Surf Safety ??

[Crafty Angler]

My primary hook removing tool is my Boga grip and a set of 8" needlenose pliers - I want to be as far away as I can from a double set of VMC's stuck in a thrashing fish and have a degree of control over the fish that you can't have lipping it.

And no, I don't recommend lipping bloofish...

I had a bluefish thrashing in the bottom of a boat and put a set of trebles into my calf (I was wearing shorts) - bluefish are far and away the worst offenders that I've seen. I caught a small blue the other nite, maybe a coupla pounds and I just let it do a drum solo on the rocks until it calmed down enough to Boga - the small ones are definitely the most dangerous in terms of hooking yourself.

THe FEB thing is something I've neglected to pay enough attention to lately - after seeing mikecc's report on the poor guy from the Cape, I'm going to carry a bottle of peroxide in the Jeep as a matter of course, along with a kit.

Anybody try the new Shimano wire cutters yet? Saw them at Wallyworld the other day, looked like they would handle a VMC - I want something I can carry with me since I usually have a bit of a walk back to the Jeep if I need to dislodge a hook with a swinging fish on the other end -

Always be prepared, I guess....

[PurpelNoon]

I use 8" needlenose Manley pliers i bought a few years ago. I dont see this type anymore but for the $17 I paid for them, they are excellent and strong.

[piemma]

I fish all the time where John R got stuck the other night. If you are way out on the bar it can take awhile to get back in as it's rock, rubble (kinda like walking on slimy bowling balls).
More than once I have sacrificed a plug that I couldn't remove from a Bluefish. Plugs are cheap compared to a torn tendon, a damaged nerve or even worse bleeding to death before you get to help.
I fish alone much of the time, in the wee hours and if I get hooked 100 yards from shore out on the bar I could be in dire straights. Better to just cut the leader and let the b%$#d have the plug.

[SeaWolf]

to fish in the surf or on a boat and not have a pair of manley-type cutting pliers is plain stupid. i've had to cut many hooks out of friends and peoples hands/fingers because i was the only one that could do it. i've cut 4/0 6x vmc's to 9/0 umbrella hooks to just name a few. i can cut braid or mono w/ the same ones and when they get a little dull i can file them for another season or so or just buy new ones for, ohh, $30. maybe occasionally they are a pain to try and get a hook out of a well hooked fish, but i can always cut the hook out. i've cut hooks out of fish because i cared more for the fish than my jig or plug. i can make more jigs or put new hooks on. and, if i cannot get the hook out, maybe i'll just take out my needlenose pliers i also carry.

that brings up another issue, how many people are smart enough to carry electrician's tape when they go fishing? i cannot think of how many uses where it can come in handy.

[Flaptail]

Needle nose pliers and a surf hand gaff. Lip gaff the critters then remove hook ( barbs are always crushed) and release. Tow weeks ago today I left my pliers in the truck and whilst fishing in the canal was bit by a samll bluefish that ate my jig. Last August I put a 2/0 through the palm of my hand as I was lifting a bass to unhook it. Had to push the barb through the pad by my thumb. ( skin is tougher than you think) that really bit the big one then I had to drive the boat to shore to locate some side cutters to get the 3x hook cut ( I had, in the fury of the fight, neglected to somehow crush the barbs on that particular plug cause it was new) anyway, I got two little scars on my hand from that. First time I had hooked myself in twenty years.