A while back I cited a state guv boating accident report where an old
guy got all hooked and tangled in fishing gear, fell out of the boat
and drowned. A couple days ago I ran across a post on a boating forum
where a guy found himself drifting to a rocky lee shore and as he
started to take action:
1. Hooked one thumb barb deep on a lure.
2. Because of some odd positioning and being in a hurry to get his
boat underway he reached behind him with his other arm and hooked that
thumb barb deep. He was now lthunb-cuffed by the lure with his hands
behind his back. He yelled instructions to his wife to get the wire
cutters, start the boat, etc, but he ended up just ripping one thumb
loose.
Got me to thinking about how come such utterly ridiculous crap
never happened to me. The only real answer I can up with is: dumb
luck. Sure, I might be careful and coordinated, but since I've never
given any thought to "hook safety," there's been some luck involved.
I firmly believe you can improve your luck by some thought to safety
techniques, and that's what I'm looking for.
For instance, anybody who has fished a bit knows and watches
casting companions carefully, but a little lecture about safety before
the first cast might improve safety. And I mean a little lecture,
under 30 seconds, or a couple minutes if drunk.
Maybe anybody casting should give a vocal warning each cast, as a pro
forma routine.
A spool tangle or wrapped line can get that lure bouncing around
pretty hard, and at least you know to duck if it happens.
Same goes if somebody is jerking to release a hook snagged on
the bottom or a tree. That the vocal warning be given would be
part of the "lecture." My casting partners have never snagged me or
pulled out one of my eyes. But it's mostly luck. There's been a lot
of near misses. Of course we had a lot of procedural safety stuff in
the military, so I don't want to come off as a DI either, which would
sure spoil the fishing.
Since I'll be doing more fishing with family and others in the future,
I just want to keep everybody safe.
In thinking back to the times I've hooked my clothes or pricked skin,
it always happens the same way.
Never a loose lure or hook, because I *always* keep what's not
on the line in the tackle box. If I'm at a fishing pier or rented
boat I look around good where ever I place my behind or fingers.
How I've always gotten snagged was when swinging the line to
myself to change lure or bait. You know, you retrieve until you have
your line out about a foot more than the length of your rod, and
lifting the rod vertical swings it to you. You grab the line a safe
distance above the hook end and lay the rod down or prop it,
depending on location. But sometimes the wind blows it out of
your hand, or you just misjudge and miss, or you grab it too high
and hard and the hook flips up and snags you somewhere.
This doesn't happen often if you're careful, and I just don't see a
suitable alternative. But maybe somebody has one.
Another thing is a fishing safety kit. Years ago I read of a method
used to extract a deeply embedded hook using a piece of fishing
line. It was hard for me get the concept, so I forgot it. I think it
was a Minnesota doctor who often handled hookings that devised it,
and it would back the hook out instead of pushing the barb through.
Anyway, it did less damage and was better than pushing through.
Those instructions would be in the safety kit, along with dedicated
side cutters.
Anyway, I'm just musing after reading of these incidents. I'm sure
hooking happens all the time, but much of it can be avoided.
If anybody has tips or experiences, I'd love to hear them.

--Vic