Kayak fishing... windy day... 100 yards from shore. Caught a drum. Trying to unhook fish... hook myself. VMC treble hook buried barb deep in my thumb. Bloody hand. Wind blows me into a thick wall of overhanging brush. Rented kayak has a hole... taking on water. Use pliers to remove treble hook. Paddle away from brush. Return kayak immediately. Walk to dam. Catch a 19 inch smallmouth from the bank. Forgot about sore thumb.

Sounds like a heck of a day there!

 

Clean that wound well! 

Did you get your money back for the kayak? That stinks getting hooked in the thumb, have to be careful removing hooks yourself in places full of nerves like that.

5 hours ago, Bluebasser86 said:

Did you get your money back for the kayak? That stinks getting hooked in the thumb, have to be careful removing hooks yourself in places full of nerves like that.

Yes, I got my money back. I was shocked at how difficult it was to remove that hook. I remember thinking that I wished I had barbless hooks. I haven’t unhooked treble-hooked fish without forceps since then. Thankfully, my thumb healed nicely. I still use hooks with barbs, but man those poor fish. The smallmouth was the largest I’d ever caught.