The Curse of Rev. Tickle

Since I had spent the last weekend in the mountains, it had been a while since I have last gotten on the water.  With a favorable evening forecast and no class, Russ and I decided to get out on the water.  We saw a lot of activity, and even found a few friends on the water prior to us getting out with fair success. The plan was for a quick trip, really to just recon the conditions for trips in the next few weeks.  The first few hours were fairly slow until Russ and I were in the same spot and we had a fish bust right between us.  I grabbed my topwater rod and that is when it happened.  The drag on the reel was fairly loose to protect it when off the water, so my bait ended up grabbing the flag on my VisiPole.  I was in a hurry, and wanted to get a bait in the water, and this is when it happened.  That all to familiar pinch of the hook point digging into the skin.  I looked down at my hand and saw that the barb was buried  so there was only one real option for me.  I push and push until I see the hook point poking back through my skin.  This wasn't a real problem until I tried to push the barb back out.  After what felt like way to long, I got it through and then proceeded to pinch the barb and back it out.  The hook didn't want to back out, so it was off to the cars to cut the hook and back the rest of the shank out.  In all, I was lucky that it did not hit a nerve.

A good looking bait!

A few lessons learned:

1. I should really pinch my barbs (even though I probably wont)
2. I should get rid of the trebles and switch to J's or Circles (a bit more likely)
3. Have a pair of cutters and a first aid kit on the water
4. Dont post the pic on Facebook unless you are willing to monitor the comments

Once Rev. Tickle left, I ended up catching a few decent fish.  Coincidence, I think not!

If you fish with the Reverend, just be prepared for a lot of laughs, and possibly some pain.