Regardless of some animosity towards the source of this message...one point
should be made...

Cutting the hook off near the puncture is NOT a good tactic. That is
assuming you can't or won't pull it out yourself.

I cut the hook, near the puncture, to free a buddy's hand from his dangling
lure. When we got to the emergency room, they didn't have enough hook
sticking out to get a proper grip on it. It took more cutting and more
stitches to do him up right.

Think of it this way,,,if you were going to pull a small tree out of the
ground, you wouldn't cut it off to the stump. You would leave enough trunk
to get a grip on. Leave the whole hook on if you are heading towards the ER.
--
RichG manager, Carolina Skiff Owners Group on MSN
http://groups.msn.com/CarolinaSkiffOwners