Fishing in the Central Valley: Don’t be complacent or you could get hooked

If you have been around fishing for any length of time, you either know someone who’s gotten hooked or it’s happened to you. That’s why I’ve been so careful when unhooking thousands of fish over the last 12 years of working as a guide but sometimes your luck just runs out.

Two weeks ago I guided three experienced anglers and we were having a good day. One of the guys caught a nice fish that he lifted over the rear of the boat as it thrashed around near the outboard motor.

Just when it was going to flip right back into the water, he suddenly stretched out over my rear bunk seat to try to reach out and lip the struggling fish on the rear deck.

We had been putting a few extra loose lures, ones that we had tried and cut off earlier, down on the back seat bunk. So, when he stretched out over it, he inadvertently slid his leg over the top of one of the loose lures. In the next instant, the rear treble hook had a new home just above the knee of his right inner thigh.

He proudly held up the fish, which I quickly unhooked and released, with the lure still dangling there from his leg.

His good buddy immediately told him how to get it out, and before I could respond - his friend tried yanking it out.

“Ouch!” is the PC translation of his response.

We then looked things over and decided that pushing the hook back through the skin and cutting off the barb was the right way to handle this situation.

He was up for it.

The treble hook was an Owner ST 36 size 4- which is a renowned sharp tough hook. But a very sharp hook point will be easier to push through the skin but no matter how sharp, the skin is strong and dense.

We cut the hook off the lure, then cut the two treble hook tines, while leaving the hook shaft intact so we could use it to hold the needle nose pliers, and push the point back through.

I had to use another set of pliers to push down on the skin, while he pushed up and out, until the hook point peaked through.

We slowly worked the point through the skin until the barb finally popped out.

I cut off the barb, pulled the hook shaft out and my guy was ready to get back to fishing.

The next week I’m out with three other anglers, fishing in the same area as the week before.

One reels in an 18-inch striper with all three treble hooks embedded in the fish’s face.

The fish flails as I try to unhook it, twists violently and I lose my grip on it. The thrashing fish falls, ricochets off my back bunk, bounces toward me and the hook plants a few inches above my knee in my right inner thigh. The lure’s rear hook is still connected to an angry thrashing striper and is burrowing deeper and deeper into my leg.

One of the other anglers helps subdue the fish and we carefully unhook it and release it, while trying not to pull against the embedded tine.

It is deja vu all over again.

Cut the hook off the lure, cut the two remaining tines, get the pliers and push through.

After it was done, we kept fishing and caught a bunch more fish.

Afterward, it occurred to me that both situations occurred in the same area, at about the same time of day, with the same type of hook.

It was the first time during my 12 years as a guide that I had someone get hooked.

I hope it is the last time, too.

Don’t be complacent. Don’t get hooked. And never give up!

Roger George: rogergeorge8@protonmail.com, Rogergeorgeguideservice on Facebook and @StriperWars.