The "Scariest" thread got me to thinking about how I, and I'm sure many others, consider angling a pretty safe sport to partake in as far as injuries are concerned.
You don't break a leg as in downhill skiing, you don't break an ankle as in parachuting, you don't get severe road rash as in mountain biking, etc.
Anyway, I've experienced some significant wounds over the years while persuing a few fish.
Worst one was at Lake Chautauqua back in the 80's. I was at that time a retail manager of a two branch paint and wallcovering company. I had to be there until 5PM every day and would drive the 120 miles each way after work to Lake Chautauqua, fish until about 11PM, head home, clean crappies until 3AM, then be at work at 7:30AM and do it all over again the next day. (Wish I was that young and durable again these days!!)
Anyway, the spring and fall crappie runs were of warm days and cool nights.
One time, I pulled on a pair of military fatigues over my "Drive to Chautauqua" short pants with a loose Quickfish in my side pouch pocket.
I assume that you can all guess that one of its trebles deeply pierced my upper thigh. I cut the fabric around it and removed the fatigues. There sat a single barb of the treble completely buried in my flesh.
Resolution? (And after driving 120 miles to fish and with no other option besides going to a hospital). Force the barb back up through my leg meat in order to cut off the barb containing portion of the hook.
When I yanked the fatigues on, it was so fast that, and although it hurt like He**, that I could not react from the pain. It got sunk!
BUT, to force the hook back up through and out of my leg meat, was an indescribable agony
.
It took me about 5 minutes to get through this
operation!!
Anyway, I got it pushed through, cut it off, and then fished!
Another one, not experienced by myself, but by a good fishing friend:
Back in the late 1970's it was legal in NY State to snag salmon. We used what was called "Michigan Cricket's"; a 4/0 treble hook with 2 ounces of lead molded around and behind it.
Well, my friend Steve had a snag and jerked it free, only for it to foul up in the shrubs on the steep bank of the Lower Niagara River that was behind us. (This was at the same spot that we fished last year before the Wilson Gun Raffle, for those that were present).
Well, he managed to yank it free of the shrubs right into the back of his head! Only one barb was stuck, but this very thick hook and barb were buried. He was as white as Casper the Ghost from the agony, and I really thought that he was gonna drop.
Anyway, it was a 45 minute walk out that turned into a 3 hour trek to get out of the Niagara Gorge with him holding the Cricket in place and from moving as this would cause excruciating agony if it were allowed to move.
When we got to the hospital for extraction, and with his agreement and that of the hospital staff, I was allowed to go in with him into the Emergencey Room in order to observe the extraction.
The doc said for him to release his immobilizing grip on the hook. Within 3 seconds, this doc grabbed the thing with some pliers and ABRUBTLY YANKED IT OUT!! No Novocaine, no warning, no nothing!! His scalp stretched out about an inch and it sounded like a rubber band breaking when the Cricket pulled free!
He screamed like a Banshee and I nearly needed a barf bag!!
A few stitches and a tetanus shot later, we were ready to attack the kings on the next day..................
I still do, as does he, have to laugh about this unfortunate day from our youth...... (30 years ago)
S