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SUN, HOOKS, GAFFS & FISH BITES
Fishermen face many hazards on the water including fish bites, sharp hooks, gaffs, skin cancer dehydration and more!
by Terry Lacoss

The excitement of a day of fishing almost always precedes the thoughts of the many dangers a day on the water can often harbor. And oftentimes many of us diehard fishermen seem to put these hazards on the back burners and concentrate only of the joys of angling.
An excellent example comes when many of us begin to learn about fishing at an early age and start to enjoy the good life of being out on the water as much as our schedule will allow. And many fishing seasons ago, many of us older fishermen were not aware of the sun's dangerous rays on both our skin and our eyes.
However we are suddenly brought aware of these hazards when a close friend passes away from skin cancer. Yes that warm sun can cause cancer and many of us have not used a drop of suntan protection for many, many fishing seasons. Particularly when we were young. As we grow older we begin to become aware of skin cancer and begin to apply suntan blocks on a more regular basis.
A complete block is recommended for arms, legs, hands and the face, which normally has a 30-SPF to 45-SPF rating. Zinc oxide is recommended to cover the nose, ears and just under the eyes. Certainly a good lip block will protect your lips from the sun and keep your lips from chapping as well.
Wearing protective clothing such as long sleeve shirts, long pants and a hat with a wide brim will also help protect your skin from the sun as well. A company called ÒSun PrecautionsÓ manufactures a wide variety of clothing for the outdoorsman, including gloves and a facemask. You can visit their web site at www.sunprecautions.com.

Fisherman with fair skin can protect their face, neck, and heads with special clothing by "Sun Precautions"

Special finger-less gloves protect the hands from the sun's harmful rays.

However just because you wear protective clothing doesn't mean that you shouldn't apply suntan products! You should apply suntan products at least twice a day and visit a dermatologist at least once a year.
Your eyes need to be protected from the ultraviolet (UV) rays of the sun as well. Again, most of us avoid wearing sunglasses when we are young because our eyes are young and strong! If you enjoy watching the PGA tour during the weekend, just look at the number of young players that aren't wearing sunglasses. However all of the older players are wearing sunglasses because the sun has aged their eyes and weakened them. And in many cases, fishermen only wear sunglasses to peer down under the surface of the water to see fish that we are trying to catch! As we grow older, our eyes become weaker and we are often forced to wear sunglasses on a more regular basis. Be sure that your sunglasses have UV protection!
Finally, I have rubbed suntan lotions all over my saltwater lures and fish still love them! So don't worry about spooking game fish by wearing suntan products.
The sun's heat can also effect fishermen too. During one particular hot fishing day the air temperature climbed close to that horrid 100-degree mark. We were anchored chumming for tarpon and the wind was dead calm, adding fire to the heat index.
Our boat's chum line stretched for some 75-yards out into the calm slick ocean and yielded only a few ocean sharks that readily filled their empty stomachs on the free meal. Suddenly a much larger fish began to show its large frame at the very end of the chum slick, which instantly stirred angling excitement amongst our fishing party of four.
The large tarpon, probably weighing upwards of 150-pounds, worked its way closer and closer to a threesome of barbed sea trout which were also floating on the surface with the aid of several small floats and air pumped into their bladder by a very large horse needle. Once the huge silver king honed in on the first large tarpon bait, it gulped in the delicacy of the ocean and continued its morning breakfast of floating chum.
The closest angler to the tarpon rod grabbed the fishing pole and set the hook firmly into the bony mouth of the silver king, ultimately sending the giant tarpon some six feet into the air with a gill rattling jump. The angler leaned back into the fifty-pound tarpon tackle for a solid hour. Sweat streamed down his face and body during the hot July morning causing signs of fatigue to replace a once happy angler's face. In fact the angler turned down offers of cold drinking water in hopes of landing his tarpon sooner.
Once the tarpon was landed and released the angler completely collapsed in our boat from heat exhaustion and we immediately gave him cold water to drink, while a wet towel was placed around his neck. A quick ride back to the marina found medics waiting for our heat exhaustion victim where they began administering first aid to the unlucky angler.
The angler was so exhausted that he could hardly move and was close to going into heat stroke. Luckily he soon recovered and since then, I have kept a close eye on my charter clients for signs of heat exhaustion, particularly during the heat of summer. Here it is a good idea to replace your body fluids frequently during the day by drinking small amounts of water. Too often fishermen wait too long to replace their body fluids and begin to drink large amounts of water or fluids. This can have an adverse effect, causing the over heated angler to become even sicker!
Keep your head and neck covered with a wide brim hat, or better yet with a hat that has a canopy. Try to stay in any shade the boat offers during your fishing day to stay as cool as possible as well. Placing a wet towel around your neck or even draping it over your head and neck will also help keep you cool during a hot fishing day.
Finally taking a salt tablet before your day of fishing will also help you reduce the dangers of heat exhaustion!
Hooks and gaffs also become hazards for deep-sea fishermen and can instantly ruin a good day of offshore fishing. I don't care how careful you are, sometime during your fishing career you are going to have someone on board your boat become impaled with a hook or gaff. Gaffs can become dangerous to fishermen when their razor sharp point is left unprotected. Obviously fishermen become very involved when a big bite of giant kingfish is happening and sometimes leave the gaff's point unprotected. Next thing that happens includes fishermen running down the side of the gunnel while chasing a hooked kingfish and becomes impaled by the gaff. Ouch!
You can protect the point of your gaff by slipping a large plastic tube over the gaff or using a large cork float.

Fisherman are often biten by gamefish when they come within striking distance of their sharp teeth!

Kingfish have razor sharp teeth which fishermen should keep their distance!

Ultimately if you are a serious fisherman, you are going to be snagged somewhere on your body by a fishing hook at one point or other during your fishing career. I have been barbed three times and feel lucky at that! Hooked fish often sling their head and hook the angler with hooks that are hanging from their mouth, or in many instances from hooks that are foul hooked along the side of their head or body.
First of all I would recommend trying to keep your distance from any head shaking fish once they are gaffed, or worse yet thrashing on the deck of your sport fishing boat. If you do become barbed by a hook, you can attach a length of dental floss, or heavy monofilament around the bend of the hook. While pushing down on bend of the hook towards the flesh, give the hook a good jerk and the hook will come right out of the same hole it went in! However if the hook is very large and deeply embedded, you may wish to see a doctor.
I once witnessed a fisherman barbed by a 10/0 saltwater hook, right through the back of his hand. The hook had to be cut with a pair of bolt cutters and surgically removed.
Finally fish bite fishermen as well as lures and baits! Some of the worse fish bites come when fish are landed and the angler comes with striking distance of the fish. Some of these bites can be ugly where the angler will need to have a tourniquet applied and first aid administered. First of all I would recommend keeping a safe distance from a hooked fish's mouth and having a well-supplied first aid kit on your boat. You may also consider taking a first aid course as well.
Enjoy the water and fishing, but at the same time protect you and your fishing party from some of these dangers of fishing that seemingly sneak up on fishermen!