We've all been there. You go to pick up a rod and realize your lure is stuck in one of the boat ropes, in your sweater left on the ground, or some other piece of clothing. These hooks don't usually come out that easy. All of the different strands or fibres in the material get caught on the barb and just a few can make it impossible to pull out. Trying to rip the hook out with blunt force will damage whatever it is stuck in as well as bend out the hook making it useless. From our experience on the water this situation has happened more than a few times and we have found ways to limit the damage and get the hooks out quickly. Check it out below!
The first thing to remember is that it is the barb keeping the hook stuck. The barb sticks out much further than the hole created on its way into the material and so it catches when you try to pull it back out.
With the above in mind the first action we do is push the hook shank towards the barb to give it as much space as possible before trying to pull it out. If this works on the first try great, but often a few fibres will catch.
In this case you want to push the hook back in 1/4" and repeat the process above. This movement can help get the stuck threads off the barb before you try to pull it out again. Repeating multiple times will start to slowly get threads off and make the hole a little
bigger each time so that the barb can pass back through more easily. Alternatively, if there is enough slack in the material you can slide it in the direction the hook point is facing and then back away from the shank to complete the same motion.
While writing this article we came across a good video example of this. Check it out at the link below.
Some damage will come to your clothes if this is where you are hooked but it will be minimal as long as you don't use blunt force to rip it out. This can save you time on the water and the need to replace hooks, rope, or clothing which saves you money!
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