So I hope this has never happened to anyone reading this but I hooked myself in the leg yesterday while attempting to set the hook on a fatty smallmouth. My lure had just hit the surface and the bass exploded out of the water and swollowed my crawdad crankbait then dove back down. I let him hang on to it for about one second before I set the hook. Unfortnately that fish had my number and spit the sucker out sending it catapalting at me. This has happened countless times during my fishing career but somehow the hook stabbed through my shorts and into my right thigh past the barb. Didn't even feel it.

I looked down to try to remove the lure off my shorts and realized, to my dismay, that I just hooked a 150 pounder. SHOOT. A little panicked, I summoned some courage to rip the thing out but that only caused excruciating pain. This is no small hook and if this thing is coming out, that barb is going to rip a lot of skin and I'd probably need stitches. After about 10 minutes I decide to head to the hospital. They got to me pretty quick but none of the nurses or doctors could resist making a fishing joke. "Would you laugh if I said, 'fish on," quipped the first nurse.

Anyway, this thing is deep as hell so they numb up my leg before cutting my shorts to reveal a lot of dried up blood and a lure protruding from my leg. When the time comes to pull this hook out two doctors come into my room and one is holding a text book. SERIOUSLY?! One of the doctors holds the textbook up in front of the other. I look at the page and it has illustrations instructions for removing a barbed hook. Wow. The doctor performing the "procedure" looked about my age (24) so I didn't have a lot of confidence in this. Five minutes later, and lot of tugging and an odd warm feeling in my thigh they pull the lure out of my leg, THANK GOD.

The next day I go out to the same spot at Gene Coulon Park and hook into this fatty smallmouth. A lot worse would have to happen to me in order for me to stop fishing for a while. A little nervous, I must admit, but what are the odds of having another freak accident. The last time I saw someone get hooked was my dad in the cheek when I was 8 years old but at least the barb didn't sink in there. I figure it could have been a lot worse for me. For instance, I could have hooked myself about a foot higher and a little to the left, if you know what I mean.