A Fishing Accident

There was only one time I was injured bad enough to go to the hospital while fishing. I was considerably younger and fishing a river from shore. I used to enjoy throwing a night crawler out on the bottom and see what I could catch. I have caught Large and Small Mouth Bass, Rainbow Trout, Great Northern Pike, Bluegill, Suckers, Chubs, Catfish and Carp with that method. It was something I enjoyed doing at that time. You never knew what was going to bite on the night crawlers.


Today I don't even like to fish from shore except at a private pond. I guess I enjoy boat fishing too much. I was fishing at the confluence of the Little and Big Neshannock Creeks. It was a special place for me to fish. I fished there during my childhood and as I got older. I made a lot of different catches out of the hole that the confluence of the rivers created. The Big Neshannock Creek made a turn at the same time the Little Neshannock Creek joined it at the bend.

You parked your car far away from the hole and walked down some railroad tracks, crossed a railroad trestle bridge and then walked to the river. The railroad bridge was an open bridge and you could see the river below as you crossed the bridge. That added some excitement to the fishing trip. I never saw a train on the tracks but they were used.

On this particular day I was fishing with my friend Neal. We were both grown and had children which were friends. We had gone out early in the morning and were catching some Rainbow Trout. I caught a nice Trout but it had swallowed the hook. I didn't have any pliers to take the hook out (I always have and always use them now on my boat). I grabbed the Trout by the lower jaw and was pulling on the line to force the hook out of the Trout. Bad Idea!!! All of a sudden the hook came loose from the fish and buried into my thumb. The hook buried all the way and was curled around my left thumb. This is one of those time you say to yourself, Dumb - Dumb - Dumb. Yes, it was a dumb move. I was the one on the end of the line. I guess it was my largest catch ever. I certainly didn't have to reel myself in since I was already on shore. I wasn't happy with this catch. I looked at the mess I had made of that day of fishing and told Neal that we were off to the Hospital. There was no way I was going to try to get it out of my thumb myself. I cut the line from the pole, gathered the fishing gear and headed for the car.


Now for the big problem. I have to go into the hospital and explain how I had gotten a hook in my thumb. The Doctor was able to cut the hook out of my thumb without laughing. They must train those doctors how to keep their composure.


Now to pre-answer some question:

1.Yes, it hurts to get hooked.

2.They numbed the thumb before removing the hook to reduce the pain.

3. No, I never got hooked again.

4. No, I don't feel sorry for the fish when I hook them.

I hope this answers your questions.