Sorry, but I had to choke it.

I know that most fisherman who have been fishing for any length of time have their story about being hooked by themselves, or someone else.


For me, it was a fish — a fresh and stong trout that hooked me clean through my thumb, and it almost ended much worse than it did.


It happened when I was alone, trolling for trout on a windy day. I hooked a nice trout near a Rocky point.
I put my motor in idle while playing the fish, and I got careless when untangling the fish and lure from the net, as the wild, shaking trout hooked me clean through my right thumb with one of the lure’s treble hooks.


The pain was instant as the violently flopping fish was twisting, shaking, and flinging fish blood all over my boat.


The fish would not stop shaking — it seemed to be spinning, and flopping around like some kind of out-of-control baton that was hooked to my thumb.


All this time my motor was shut off, and the wind had blowed me in dangerously close to the rocky point.
I couldn’t start my engine and get it in gear because of the pain, and trying to hold and subdue the berserk flopping fish.


I finally was able to grab it around the neck with my left hand while the hook was still through my right thumb, but this fish was muscular, and still very much out of control.


I was on my knees on the boat carpet, this fish had me handcuffed while still flopping around — I had a dead motor, and the wind was blowing me into the rocks.


What should I do now?
What would you do?


I did have both hands around his neck at this time — but I couldn’t use a knife, or a club. It wasn’t pleasant . .


but I had to choke it to death.


I got up with fish still hanging attached, and quickly, but awkwardly, left-handed started my motor, put it in gear and moved away just in time, when only about 10 feet from the rocks.


I fumbled for my dykes, cut off the protruding barb, and removed the lure and the now dead fish from my throbbing thumb.


Then I sat just there, quietly looking at the fish blood all over the carpet, steering wheel, console, and my clothes, and thinking WHAT the H—- was THAT??


Went into the marina, got a little first aid bandage, a cup of coffee, and continued trolling, hopefully a little more careful than before!

Wow!

Ouch! I can just imagine the pain and trying to figure out what to do. Good post. Thanks for sharing

Having the faculties to play through the pain and get the boat in gear to avoid any more trouble is a good thing. Lots of times one has to self rescue so to speak

Yowser! I'm wincing just reading that...

pretty funny when you look back at that stuff , not so much when it happens though
had a sockeye aka combat fish , stick a hook thru the fella's hand I just met on a group chase during the salmon runs in Alaska
he was trying to hold the wild thing down best he could as it lost it salmon mind on the bank and begging for help ....
not terribly funny then ,but it is now for sure .....
reflections of disasters are sometimes worth a grin or 2 down the road ya know

Agree! — the thought of choking out a fish as an answer, seems really laughable to me —but not to PETA though . . . who would probably say it was just a little “payback” time for fish everywhere! : )