Sup guys!!!
Just wanted to say thank you to everyone who posted on the relationship thread I started.

Guys, I am very well aware of the risks and hazards involved in surfcasting. I frequently get banged up when I'm wet suiting around boulders in bigger surf. Thankfully (knock on wood) that's been the extent of my injuries with only one doctors visit required (crushed my "fat pad of Hoffa" within my knee after coming down on it full force when stepping off a rock into some moving water).
I am curious of the worst injuries you guys have experienced or witnessed.

What happened?
Were you hospitalized?
Fractures?
Sprains/Strains?
Unconscious?
When animals attack? Close calls?
Drowning witnessed? Almost drowned?

Would love to hear your stories!

GG

ever get your leg pinned 40 yards out between two boulders on a rising tide....with partner.....stuck for what felt like an hour but after looking at watch it was only 4 minutes until I relaxed enough and found an exit for my leg....thought I was gone..

no extensive injuries...basic bumps and bruises

but that was scary

I got stalked by what I thought was a coyote one night. When I turned around and charged it using my rod like a lance it turned out to be a very bewildered cow.

I was fishing during one of our hurricanes a few years back when this rogue wave almost did me in ... I had a few seconds to grab the fence at the light house before there was white water up to my chin with my Korkers being pulled towards the North Atlantic.
I've had a few plugs stuck to my waders at a high rate of speed ... rogue waved off a few rocks ...overall not to bad:)

I got stalked by what I thought was a coyote one night. When I turned around and charged it using my rod like a lance it turned out to be a very bewildered cow.
you certainly are an Ingenious Gentleman:)

I got stalked by what I thought was a coyote one night. When I turned around and charged it using my rod like a lance it turned out to be a very bewildered cow.

Spot burn.......COW......C-O-W.....E-I-E-I-O!:rotf2:

I wrote an article that was published in The Fisherman mag. It's title was "Falling off the Block". It was published in the Oct 12, 2012 edition. Do a search and read how I almost "lost it all" at the North Rip.

someone must have some great Orient Point stories... I have seen guys wading way out with the tide rippin'

I get my pride injured a lot.

My back has been preventing me from Surfcasting :smash:

My back has been preventing me from Surfcasting :smash:

that sounds familiar- it was the spring for me. get well soon. you still have that beautiful seacraft?

Impailed by some hooks. One sent me to the hospital. I bruised my tail bone doing a flip off of Cuttyhunk too. Oh yeah, I almost drowned in the head taking the ferry over on that trip as well.

I have fallen a few times very lucky to escape serious, need treatment injuries, except for whatever is rolling next to my right kneecap, no pain involved, so no m.d. involved. Buried a vmc treble deep into palm of left hand. The ten pound fish that was attached to the other treble hook, by the way do you guys know how much stretch there is in the fat part of your hand at the base of your thumb its amazing how much give there is in that area. Taking that hook out by pushing it all the way through, crimping the hook, and backing it out took some mettle out of me. Gun shy since that morning
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

My worst injuries are long term. Nagging rotator cuff in the left shoulder elbow problems etc. sore back. Some work related as well. Closest call I have had to a really bad injury was walking back across a very long breakwater and stepping directly between two rocks. And beating the hell out of my shin I thought for sure when I went down I was going to have a broken leg or something. Just wound up with waders full of blood and a ruined pair of pants.
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

Bumps bruises, fish hooks nothing too bad. I did get smoked last year at a light house when a rogue smashed me up against the wall. I did not see that one coming. I got rolled hard that night, packed it in.

Last year on Block i got stalked by a deer. It was a real nice buck that was on the bluff in the fragmites. <sp>. I was in the surf it was pretty quiet and about 30 yards behind me i heard something on the bluff. I waked towards it to figure out what the hell it was, a big buck comes out of the brush with a bushel of weeds in its rack. Then it proceeds to walk down the bank onto the beach, no big deal. Then it starts pacing me, grunting on occasion. I got nervous and started yelling at the damn thing, i picked up a piece of drift wood in case it charged. It went on for 5-10 minutes till it climbed the cliff and went on its way.

My worst injuries are long term. Nagging rotator cuff in the left shoulder elbow problems etc. sore back. Some work related as well. Closest call I have had to a really bad injury was walking back across a very long breakwater and stepping directly between two rocks. And beating the hell out of my shin I thought for sure when I went down I was going to have a broken leg or something. Just wound up with waders full of blood and a ruined pair of pants.
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

I didnt hear anything so I kept going till I got back to the car and turned around and went "hey, where the hell is mark?" and saw ur head lamp 500 yrds away LOL

Well few years ago I was out on a nice rock right before a bad storm was coming in on a rising tide in rhodie, After 15 mins I thought I was badass standing out there, lookin around at the surf, and a wave came in that blasted me off that rock like a dead leaf. Luckily I went straight backwards and only cut up my hand and knee, somehow held onto my rod. packed it in right there that was a short trip. I did not, repeat, not feel like a badass on the way back to the car ha!

And I've taken numerous short diggers into the rocks at the canal, I can't be sure which one it was but over the this past fall into winter after working out for a few weeks I almost couldnt walk on my left knee so I got it checked out and had a fracture in my left tibia... stupid ditch

I wanna hear new jack chime in on this, I helped him out with hook in the thumb few weeks ago thatll be a good post!

Lost two friends to drowning while casting in the past two years.
Wrote something for The Fisheman mag about the topic which will be published soon.

Just falls and accompanying cuts/bruises for me over the years, a few dorsal fin puntures(treat them quick!), a tweaked back. In the past two seasons I've dealt with tennis/casting elbow, torn knee cartlidge, and recently... an infected toe. I used to bounce back quick from injuries - now as I've aged it is a much longer healing process that puts me out of commission for too long.

DZ

I used to bounce back quick from injuries - now as I've aged it is a much longer healing process that puts me out of commission for too long.

DZ

Ditto Dennis, ditto

Broken toe whilst running through the woods barefoot with a pail of ill gotten herring many years ago. Karma plain and simple.
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

Broken toe whilst running through the woods barefoot with a pail of ill gotten herring many years ago. Karma plain and simple.
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

That's great.

Thankfully nothing too serious.

Bumps, bruises and small cuts are pretty much a weekly/nightly occurrence.

I’ve been impaled by hooks a few times one was pretty bad through my index finger while still attached to a fish but with some help I was able to cut the hook and free myself. That was the only incident that required a trip to the ER for a tetanus shot.

I typically have some kind of elbow and shoulder pain that develops towards the end of the season but so far it's gone away for spring.

I'm not too old (40) but I definitely feel the long nights and the beatings from the surf/rocks a lot more than I did 10 years ago. It's imperssive that guys in their 50s and 60s are still fishing as hard as they do. I hope I'm still fit and healthy enough to be doing this in another 20 years.

I should've been hurt on many occasions, but luckily nothing too serious. 2 years ago I was out on a rock in a NE wind with a building surf. I knew I should've got off, but I was doing well and tried to sneak in a few more casts. Saw a big wave approaching and I was screwed. Couldn't get off the rock or I would've been pinned. Tried to take it as best I could. Struck me hard in the chest and luckily dropped me to one knee on the same rock I was standing on. Was sure I re-tore my ACL. MY knee was completely numb and tingling. Once I knew it wasn't torn I still continued fishing. Again, should've got right off. Went back to my truck in pain but still wanted to fish another spot on the drop, but when I tried to take off my waders I couldn't because my knee was the size of a softball. Had a hematoma (sp). When the blood finally left my knee, my whole leg was black and blue from it dispersing. Didn't fish again that Fall....

A few impaled hooks here and there, first one last year buried it up to my knuckle, pushed it through crushed the barb and yanked it out. This year buried a 4/0 up to the curve in my right tricep but I was "smart" and crushed the barbs after last years fiasco. This July I tore some calf muscles while fishing and missed a few weeks but overall nothing major (yet).

Was going to open my mouth but just about everything said has happened to me. All except the mad cow thingie

by the way do you guys know how much stretch there is in the fat part of your hand at the base of your thumb its amazing how much give there is in that area.
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device


I WAS SITTING ON AN EMBANKMENT TAKING A BREAK NEXT TO MY BRAND NEW POPPER WHEN I SAW A TOP WATER EXPLOSION 10 FEET FROM ME. AS I ATTEMPTED TO JUMP UP PUT MY HAND DOWN TO BALANCE MYSELF AND I SANK A NICE SHARP TREBLE AS FAR AS POSSIBLE (RITE TO THE WELD)
SAT BACK DOWN, DRANK A CPL OF BEERS, DOING THE CHEVY CHASE "THIS IS CRAZY-THIS IS CRAZY" THING TRYING TO BUILD UP THE COURAGE TO REMOVE.

HAD TO HAVE A "FRIEND" STEP ON MY HAND AND PULL OUT THE HOOK! I SWEAR IT LOOKED LIKE A CARTOON. HAD NO IDEA THAT THE HAND WILL STRETCH FARTHER THAN A MEDICAL GLOVE BEFORE GIVING.

NOT SURF FISHING BUT RUMOR HAS IT I BANGED MY SKULL OFF OF EVERY THING I WENT NEAR IN VT ICE FISHING OVER THE WINTER TOO.

diarrhea in a wetsuit 300 yards off shore..no need more pain than that
torn rotator cuff
torn elbow tendon
bruised ribs
broken finger

Just my ego, for me

witnessed many hooks in hands and other body parts.

I saw the one Johnny spoke of with new jack, not pretty and tough to do anything about. He is a trooper

I was there when Mikey tried to drown himself in the ferry toilet:rotf2:

Many turned ankles and bruises from falling in the rocks but I guess the only real injury was a broken finger down the canal. Finger went wrong way around a conventional reel spool.

NOT SURF FISHING BUT RUMOR HAS IT I BANGED MY SKULL OFF OF EVERY THING I WENT NEAR IN VT ICE FISHING OVER THE WINTER TOO.

That isn't a rumor. You put a nice dent in the ice with your head.

I've been pretty lucky with injuries. With the guys I fish with, being molested is usually my biggest concern.
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

One night while wet suiting alone, I fell off the rock wall about 7-9 feet head first and though I broke my leg. Laid in the rocks for 30 mins trying to figure out how I was going to have to walk 2 miles to the nearest house. Ended up with a mild torn ACL
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

It didn't hurt me any, but I almost got another guy. While commuting one foggy dark night to Tuckernuck some years back my crappy Loran acquired on the wrong peak putting me 1.5 miles off where I expected to be. Going fairly slow while looking for the bell buoy that wasn't there I ran my seacraft onto a sandbar and damn near hit a seriously pissed fly fisherman standing thigh deep off eel point. Missed him by about a dozen feet. If looks could kill I'd've been a goner. Neither of us said anything, I jumped out, pushed my self off, rebooted the loran, and went on my way.

Off the east end of the canal my father in law and I were into breaking fish. He got excited and a sluggo got impaled in the bridge of my nose. I waited a couple of minutes, pulled the sluggo out myself and realized it could have been in my eye. I always were glasses and safety glasses at night now.

While pulling his redfin through bubble weed A buddy caught himself in the face not only was it caught in his glasses but he had one hook thru his eyedlid and lodge behind the bone of his eyesocket... Needless to say the island doctor wasnt impressed i believe his comment was jesus christ....
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

Watched a guy drop kick a porgy. Spines went thru his boot and foot then broke off leaving the spines stick out thru the boot... Er doc cut the boot off.
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

Dented a couple of ribs once on a jetty in NY. Other than that, couple of hooks in the hand (one required an ER visit) and line cuts.

Last fall in the middle of the night at the canal I fell backwards when a rock shifted. I was laying head first just above the incoming tide. Couldn't feel anything from my chest down. All I could think of was F I'm gonna drown and some clown is going to steal my bike and no one will know what happened. After a minute or so I got the feelings back crawled up to my bike and went home.
The sand is so much nicer to me.
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

I got a spine in my foot a couple years back. I had to get it surgically removed. Full blown under the gas surgery! I have the spine for my next rod build.
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

Had a buddy slip and wedge himself upside down in the rocks at weekapaug BW for over an hour. One of the poor westerly Firemen fell while carrying him on the stretcher and broke his leg trying to get him off the BW.

I was fishing during one of our hurricanes a few years back when this rogue wave almost did me in ... I had a few seconds to grab the fence at the light house before there was white water up to my chin with my Korkers being pulled towards the North Atlantic.
I've had a few plugs stuck to my waders at a high rate of speed ... rogue waved off a few rocks ...overall not to bad:)


Well you got lucky twice then. Because I remember a wave knocking you down, filling your waders and dragging your ass in when I grabbed you at the lighthouse. I held on with all I could until a couple other guys came to help after another receding wave. From the look in your eyes you were scared $hitliss. Your wife's digital camera got wet and wouldn't shut off. I bet the beating you took when you got home probably hurt too.
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

Fractured my thumb (and worse broke a rod) in a canal fall a few years ago. Last year either too much casting or almost falling out of my tree while climbing into a treestand resulted in a torn rotator cuff. Probably a combo of both.

Lots of fishing injuries, we all get them, esp in near 50 years of fishing...a few that I recall are:

treble hook in eye while standing waist deep at 2:00am on sw point BI in a 30mph NW. (Actually went thru both eye lids and only scratched my eyeball but there was a lot of blood and I was worried. I had to remove the hook while standing on those slippery bocci balls because I thought I would fall and rip out my eye.

fell off rock, rolled ankle and it became lodged in a bolder cluster at squibby. Extreme pain, I thought I broke my leg, waves pounded me for 5 mins until I could dislodge it and hobble back home. I stopped surf fishing for that season after that night. Took me 6 months to heal and my ankle is still not right.

Got washed off of the north rip late while fishing alone was able to swim back, tide was rippin. Did not hurt myself but I was worried. Whoever said you can't swim in waders didn't see me that night, I could have given Mark Spitz a run for his money. Lost rod and reel. Walked back to truck, shook it off, changed, had a coffee and picked up backup rod and landed 47#er. I knew they were there ....

too many hooks in hands to remember and sore shoulders, elbow and backaches.

Treble Hook in finger and also in lively bass while alone in boat... nightmare situation. (in the end, just lost the nail)

The most pain I ever had was when my son handed me a 10# of green crab (tog bait) in a bucket...I turned a funny way with the bucket and my L2 disk exploded...I was in the hospital for 5 days and screwed up for 6 months. The swelling on my back was about the size of your fist. 'Roids and pain killers were my friends that week.

Lots of fishing injuries, we all get them, esp in near 50 years of fishing...a few that I recall are:

treble hook in eye while standing waist deep at 2:00am on sw point BI in a 30mph NW. (Actually went thru both eye lids and only scratched my eyeball but there was a lot of blood and I was worried. I had to remove the hook while standing on those slippery bocci balls because I thought I would fall and rip out my eye.


Got washed off of the north rip late while fishing alone was able to swim back, tide was rippin. Did not hurt myself but I was worried. Whoever said you can't swim in waders didn't see me that night, I could have given Mark Spitz a run for his money. Lost rod and reel. Walked back to truck, shook it off, changed, had a coffee and picked up backup rod and landed 47#er. I knew they were there ....

I'm not fishing with you on the porkchop ;)

Need I say more about an extra inch or two.

Still recovering from 2 back to back surgeries for a nasty spill in Newport last year which tore my rotator cuff, labrum, and my bicep tendon. Korker spike caught on rock and went head first down into some rocks. Lucky I didn't get knocked out, as the surf was huge on an incoming tide. Haven't fished in a year, hoping for a strong recovery. Good luck to everyone for a great Fall Run.

Was walking back to house on Cutty with a bass and fell- my shin slammed on to a pointy rock. I did not break anything but for 6 months if anything touched that bone bruise spot it hurt like hell. Other than that and a broken finger and hooks- been lucky.

Was walking back to house on Cutty with a bass and fell- my shin slammed on to a pointy rock. I did not break anything but for 6 months if anything touched that bone bruise spot it hurt like hell. Other than that and a broken finger and hooks- been lucky.

Rob, I'm surprised you didn't mention your human luge experience...didn't you get a little banged up that night?

GG

Just my ego, for me

LOL Slip, pride goeth before the fall. :D

Last fall I asked my friend Jon to join me, surf was big and we found fish in the shore break. Mixed bag of bass and blues, Jon had a five or six lb. blue on that flopped and went inbetween some rocks, as he went for the blue, fish flopped again catching his palm and a piece of rope in the same rocks. A few minutes pass and finally he says "do you have anything to cut hooks?" I look over and he is taking the waves bent over with his back to the surf. I take out the manley's and the eff'n cutter snaps on the hook! Luckily the vibration dislodged the hook from rope and hook from fish so he was left only with some hand jewelery. We were able to remove the hook and use superglue to get him back in the game. The bluefish made it back as well.

This one is just dumb; I fell asleep on the couch after degreasing/greasing a reel, woke up to phone ringing but rolled myself off the couch... to catch myself I put my right hand down directly on a die-cast model airplane tail which went through the index and middle finger part of my hand. It didn't hurt, just lots of blood. Later that day, the same airplane made its first flight.

I've been lucky but mostly cautious.

Ask Tattoo Bob about falling off a cliff on BI, that has to take the cake.

As for me, in the surf, a rock rolled and pitched me forward on the canal, took a chinner on a barnacle encrusted rock - at the moment of impact, I had a vision of my skeleton like an X-Ray, it was creepy. Got up and started fishing ... then realized I was bleeding, so stuffed the collar of my shirt into it the cut, but had to stop when my hands were becoming too bloody and I had to continue to wipe my hands off just to fish (couldn't grip the handle of my reel). I turned around and looked up to the path where TDF, Tagger and a group were standing and asked them if there was a noticeable cut - they all reared back in disgust ... wound up heading home and went to the doctor and he was pissed that I waited so long - wound up with about 8 stiches in the chin ... but was a bit dizzy for a few days.

A few times jumping down to spots to fish, that I couldn't climb too caused some interesting scenarios - one time I jumped 8-feet down to a goose nest (didn't realize it was there) and had to fend off two angry geese attacking me - another time jumped down to a spot on a dark, dark night and all of sudden I realize a giant wave was about to crash on me ... started running, but the wave picked me up and smashed me into the wall ... it happened so fast I didn't have much time to think so there was not time to be scared or nervous, although i crawled up the wall and fished from higher up for the remainder of the night.

Once while down in Boca Raton for a wedding, I snuck out in the morning to go fish from a local jetty ... the rocks were just hardened cement bags, but had barnacles on them the size of golf balls ... I slipped on the slime on a rock, and slid across the next two rocks with barnacles ... my legs, my side up to my armpit and arm were all scraped up like crazy, bleeding like crazy ... so I stopped at a pharmacy picked up some gauze, cleaned them out ... took a shower, put on the gauze, donned a tuxedo and went to my friend's wedding, but it was tough to lift my arm ... the shirt got a little bloody but the rental place did not give me a hard time.

As for other fishing related injuries (aside from hooks etc.) the worst was probably on July 3, 2011, at 4:00 a.m. when I slipped on the dock in my father's neighborhood - sat there over an hour waiting for help to come - wound up with nine pins and a plate holding my lower left leg together, and couldn't put pressure on my leg for four to six months - that kind of stunk.

But I have also been extremely fortunate as there were many episodes of falling, washing off rocks in the night, and boats flipping over through the years that I know someone was watching over me to keep me safe ... so I try not to take anything for granted.

Was fishing the rocks in Narragansett with waders and Korkers. Left and swung by a rocky spot in Warwick. A school of blues had the peanuts trapped... I grabbed my fly rod and scrambled up the rocks except.... I forgot I took off the Korkers. I remember tossing my fly rod to safety on my way down and thinking this ain't gonna be pretty. No hospital but many, many cuts and bruises and pain.

Me connected to a 19lb fish by the quad. Barb in. I was stuck for 10 minutes on a rock about 50 yards from shore with the tide coming up on Cutty. There was no one around as my friend just left me there because he couldn't reach the fish I did. The fish was ornery as it was hooked in the eye. I was screaming every time it shook. It felt like I was getting attacked by a big dog. I couldn't get the damn fish off either. I knew I wasn't going anywhere for awhile so pulled out the camera. After about 10 minutes I released the fish and started working on my leg. Tried to push it through but it was too tough and too painful. I couldn't get the leverage to push it through. Yet another good reason to keep your hooks sharp . Having nothing to cut the hook with ( I tried with my Brownings) I just tried to rip the f**ker out. That didn't work but I think in doing so I bored out the hole and it miraculously just backed right out. I was lucky. I swam back after this leaving a bite of good fish.

GG

The worst was a large hook 6/0 through my hand, but not quite 'through'. The bad part was having to continue the path so I could get the barb out to cut it off, all while a 5 lb bluefish was flopping around on the other hook connected to the Gibbs needle fish lure. I was by myself, so it was a little hectic until I could get the blue off. Amazingly, it hurt less pushing the hook through than tangling with the bluefish.

On a side note, your skin is tougher than you think.

All healed, no lasting damage.

The second worst was almost slicing off the tip of my right ring finger while cleaning a fish. Luckily the nail stopped the blade from completing it. I should have gotten stitches, but I did not want to drive for 40 minutes down to Hyannis to the CC Hospital, and the local clinic, AIM, was closed. So, I just clamped it back on and tied it up. It seems fine when you look at it, but I still can't feel the tip.

Well, I've been confiding this story to very few people but since I love everyone here....

About 2 years ago I was blessed with the opportunity of having Emgred teach me how to fish the inlet where I live (I never fished one before and at the time I didn't wear my wader belt and never heard of Korkers until he told me about them). Learned very important lessons from him but I was dumb enough to still not wear a belt or Korkers until this happened....

1 week later, it is my mother's birthday and she wanted Striper for birthday dinner (granted I was extremely new to this type of fishing, so no guarantee but I gave it a shot). Still did not have Korkers nor did I have the belt on. Hook up with a solid 12 pound bass (35 inches), carefully went down the rocks and went to sit down so I could just grab the fish to evaluate and climb up unharmed.

As I went to sit, my boot went on some green algae I couldn't see and in I went with the fish. My waders filled up and it filled like a parachute was pulling me under with my rod in one hand and the fish in the other. Swam back to the rocks with both hands full, climbed out by only my wrists and toes, my toe slipped and my knee immediately slammed down on a rock, got up top and immediately tried to take my waders off, they were vacuum tight. Ringed out my 2 sweatshirts which weighed easily 10 pounds each, took my bag, the keeper sized fish with a bluefish I caught earlier and walked about 3/4 mile back to the car where I collapsed up against it due to the adrenaline rush.

I had no other set of clothes (because I had no plans of swimming). I looked around and had to strip naked and pile everything in the trunk on a mat and drive home wet and naked at 1-1:30am (the drive is about 40 minutes). If that weren't enough, I had to drive past a club with cops all over along with people peeking in the car and I had to hunch over making it look like I was without a shirt. I get to the highway and I see cop lights in my rear view mirror. Mind you I was doing the speed limit and there was no way I was letting myself get pulled over. This cop would have had to ram me off the road because I had both fish in a big black plastic bag which looked like body parts at a glance in the back seat. What felt like forever, the lights began to fall off to the distance. Someone was tail gating me so close that I couldn't see them!

Finally back home, I knew the lashing I'll get since my parents' worst fear happened and if I had my own vehicle at the time nobody would have ever found out (lost my car to a deer a few years before that). Since it was my mom's car, the stink of the inlet filled it.

Damage report:

Cut up wrists
Badly bruised knee (right under the cap no less)
Separated nails on fingers and toes
Verbal lashing from a lot of hypocrites the next day (mainly lashed about going alone at night)
A much gentler lashing from Emgred
Shock for a few days then realized how lucky I was that I didn't knock my head on a rock and go under.
Furthered my opinion of not liking inlets past the massive fishing pressure that occurs there.
Copious, never ending amounts of embarrassment

Side note - I have never heard from Emgred again, very nice man, miss him. Hope he is doing ok.

I've fallen between rocks and one time I slipped on some rocks and a fella about a hundred yds away yelled, " you ok? I felt that over here" ! lol, On that one I lied there for a moment and felt if all was well. Thank God I was. Oh and the usual hook in the hand thing.