Leupold BX-4 Rangefinding Binoculars

Past the barb - Lets see em

My buddy took his annoying girlfriend fly fishing with us once, she bitched the whole time.. Mid afternoon she was about 40 yards behind him puffin on a cig and he skewered her ear with a #2 hook salmon fly pattern. Right thru the ear.. lol.. watching him cut that bard off and pull it thru her ear screaming the whole time was the most enjoyable part of the trip.. legendary... story comes up every time we go out..
 
No pic, but years ago, I hooked a pike on a crankbait. I was in a canoe and as I got the fish up to the side of the boat, it jumped at me, landing in my lap, unhooked, but having buried one of the trebles into my thigh. I remember thinking, 'well, at least the fish came unhooked at the same time.' I quickly threw the fish in the water and assessed the hook. It was in way past the barb, so all I could do was keep pushing it through until it came out again. At that point, I tried to pinch down the barb with my leatherman. I mostly got it down, but it did catch a little on the way back out. I had to pull with the leatherman and the hook came out with a bit of flesh attached. I should have just clipped the hook...
 
I am unscathed physically but do count myself mentally scarred from a back country surgery/dehooking done on my dad. He hooked himself in his heal of his palm with a #12 royal coachman. We had been working our way up the stream out of teepee pole flats in the Bighorns when he called me over to him, asking for my assistance. He has already tried to push it through to crimp the barn down, but the skin was too thick, and then tried to back it out, but the barb and his hide were locked in place.

In the end it took surgery to get it out. He handed me his pocket knife (that now lives in my kill kit with great fondness) and told me to make one smooth movement over the hook point. I was a late teenager, so I really was tentative to do what was necessary to release the book. He repeated his instruction to me to make a sure one time cut and it would be over quickly. He lifted up on the hook stretching the tissue and his extremely sharp knife cut into the epidermis to the hook point and it popped out. He looked at me and said, “this is just another reason to keep your knife sharp”.

Years later if confronted with this situation again, I would use the technique added below. The king (KVD) himself showing you how it’s done. Please remember that the trick to this technique is the eye of the hook has to be pushed towards the skin to make this technique effective.

 
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Floating the Arkansas the day before my nephews wedding in Salida a couple years ago...most guys in the aft seat are going to catch a fly at some point, but this was unexpected for my (at the time) 8yo son...a little riverbank surgery and he was none the worse for wear though I caught some hell from wives and grandmothers (Yes, Dad was the one in the bow flinging the egg laying caddis)

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1977, fishing for winter steelhead, cold and clear water. Told the girlfriend I’d be back for her house dance, I’d be back by 1500 I promised. Throwing a big heavy spoon, saw a nice steelhead come to take it. I was just a little quick on the hook set. Damn thing came straight back hit me right in the mouth. One hook through the upper lip, two through the bottom, broken tooth as well.
Face swelled up really bad.
1/2 mile hike to my truck, 40 minutes into Corvallis. It’s 1400, might be late.
First pay phone in Alsea I call her. My mouth is pinned shut and swollen, I try to explain but she can’t understand, screaming at me for being drunk.
I roll into the E/R in Corvallis. Never seen so many nurses think I was so funny. Doctor comes in asked how the fishing was.
Trying to explain to the nurse my predicament, she calls Laurie. 15 minutes later Laurie gets there, dressed to the nines, I’m still wearing waders. Doctor comes in to see if the shots had numbed me enough to go to work. Doctor asked “now what time did this happen” about 1400 I mumbled. Laurie goes postal, if you had left in time to pick me up at three, this never would have happened. She storms out.
Doctor starts pushing the barbs through and cutting them off, asks if I want to go fishing in the morning, adding; we may as well cause you’re not going to be up late tonight.
Funny guy.
 
No pictures but last year while striper fishing I managed to hook two fingers on my right hand and two fingers on my left hand together to the same lure. My hands were stuck together and I could not move to get the lure out. Don’t ask me how this happened....

Luckily I had crushed the barbs prior to fishing, but they still had a slight barb. Very lucky to have someone with me to get my hands undone cause I was up shitzs creek.
 
I've been so lucky,knock on wood. 18 years guiding on a 20' pontoon boat taking many novice fishermen and only 1 hook through a finger. Had quite a few jigs bounced off me. I do discourage treble hooks.
 
Only once, but stuck my hand in the net to unhook a 20+ pound King Salmon ( early am in the dark) and forgot the trolling fly had a trailer hook. 4/0 siwash buried up to bend in my thumb.
Of course then two other rods went off.........
 
Floating the Arkansas the day before my nephews wedding in Salida a couple years ago...most guys in the aft seat are going to catch a fly at some point, but this was unexpected for my (at the time) 8yo son...a little riverbank surgery and he was none the worse for wear though I caught some hell from wives and grandmothers (Yes, Dad was the one in the bow flinging the egg laying caddis)

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I might have left that in and called it my new style...
 
No pictures but when I was younger I almost watched a kid’s eye get ripped out. Buddies little brother told his friend don’t walk behind he’s casting but the kid did anyways. Went to cast and got a hook through the eyelid! Scary to watch. Luckily that’s all it was and it missed his eyeball. I’ll never forget that...
 
Friend had a guest lab at the cabin. Lesson, don’t leave Minnow heads on your treblehooks on spoons during ice season if dogs are around. They will sniff out the minnows.
 

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When I put one in myself my buddies made me soak it in the cooler for 30 minutes until they got to a magic number of walleyes that they wanted to catch that day before they would help me.
 

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My dad thought he would help my brother get a rap out of a walleye last summer. He should have stayed out of it. 🤣
 

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No pics. Long ago my brother put one through my right ear. Clean through with steel leader hanging off my head. Clipped out at home later.
Another time while making a cast from a Califonia pier, caught a ladies poodle, in the neck. A good set. Got cussed. Cut the line and let a good hook go.
 
Leupold BX-4 Rangefinding Binoculars

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