Worst Fishing Injury Ever?

[OhioOutdoorsman]

Well, I've only had accidental hookings.

Working in a hospital, I see some crazy crap.

I have seen one guy who got drunk on a fishing charter, stood on a bench, fell over and had an encounter with the boats propeller. He had to have his scalp sewed back together and a finger sewn back on.

I also knew a guy who was bit in the hand by a catfish he was unhooking, developed an strep infection (the "flesh-eating" bacteria) and had to have his arm amputated. He spent several days on the ventalator in the ICU.

 

[troutbert]

Uggghhhh!!!! Anybody want to buy my fishing gear? I think I'll take up playing poker or shooting pool as a hobby instead.

This is all pretty naueseating but I guess it's good to know the hazards, and be careful.

When I was about 12 I ran a big bass hook into the base of my thumb, right up to the bend. It was on a Sunday, but our old-fashioned family doctor, who had his office in the downstairs of his house, agreed to fix it. (Would this be possible anywhere in PA today?) He novocained it, pushed it through and clipped it off with a pliers. You guys who are pulling barbed hooks out without novoicaine, I don't even want to think about it. I noticed seveal other accounts of hooks in the heel of the hand. Must be a vulnerable spot.

I was with my nephew fishing on a pond with a Snoopy rod and worms. He was making a cast and must have done a tailng loop or something and ran the hook very neatly through his earlobe. It didn't hurt much, or else he was just very cool about it, because I just rounded up a pair of side-cutting pliers and snipped off the hook.

Here's a precautionary tale from a canoe trip. When building a campfire, DO NOT TAKE ROCKS OUT OF THE WATER AND PUT THEM IN THE FIRE.

Why? Because they can explode like a bomb. Apparently the moisture is inside the rock and turns to steam and cannot escape quickly so the pressure builds up and BOOM!, it explodes.

We made this mistake and I caught a chunk of rock right between the eyebrows that cut right down to the skull. Another, larger chunk of rock knocked down my tent. I was a bloody mess and ended up in the Renovo hospital. There was another kid in the hosipital at the same time, for the same reason. River rocks in the campfire, one exploded and he got hit in the eyeball with a grain of sand. Scratched his eye, no permanent damage, but this is very dangerous. Don't put water-soaked rocks in the fire.

 

[jayL]

troutbert wrote:
Uggghhhh!!!! Anybody want to buy my fishing gear? I think I'll take up playing poker or shooting pool as a hobby instead.

I played cards for a living my first few years of college, and I shoot pool 4 times a week.

Fishing > both of them combined, blood and pain aside.... trust me.
;-)

 

[dryflyguy]

My worst accident happened last june while fishing cool spring creek by mercer.
I went to step down into the rock pool in the delayed harvest area, not realizing how muddy the bank was from the previous days rain. Both my feet went out from under me, and I landed hard on my right shoulder. It stung pretty good, but finally the pain subsided somewhat by the end of the day. But that shoulder bothered me the rest of the summer - especially reaching high or backwards for something. And my casting was pretty much limited to wrist action.
I finally went to an orthopedist in sept - he took an X-ray, and said nothing was broken, and that I had tendonitis. He gave me a cortisone injection and had me start physical therapy.
This just seemed to make things worse.
I went back to the doctor again in november, and he had me get an MRI, which, again showed nothing wrong. He then told me that I had a frozen shoulder, and we needed to try more agressive physical therapy. All this only seemed to make things worse again, and I ended up having shoulder surgery in Jan. - a manipulation to break the frozen shoulder loose. After he did this, he scoped around inside my shoulder, and found a rotator cuff tear, which he repaired.
I was in some real pain after the surgery, and had to take Percodans for a few months, while continuing with more painful physical therapy 3X week. I couldn't even tie flies for a couple months,let along cast a rod.
I finally got out fishing in early march, and tried to use my little 2 weight - hurt pretty good after only and hour or so.
I was finally able to start casting somewhat decently in mid april, although the shoulder would get pretty sore after a good days fishing. I was just out fishing 3 days last week, and was able to cast pretty well, although I still pay for it at the end of the day.
It's now been almost a year since that accident, and I'm starting to really wonder if I'm ever going to fully recover. The doctor did tell me during my last visit in march, that I'll probably never get my full motion back in that shoulder

 

[Fredrick]

Dryflyguy that must of hurt pretty bad but why didn't you try casting with the other arm until it got better ?

 

[dryflyguy]

Frederick:

Yes, I did consider that option - in fact, I tried casting left handed - it was very awkward.
After 25 years of flyfishing right handed, that would be a very big adjustment. I think it would be very similar to trying to switch writing hands

 

[albatross]

DryFly and Fred,

Do you know the scene from the movie The Princess Bride where the spanyard (who is losing a sword fight) grins at his opponent, tosses his sword from his left to his right hand, and confidently announces "I'm not left handed". I thought of that last night when I read the initial injury report, and I decided I had to post when I read Fred's comment.

Dryfly, I'm glad things are improving for you and I hope that continues.

 

[Fredrick]

Yeah, I remember that movie its a classic well at least I think so. Dryflyguy ,I am also glad that things are going good for you. I don't know what I do if I couldn't fish to help give me some peace.. :lol:

 

[Wulff-Man]

Slipping on muddy banks can be very hazardous, to state the obvious after Dryflyguy's post. It's something everybody needs to watch out for. One of the times I slipped I fell hard on my back and hit my head hard enough to be stunned for a minute, and broke my net. It's one of the reasons I got studded wading boots.

 

[jayL]

I'd second the studded wading boots.

I dislocated my knee pretty bad a few years ago, and I'm terrified of having it happen again while at the stream. It hurt so bad that I passed out, so I don't know if I'd be able to make it back to the car. You DO NOT want it to happen to you at the stream.