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Barbless Still Is Best ?


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I am fortunate so far, no major puncture wounds.

 

My sister's friend's son managed to take a hook right through the hand about a month ago. It was barbed and they had to to the classic push it all the way through, snip the hook or pinch the barb and pull it back through. My sister said the poor little guy was in quite a bit of a pain. Can only think a quick exit with a barbless hook would have helped.

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There's a fantastic, not-too-difficult and 100 percent effective way to remove flies, barbed or barbless, without any pain.

 

Truly. I was taught the technique by a physician, watched it being performed on my wife, and the same season was given the, um, opportunity to try it out. It worked beautifully, even with me in charge, and I'm a clumsy guy with fumbly fingers.

 

I'm not advocating people fish with barbs, but I have had barbed hooks lodged in my (face) cheek right beside my ear, in my fingers and in my quads, without any help nearby (i.e., not able to use the technique mentioned above), and was able to remove them myself quickly. The pain was intense but lasted only about a second. It was the fear of the coming pain that lasted for minutes -- but that's all psychological/emotional.

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There's a fantastic, not-too-difficult and 100 percent effective way to remove flies, barbed or barbless, without any pain.

 

Truly. I was taught the technique by a physician, watched it being performed on my wife, and the same season was given the, um, opportunity to try it out. It worked beautifully, even with me in charge, and I'm a clumsy guy with fumbly fingers.

 

I'm not advocating people fish with barbs, but I have had barbed hooks lodged in my (face) cheek right beside my ear, in my fingers and in my quads, without any help nearby (i.e., not able to use the technique mentioned above), and was able to remove them myself quickly. The pain was intense but lasted only about a second. It was the fear of the coming pain that lasted for minutes -- but that's all psychological/emotional.

....So what is this technique?

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It seems I get impaled taking kids fishing. Got it in the bicep w a treble hook barbed and left it to a doctor at urgent care(not so urgent) after the days fishing. Otherwise got it on a double fly set up with a nice trout flailing away on the other fly. Ouch but thank god for barbless

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Hi everyone: Sorry about the delay, yesterday I spent close to 20 minutes writing up the best description I could, and then the dog ate my homework (there was an interruption in Interweb service and my text disappeared).

 

So thanks, Shiny Physician, for posting that description, pictures are indeed worth 1,000 words.

 

The technique I learned is a bit different:

--make a loop of string, not a length, using about four feet or 120 cm of string

--loop one end around the bend in the hook, holding the other end in your dominant (throwing, writing) hand

--do not depress or otherwise manipulate the hook. Instead, crucially, align the hook so the shank lies parallel to the skin (as will be the hook tip, lying beneath the skin)

--use your non-throwing/writing hand to hold the hook in that parallel position

--using your dominant hand, gently bring the loop to tension, i.e., don't "pull", but simply remove the slack to get a feel for where your extraction hand will be

--tell the victim to get ready

--the extraction move: still holding the loop of string, move your dominant hand smoothly but quickly all the way to the hook and just as quickly move it back out in a fast in-and-out movement that includes "follow-through", i.e., don't slow down, keep moving your hand past where it was when the string was tense

--very likely, you won't even feel any resistance as the hook will fly out of the wound and off into the bushes or against the nearest wall

 

Both times when my wife had a hook taken out this way, she thought the string had broken and the hook was still in place because she didn't feel a thing. Basically, the extractor's rapid arm movement builds up so much momentum that it becomes the equivalent of pulling on the hook as hard as you can with pliers, only the force applied is instantaneous, too fast to feel any pain or for the flesh/skin to be distorted/pulled outwards.

 

A couple of cautions:

--use twine/string, not thick cord, rope or anything elastic. Fishing line or stout tippet will work in a pinch

--if you're going to do it, then do it -- don't get squeamish or bail at the last second

--make sure the victim doesn't squirm or shift -- doing so could bring the hook or string out of alignment

--personally, I wouldn't try this if the hook is embedded in or near the eye, or in bone or cartilage

--key is creating a single straight line running from the eye of the hook, along the shank, parallel to the skin, and then outward along the tensioned loop of string to your extraction hand -- and then making the extraction move along that alignment.

 

Let me know if any of this is unclear.

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If the fly I choose to fish with has a barb on it stays on. After reading about all the folks who have five thumbs on each hand who never cease hooking themselves I say crimp those barbs and more importantly keep your tetanus shots current. Try some sort of co ordination excercises too, maybe get your parents to throw a ball real slow and try to catch it.

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If the fly I choose to fish with has a barb on it stays on. After reading about all the folks who have five thumbs on each hand who never cease hooking themselves I say crimp those barbs and more importantly keep your tetanus shots current. Try some sort of co ordination excercises too, maybe get your parents to throw a ball real slow and try to catch it.

 

Is your Mom throwing to us again tonight? What time should I come over? I'll bring the grape pop

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