingers and cutting you, I'm talking about when you are trying to cinch a knot, or lift something heavy, with just the line, and it just cuts straight in ! So then, a little bit later, that line finds the same exact cut, and just seats right in ! Yikes ! So the next day, its really good and sore..... and the line finds that same cut again ! I just love those line cuts.

BTW, and I'm not recommending that anyone try this on themselves, but some of my buddies used to be hard core bowlers. They would bowl until the skin ripped off of their fingers, then they would put super glue right on the open wound to seal it...... So last week, I got an ugly line cut right across the pad of my right first finger.... and I always carry super glue, for lures and stuff.... So, Hey ! I got it ! I glued that cut shut. Worked great ! The next day while on the water, the glue failed, so I glued it again. By the third day, it failed again, but the sensitivity from the cut was gone by then, and I still have that finger :-)

Peace,

Fish

[Keithscatch]

Hmm, tetanus shot. I probably should get one. I can't remember ever having one. I am sure I had to get some while I was in school. But as an adult nope never had one.

[BASS fisherman]

The only time I worry about cuts and scratches, is when I am walking along a rocky shoreline, and like a duffus, I step on an unstable rock and it wobbles, and then I fall and inevitably skin half my leg up.  I did this along the banks of the Allegheny river, which if your wondering is a varitable sewage plant.  Immediatly my leg around the cut started started burning, and after a few minutes turned pink, which from what I understand is the result of a slight infection.  I got my first aid kit and cleaned the cuts as well as possible, and went about fishing.  It burned more than your average cut too.  

The super glue trick is a great trick too.  Ever hear of a product called Nu-skin?  That uses the same principle as super glue.

[Captain Cali]

"Toad Palm"! I love it!

That Nu-Skin stuff works wonders even though I don't use it. A former co-worker introduced it to me.

[Tom Bass]

Hello Whacky Rig, Russ,

Kudos to you for your technique and using barbless hooks when you know the bass will swallow the bait.

Instead of using your fingers why not use one of those funny red hook removers that have a large ball on one end and a small ball on the other end that they sell at Wal-Mart and other stores for hook removal? They are about 7 or 8 inches long and they have channels in the balls to help remove hooks. They would work very well with barbless hooks and the use of one of these wouldn't require you to shove your finger down the fishes gullet. Using one of these might be healthier for the fish that you catch. OR, maybe you might want to try some long stainless steel needle-nosed pliers or even a Leatherman set of pliers.

Regards,

Tom

[Shad_Master]

I've never had a real problem with cuts/scrapes encountered while bass fishing, but earlier this year I caught a pretty good sized catfish and as I was getting him untagled from my net he stuck me with his fin.  That became inflammed and was sore for a couple of weeks.

[wacky rig]

Thanks for the input Tom. I may need to rethink my approach to this.  

regards Russ