Good Morning all,

As a paramedic Down Under, we used to have bets on how many hooks we'd get
out of people in the first week after Barramundi Season Opening
..........quite a few.

The technique certainly works well, no doubt about it. HOWEVER, there's also
risks associated with it like lacerating tendon sheaths, neuovascular
bundles and other essentials. Immagine having a forearm (casting arm) that
doesn't have any control or sensation after taking the shortcut and severing
the ulna nerve? Of course, if you can ascertain that the hook's in a fairly
fatty area without underlying structures being at risk and there's no
Doctors surgery available........... then there's the Tetanus etc.

But then, i think about how many i've pulled out of myself..........can't
stop fishing just because of 1 hook.

Cheers,
"Harry"
"@(Peter A. Collin)rochester.rr.com" ""pcollin\"@(Peter A.
Collin)rochester.rr.com" wrote in message
...
Hello all,

Just got back from a steelhead oddesey to Pennsylvania. Great fishing,
good weather and a great time. However, during prime time last evening,
I landed a fish with a treble hook busted off in its jaw. I yelled over
to my buddy, while prying at the treble, "Boy, I did this fish a favor
by catching it....OWWWWW!"

The fish flopped and drove that treble right into my left index
fingertip. as far as it could go. This was an old school hook, with
thick wire and huge"catch and relese is for pussies" barbs.

I poked at it for a while streamside, then head back to the parking lot.
Felt bad that my buddy had to quit fishing during the witching hour
for this. I thought i would go to town for razor blades to try and cut
the hook out. If that didn't work, to the doctor I would have to go.

This very nice gentleman in the parking lot saw my predicament and
invited me over to his office, which was walking distance from the car.
He gave me an exacto blade to try to cut the hook out. I diddled
around and it didn't work. Finally he said "Well, I know what will
work, but you have to trust me." He took a stout cord and looped it
around the bend of the hook. He had me hold the eye of the hook so that
it was held in the exact postition as it was when it enetered my finger.
He would give the string a quick, hard jerk in the opposite direction.
Now, I have seen this trick in books, but never saw it used. I wasn't
too thrilled about it and was sweating profusely while bracing for the
tug. My heart was pounding the way it does when the dentist comes at
you with the yard long hypodermic.

He yanked, and the think came out like a loose tooth. Nothing to it! I
thanked the man over and over, said I felt like a fool getting so
nervous about the procedure. The man was gracious and offered bandages
and antiseptic creme. Just another random act of kindness.

So I offer the technique here for all roffians. It could come in very
handy, and possibly save a trip. Anybody who fishes for long enough is
bound to have a similar thing happen to him.

Pete Collin