[bnc04]

Anybody ever use one of these things? After 35+ years of fishing, I found myself with a brand new X-Rap attached to my finger in a permanent sort of way. My Brother in law had one of the kits and after reading the directions and pondering the situation I wimped out and went to urgent care to have the hook cut out. I asked the doc about them and she advised against the use of them on larger and deeply imbedded hooks like I had.

Things I learned during the experience that may help somebody.

1. If you have a large trout that you would like to keep and try the trout filleting technique that you read about on this site, make sure it is not able to flop around and drive sharp objects into your finger.
2. Remember those wire cutters that you had in your boat? Find them and place them where you will remember them. Using makeshift wire cutters to remove the hook from the lure is a little more painful than it needs to be.

3. Think about pinching the barbs down on those hooks.

Brett

 

[laker taker]

I'll never forget as a child my mother got hooked in the back of the leg with a small 1/4 oz. castmaster. My father pushed the hook all the way through and cut the barb off and backed it back out. Holy cow, the screaming and swearing damaged me for life, I never want to go through that.

 

[roadkill]

was the screaming and swearing from your mom due to the pain or from your dad because he had to cut up his favorite kasty? :

 

[Walking Eagle]

was the screaming and swearing from your mom due to the pain or from your dad because he had to cut up his favorite kasty?

LOL - the screaming was from his mom and the swearing was from his dad.


I always keep a pair of long-nose pliers in my tackle box for taking hooks out of fish, and they have a little wire cutter milled into them near the back of the jaws, so I figured I was safe if I needed to cut off a hook that was embedded in somebody. Then one day a bee started buzzing around my face, so I swatted at it. I missed the bee and swatted my lure instead. The hook was well buried in my finger. (That bee would have been clobbered, believe me.)

I got out the pliers, and found out that their little wire cutter feature was not very sharp, and poorly made, and it would not cut the hook. No matter how much pressure I put on it, it barely dented the hook. I had to drive to the E.R. with that hook hanging out of me, scared to death I would catch one of the other trebles in the car seat. Then I would really be stuck!

The doctor explained that his preferred method was to just yank the hook out backwards, and he proceeded to demonstrate his method on my finger. I didn't appreciate it much at the time, but I was able to apply the method another time when I was way out in the boonies and hooked a finger, and it worked as long as I didn't think about it too much before yanking the hook out.

So I have to concur with BNC04, make sure you have a good pair of wire cutters -- and I mean GOOD wire cutters -- handy. If you are in doubt, try cutting a hook in two at home on your workbench. You might be surprised how tough those things are.

And pinch those barbs down. If you play the fish right you'll still land it, and the hook is ever so much easier to remove. Both out of you and out of the fish.

And a few band-aids and a tube of antibiotic cream is never a bad idea.

 

[roadkill]

ya know i was thinking one of those insect repelent sugestions for the other thread might work better here, you know the wild turkey!

 

[Walking Eagle]

LOL!

No, no, I could never use that kit, if you take all the sh## out of me I would only be three feet tall, then I couldn't see over the dash to drive home.

Besides, the stick of dynamite belongs in the tackle box, not in the emergency kit.

 

[bnc04]

I always keep a pair of long-nose pliers in my tackle box for taking hooks out of fish, and they have a little wire cutter milled into them near the back of the jaws, so I figured I was safe if I needed to cut off a hook that was embedded in somebody. Then one day a bee started buzzing around my face, so I swatted at it. I missed the bee and swatted my lure instead. The hook was well buried in my finger. (That bee would have been clobbered, believe me.)

I got out the pliers, and found out that their little wire cutter feature was not very sharp, and poorly made, and it would not cut the hook. No matter how much pressure I put on it, it barely dented the hook.

Exactly, we had pliers with the cutters in the rear and even with another person there it was very difficutl to manuever finger, hook in finger and bait around in such a way to even get the cutters on the split ring and we ended up cutting through the wire in the lure itself. ( we didnt cut the hook itself 1.beccause it was imbedded almost to the shank and the shank was vertical to my finger and 2. we wanted to see if the emergancy kit would work but were not sure how much of the hook you needed to retain to be able to use it.

I have 3 wire cutters now One in my trailer, one in my tackle box and one in the boat. and the barbs will be smashed when I put a lure on.

brett