Removing a hook buried past the barb in your hand comes down to either pushing it through and backing it out, or cutting the hook below the barb with cutters actually built for the job. It happened to me for the first time, and I had a hundred and thirty comments telling me to just cut the hook. I could not, because cheap pliers will not cut a hardened, chemically sharpened hook. In this audio episode I explain exactly what to do and what gear to carry. Press play above.
Listen now: press play in the player above and follow along.
There are two reliable ways. If the hook went in cleanly, you can bend the barb down and push the hook back out the way it came, which is what I had to do. The other way, especially with a treble hook, is to push the point through far enough to get below the barb, cut the hook below the barb with proper cutters, and slide the remaining piece right out. The key is having cutters that can actually cut a hardened hook.
Because fishing hooks are hardened and chemically sharpened, which makes them very hard. Cheap hardware-store needle-nose pliers simply will not cut them. On the day this happened to me, we had exactly that kind of plier, and no matter how hard I pushed, it would not cut the hook. You need pliers that are designed and built to cut hooks and wire, not just any pliers.
I carry the Danco Lunar hook and wire cutters, and I bought three or four pairs so there is one in every fishing bag in all my boats. Where ordinary pliers will not even dent a hardened hook, the Danco Lunar cutters go right through it. They are designed for cutting hooks and wire, so when you get below the barb and cut, the hook slides out effortlessly.
It depends on how the hook is sitting. On the day I filmed, I was lucky and the hook went all the way through my hand, so I could bend the barb down and back it out. Sometimes you are not that lucky and the only way out is to cut it, especially with a treble hook where the other points are in the way. Either way, you have to be able to get below the barb.
Yes. Cutting a hardened hook is exactly the kind of thing where a piece can fly, so put your sunglasses on or a pair of safety glasses before you cut. It is a simple step that protects your eyes, and I mention it in the episode because it is easy to forget when you are focused on getting the hook out.
A treble hook is the situation where cutting often becomes the only option, because the other points get in the way of backing it out. Push the embedded point through enough to expose below the barb, use real hook cutters like the Danco Lunar to cut below the barb, and the rest slides out. That is why I keep a pair of proper cutters in every bag.
Sometimes this happens, and luckily it was the first time it ever happened to me, but I know it happens to people all the time. I have had customers and other guides get hooks in their hands. When I looked at the comments on the original clip, there were a hundred and thirty of them, and almost every one said, why don't you just cut the hook. I could not, and the reason is the whole point of this episode. I explain it in full, so press play in the player above.
It is hard to even get most pliers close enough to your thumb to cut a hook below the barb. And if you do, cheap hardware-store needle-nose pliers, like what we had that day, simply will not cut it. These are hardened, chemically sharpened hooks, very hard, and that type of plier is not made for them. I push and push in the episode and it will not cut, so press play to hear how it went.
From now on, every one of my fishing bags has a pair of Danco Lunar hook and wire cutters in it. I bought three or four pairs so they are in all the different boats. Where the other pliers would not cut, these go right through the hook, because that is what they are designed and built for. Get below the barb, cut, and the hook slides right back out. I cover it all in the episode.
The day I filmed this I was lucky, the hook went all the way through my hand, so I could bend the barb down and back it out. Sometimes you are not that lucky and cutting is the only way, especially with a treble hook.
So carry a pair of pliers that are actually made for cutting hooks and wire, and put on your safety glasses before you cut. And, of course, do your best not to get a hook in your hand in the first place. Press play above for the full breakdown.
How 2 Tuesday is my weekly series where I break down one fishing skill at a time, from knots and casting to gear, tactics, and the habits that make you a better angler. Watch and listen to every How 2 Tuesday episode from Tom Rowland.
hook removal · treble hook · barb · Danco Lunar cutters · Danco · hook and wire cutters · safety glasses · How 2 Tuesday · Saltwater Experience
I'm Tom Rowland, a professional fishing guide based in the Florida Keys, host of the Tom Rowland Podcast, and the longtime host of the Saltwater Experience television show. On the podcast's How 2 Tuesday series I break down one practical skill or lesson at a time, from knots and technique to gear and the habits that make you a better angler, in short, focused episodes you can put to use right away.
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