Fishing hooks are sharp. So it’s best to be careful not to get impaled. The reason I’m talking about this is – that’s exactly what happened this weekend. My brother and his wife were fishing. When they were about to leave, my brother’s wife decided to make one final cast.
WHIP! CRACK! POP! CRUNCH! OUCH! After all the dust cleared, the fishing rod was laying on the ground in a few pieces and my brother was standing there with a spinner dangling from his schnoz. The whole hook point up to the bend was stuck in his nose. Good thing the barbs were bent down or he would’ve needed a minor surgery to remove the hook. I used some pliers and gave a little yank to get the hook out.
With all this still fresh in my mind, I decided to put together some rules to prevent getting stabbed by fishing hooks.
- Stay focused and don’t let yourself be distracted when setting the hook. This may be the easiest moment to cut yourself.
- Don’t stand in the cast zone. If there are lures flying, it’s best to stand back. Don’t follow this rule, and you might learn the hard way. Impalement!
- Watch your cast. While people shouldn’t stand in your cast zone, you should still watch your cast. Who needs the trouble of stabbing someone with your lure? No One!
- Don’t pull/jerk your rod too hard. you can pull your rod until the lure comes loose and hooks you in the nose. Yep, that could ruin a fishing trip. *Note: If you really need to pull out a snag or something, you should at least turn your face away.
- Don’t leave your fishing rod or line on the ground when handling attached fishing hooks. If someone trips over your rod/line, they can pull the hook deep into your finger or hand. I’m pretty sure that wouldn’t be too fun!
- When moving from one location to another with your fishing rod in hand, make sure to keep the hook on the hook keeper. It’s the little metal loop that’s meant to hold your hook when not fishing. This will prevent you from hooking anything (including humans) when moving. I know from experience. I got stabbed near the eye by a hook that was left hanging from the rod tip.
Anyway, I hope you ALL follow these rules, so you don’t have to learn the hard way. Like this guy here.
While you’re here, check out our guide to choosing the right size fishing hook.
