Fishing related injuries anyone?

Well, after all the cortisone shots, hundreds of thousands of casts (and a 20 year wrestling career that certainly did not help), I have had the pleasure of tearing my biceps tendon (the long head for all you smart guys out there) the rest of the way off this week. According to the doctor, guys "my age" usually do not need surgery for this particular tear unless we need 100% of our strength back for work related duties.....still not sure if I will elect to have surgery until the MRI is completed.

The tear was not as bad as being referred to as "guys my age"........getting older is finally starting to sink into my "young-ish" thinking brain. LOL

I tore my labrum and bicep tendon early in 2011. Same as you, years of wrestling and fishing. The actual final straw was trying to bounce one of those stupid sky balls over the house. I had an MRI and Dr. Bradley-(Steeler doctor) was going to do the repair. I dragged my feet and tried to fish and hunt with it the rest of the year and wait for a winter surgery. I can still remember the day in October that I couldn't take the issues with it anymore and I couldn't sleep well due to the aches. When I did have the surgery and the doctor got in there to fix it, I did do additional damage those last few months continuing to use it. I had the surgery January 9th and was in a sling just shy of 9 weeks and had therapy for 6 months. I was cleared for light fishing the second week of June. That was a long time to be out of commission and really depressing not being able to drive and get out those first couple weeks. I have not had one issue with my arm and don't regret it at all. Definitely not a fun experience, but well worth it now.

I haven't had any torn muscles or anything. I'm primarily a troller these days.

Besides quite a few hooks in fingers and hands that I've always removed myself...

One year, after a week at St Clair, I spent two days in the hospital on IV with a staph infection. I handled every fish in our boat for the week with bare hands. I don't do that anymore.

Another time at St Clair I had a muskie gator roll as I was pulling it out of the net with my bare hands. I couldn't get my hand out in time and the fish ended up snapping my ring finger on my right hand clean in half. The top 2/3 of my finger was literally hanging there by skin. I did what any hardcore musky guy would do. I taped it to another finger and fished two more days. The best part was my next fish was a 52"er on a slider so I had to hand line it in. Then I went home, had surgery with two pins put in my finger on Friday and left after the anesthesia wore off to go back to St Clair.

Adam,

I think a "man point" is warranted for you since you sucked it up and returned post-surgery to complete your trip! Plus, you got me thinking about finger injuries so here goes..........

I was night fishing for walleye about 15 years ago while wading with another teacher buddy of mine.....decided to hand land a nice walleye and long story short, he flopped and pulled to 2 trebles into 2 side by side fingers. If I pulled on 1 set of hooks, it only buried the other set deeper and vice versa so I was stuck (literally). Buddy drove me to hospital with a firetiger rapala hanging off my fingers and blood dripping down the sides of it. Doctor numbed them and removed them. The shot was much worse than the hooks were!

5 years after that, I was attempting to hand land a mid-40's musky and she zigged when I zagged then presto, trebles into middle finger with fish hanging from hand flopping in boat floor. With each flop, the treble tore more meat along my finger until the rip was the full length of my finger and I could actually feel/hear my median nerve snap. Long story short, 37 stitches from hand specialist and severed nerve that has actually grown back with about 75 percent feeling along the lateral side of finger. That one hurt more than any of the others did including biceps tendon.

Last one and also the dumbest one of all........

Trolling on Tionesta 7 or so years ago and got pulled into a snag. I decided to put on leather glove and wrap the 100# braid around my hand while goosing the trolling motor hoping to break the branch. Just as the line was tightening, a huge wind picked up and the braid tightened so quickly that I could not unwrap it fast enough before I began to be pulled overboard. As I screamed like a little girl thinking that my fingers were being severed at the second knuckle (which they were), the line finally broke. I took the glove off and the line had dug into my skin and completely cut a circle into my balled-up fingers. Needless to say, Charlie and the Horseshoe man were quite entertained.

The morale to the story is........always wrap the braid around the nearest cleat about 10 times before trying to pull lure free. :)

Red, Sorry to hear of your injury. I partially tore the non-dominant Bicep Tendon years ago ratcheting a cargo strap, holding down an Excavator to a Low-Boy trailer. Eight weeks of very intense physical therapy and was back to action. Age does creep up fast. The hardest part for me was realizing the fact I not in my twenties anymore, slowly I'm starting to realize I can't do physically what I used to. I will get the girls to do the grunt work I guess :-))) Get well quick Red !!

My injury did not occur while fishing, however did keep my boat in the garage for a whole year. The drive back knowing I injured myself for real was horrible and I probably should of sought medical attention then. Being far from home at the time kind of swayed my decision. Being off the water for a whole year was worse though. Now I pace myself casting, kind of like a pitcher with a pitch count, Muskie fishing with large baits less casts, Bass fishing with smaller baits I go more, this concept has kept me from having to get Cortico steroid injections in my dominant elbow due to Tendonitis also.

Had a pike jump out of the water as I was landing it only to end up with the spinner treble in my hand. Thank goodness for barbless hooks and cold weather. Took a string from my son's hoodie and made a bandage and kept fishing.

Much more painful was the pike dangling from a stick bait while the treble stuck into my knuckle. Not sure how that did not end with a broken knuckle.

I carry a nice first aid kit in my boat but not while wading. Seems like bad things always happen when bandages and such are miles away. I hate picking up toothy critters and use the longest pliers I could find.



We must all be crazy.

Thanks, Bob. This just goes with the territory, I guess.

I hope this thing heals up to near 90% like the doctor projected because he recommend to not have surgery on this particular tendon rupture. For the amount of rehab time and finicky surgery area associated with this procedure, he felt it did not warrant surgery. It is very common for doctors NOT to operate on this exact injury. My new nickname will be 'popeye' from now on.

Red, I hope you recover 100 % !! My Orthopedic Doc swayed against surgery also, he said it seldon really works out. I'm going to try pacing myself, casting and probaly troll alot more. Speedy recovery for you Sir !!