The Lake Erie Brest Bay Return Has Begun

A great day on the water Dan! Once the captain found the fish it was a slamfest!!!

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Ouch

 

Nice work Dan !

 

Ouch ! I hate when that happens ! ( only once this year so far)

Nice cooler of fish !

 

After getting a hook in my finger years back, I try to never grab a walleye out of the net without putting on my kevlar glove. Especially if we are using cranks with trebles. It is just too easy for them to flop at just the wrong moment and bam, you are hooked. When it happened to me, one hook was in my hand and the other was attached to a flopping 7+ lb walleye. That was not fun. I eventually numbed up my finger with ice and was able to pull it out. It was early in the day and we were 20+ miles from the launch, so I was not going back yet.

Nice job on the fish and thanks for the report!

 

I told Dan after it happened that I bought a glove but have never put it on....after watching him deal with it I will be using it from now on!!!

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Those hooks are so damn sharp. I’m bleeding every trip out. But what a fishery we have.

 

I had the same exact thing happen on a reef runner with those VMC hooks. we had 2 walleye in the net at the same time. But I could not get the hook out. So I drove to the urgent care by my house in Dearborn at the time.

BIG mistake lol The kid doctor had never seen this before, had to look it up in a book. My index finger still has some nerve damage to remind me of that one

Should have went to Wyandotte Hosp. Years ago they had a picture frame on the wall with all the hooks they had pulled out of anglers. Dont know if its still there or not.

 

guys you have to use fish lip grabbers to get the fish out of the net never your hand...berkley has one for 20 bucks

 

I've got a pair of long-nose needlenose pliers that came with my (used) boat. They are the best for removing hooks from Walleyes, and avoiding the fins, gill plates, spines, and hooks. They fit perfectly in the piece of pvc tubing that is screwed to the side of my console, where they were when I got the boat.

Like this, but older, shabbier, and somewhat rusty. I squirt em with some oil every spring, and they are fine.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Crescent-13-in-X2-Long-Reach-Pliers-PSX200C/204064450

I never try to take hooks out of a Walleye's mouth with just my hands. Why would I?

 

Man we just clobber them in the head before even getting near. They still bleed out fine

 

Dan, I am sure this is rhetorical to most guys on this website, but since I was a biology teacher for 35 years I can’t help being the teacher. A plastic surgeon fisherman friend of mine taught me this 40 years ago. Take a loop of heavy mono or braid I like 40#mono because the braid is abrasive unless you have 200# power from switching off the wire on your downriggers. Make a loop so it is a little bigger than your whole hand. Put the loop on the back of your wrist and loop the other end in the bend of the hook. Hold the shank of the hook parallel to your finger or have your buddy do it if your squeamish and pull back against the hook with a jerk of your wrist. The hook will pop out the same way it went in and you don’t need to cut it off your crank bait. Works every time. The key is you or someone holding the shank of the hook parallel to your finger. I am sure everybody knows this already, but always the teacher.