Fly
Fishing – Catch and Release Yourself
by: Rick Chapo
When fly fishing, many anglers prefer to catch and
release their fly fishing prizes. Still, what should you
do when you’re the prize?
That’s Gotta Hurt
If you become a fly
fishing fanatic, you will inevitably hook yourself one
day. Of course, this has never happened to me, but my
“friends” have done it repeatedly. Being a thoughtful
and observant person, I’ve seen how they go about
unhooking themselves from a fly. Again, this is never
happened to me. Ever. No, I won’t take a lie detector
test.
The Barb
The best hook removal
method depends on the location of the hook barb. The
barb is the part of the hook that keeps the hook from
simply sliding back out of the fish or, in this case,
you. The essential question is which direction will
result in the least damage from the barb.
A “friend” of mine once
managed to hook himself through the flap of skin between
the thumb and forefinger. The hook penetrated from the
top of this hand through to the palm. The barb had gone
all the way through the skin. In such a situation, the
best method is simply to cut the line at the base of the
hook and push it the rest of the way through the skin.
This technique will result in a minimum of damage.
Another “friend” of mine
once slipped on a rock and hooked himself something
fierce in the meat section of the palm about an inch
below the pinkie. There wasn’t anyway to push the hook
through, so it had to be pulled back out the way it went
in. The problem, of course, is the barb could have
caused a lot of damage on the way back out. So, what’s
the solution?
There are two solutions
[excluding the hospital] to avoiding barb damage. The
first requires two people. The hooked individual should
press the hook slowly toward the curve of the hook. Put
another way, you want to compress this curve of the
hook. This sounds brutal, but actually should cause the
barb to retract from the meat of your hand. The second
person then applies pressure to both sides of the entry
point to pull it open. The hooked individual should then
GENTLY slide the hook out trying to follow the curve of
the entry path. Sounds painful, but it works.
If you’re alone, follow
the same instructions but you’ll have to do without the
pressure. Just go slow and easy. If the hook doesn’t
slide, don’t force it. Just head off to the local
emergency room.
Catch and release is a
good way to fish. Even if you catch yourself.
