Worst Surfcasting Injuries

[tysdad115]

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).

[OLD GOAT]

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

[Saltheart]

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.

[eelskimmer]

Need I say more about an extra inch or two.

[joebaggs99]

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

[numbskull]

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.

[bucko]

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.

[SBASS1]

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

[SBASS1]

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

[Mike P]

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.

[MAKAI]

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

[WESTPORTMAFIA]

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

[SBASS1]

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.

[Matt D]

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.

[Mr. Sandman]

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.

[DZ]

Originally Posted by Mr. Sandman

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

[massbassman]

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.

[wader-dad]

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.

[Grampa Greg]

Originally Posted by wader-dad

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

[Linesider82]

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.

[Finaddict]

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.

[Moron_Saxatilis]

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.

[Grampa Greg]

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

[StriperZ]

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.

[Zeal]

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.

[jimmy z]

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.