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| I was hoping you guys could help me out. I’m asking for some input on injuries while fishing out of your boat. A doctor and myself are looking at putting together a marketable First-Aid kit just for fishermen.
From experience in my boat, the common injuries are cuts to the hands and sometimes uncontrollable bleeding, sunburns, also an occasional hook in the hand or head.
Could you guys let me know of any other injuries you have encountered? Has anybody seen or experienced bee stings, twisted ankle or wrist, pulled muscle, or any other injuries?
Thanks,
Todd
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Posts: 2024
| By all means, stick a vile of novacaine and 1000 lb test superline in that first aid kit you're thinking of making!!! Fella not too recently was sipping his soda when he swallowed a bee and was stung by it as it went down his throat. He had a bad allergic reaction to it but came out all right. Sunburn is frequent and comes with the territory. I've been close to slipping a couple times at ramps and have seen my partners almost take a plunge or roll their ankle as they step too far back and into the motor well. Haven't had too much else happen (knock on wood). |
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Posts: 20248
Location: oswego, il | Here is an odd one. A few springs ago we hooked a dock and went to get the lure. I unhooked the bait and as my partner hit the trolling motor I went to push away with my foot because the back of the boat was swinging into the dock. Just as I did that my partner hit light speed on the trolling motor. My foot missed the dock and I was going in. I was well over the side and flung myself backwards as hard as I could. Water temps were in the 40's. My foot went under the dock and I landed on my back in the boat levering my leg which to my surprise did not break. I messed up my ankle and my leg. The side of my foot turned black and I had a big knot on the side of my leg where it leveraged against the side of the boat. I also landed on 3 lures which hooked me to the boat carpet and i could not get up. Had it not been cold, I would not have had insulated pants on and I would have had trebles imbedded in me butte! Hope this helps. |
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Posts: 466
Location: Pittsburgh, PA | this is a pretty rare injury. about 8 years ago i was in western quebec fishing walleyes and pike. i was casting a jointed rapala. hooked into a small pike and i was just horsing him to the boat. all of the sudden the bait came out and it flew right at my face. good thing i had sunglasses on, one of the trebles got hooked in my nose. not just on my nose, but somehow one of the barbs got up into my nose and hooked me inside my nose. i was with my dad and he couldnt get it out. the barb was into my skin. we drove 2 1/2 to 3 hours to a hospital to get it removed. as soon as i walked into the door to the emergengy room with a treble hook looking like some type of freaky nose ring, a french nurse greeted me and just started cracking up. she said she had seen people come in with hooks in them but nothing like that. lolllllllllll well the doctor had to numb my nose and push the hook through the front to remove it. it wasnt a really painful experience, but quite an embarrassing one lol |
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Posts: 1335
Location: Chicago, Beverly | Best thing for the bee stings is Benadryl allergy medicine{in pill form}(whether you are allergic too them or not), plus it also works for mosquito bites and spider bites...Benadryl also makes some topical stuff(lotions and cremes) that you can put directly on the bite.. Knipex bolt cutters for cutting hooks..but then that should be in your tool bag.. Nexcare bandages by 3 m(they seem to last better then other brands over the course of fishing.).. Neosporin. |
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Posts: 3908
| About two years ago......
Two days ago I was fishing on my favorite remote musky waters in my 14' tiller drive boat. I was on a 300 acre flooded strip mine with a ton of standing timber, when I found myself in deep trouble.
I was using needlenose pliers to boatside release a lightly hooked 36-38" ski when the fish thrashed wildly and I suddenly found myself also hooked, badly, on the rear of a Poes Jackpot. One hook was buried to the shank over the lowest knuckle of my trigger finger. The hook tip was protruding almost 2" from where the hook entered the back of my hand. The fish started up again, and once the fish stopped thrashing, I finished unhooking the fish (somehow I never dropped the pliers!) and leaned back to take stock of my situation.
There was one other guy on the water, about 300 yards from me, and I thought maybe I should get help. I started the motor and began threading my way through the standing timber toward the other fisherman. At one point I put the motor in neutral and tried to pull the hook out, but it was too painful and the hook wouldn't budge. So I resumed my slow troll toward the other guy, again, threading my way through the trees. I suddenly began sweating, became light headed and I thought to myslef, "Jeeze, am I going to pass out?"
I woke up when I ran right smack into a tree trunk. I can recall the BOOM! sound very clearly. When I came to I was hanging over the right side of the boat, my head was in the water and I was dragging my right arm and hooked hand in the water. I think I was sliding over the side of the boat at the moment I hit the tree, but I can't recall for sure. The boat's impact may have thrown me forward and into the water, too. I didn't inhale any water but my head was all wet. I noticed I had traveled about 50 yards since I passed out, I was much closer to the other guy. I went a surprisingly long distance before I hit something, though I may have bounced off some trees before I woke up.
Passing out was the most dangerours part, by far, of my experience. Had I fallen in the water, had the lure hooked onto a passing tree trunk, had the lure hooked into my leg in the water, etc., I would have been in real bad trouble. Maybe/probably drowned. I should have put my life jacket on ASAP after releasing the fish.
I got close enough to call out to the other fisherman and he came over to help me. The first thing he did was cut the split ring so I was no longer dangling the entire lure from my hand. Looking back, I was too shocky to realize I needed to cut the hook away from the lure - I had been dangling the lure right along, even pull started the motor and shifted gears with that hand! Stowed away the trolling motor, too. Anyway, my new friend, Mike, followed me to the little landing and helped me load up the boat. I did the 30 minute drive to the hospital where it was decided that I was one of the worst hooked people they had ever encountered. They tried a lot of tools that were on hand, then gave up and sent an orderly to open up the maintence shed for the 2' bolt cutters. The ER doc had no trouble cutting the 3X hook with those. They gave me a ton of antibiotics and when I arrived home I ate a double dose of pain meds I had on hand. Called in sick the next day, hand swollen and throbbing. Today it's feeling much better, swelling is down and looks like I suffered no damage to nerves or tendons.
I had the presence of mind to take my 35mm camera into the hospital with me so there's a visual record of that part of the deal. My wife says she got a great shot of the doctor using the big bolt cutters to finally cut the hook. I'll post some pics in a few days.
A pretty close call, wouldn't you say? Today I'm buying new LONG-ASS needlenose pliers and some really good bolt cutters. Maybe some welding gloves, too. I'm going back to netting all my bigger fish and removing the hooks while the fish is in the laying in the net on the bottom of the boat. Screw the boatside release technique I've been trying to master. (Sorry, Jason, I tried.)
You folks who hold up big muskies with the lures still in the fish's mouth should take heed of my experience. Can you imagine a big fish slapping you in the face or chest or neck with a Poes Giant Jackpot, Believer or Suick? I sure as $hit can.
By the way, that was the third fish of the outing! I hope to get back as soon as I can handle a rod again, maybe day after tomorrow. [:bigsmile:]
What do you think of my close call? I used to think I was pretty careful while fishing alone all the time, but I'm going to be changing my ways a bit. |
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Posts: 667
Location: Roscoe IL | The experience I had with a hook driving into my thumb would justify a pair of Nip-x in the First aid Kit, followed by some advil. Sometimes the fish might still be attached to the lure that's stuck in your hand and needs quick removal, nip-x are invaluable in this situation! Most First aid kits come with very cheap tape, I use white Sport tape when the blisters start to appear on my hands from casting all day. I usually have to go to a specialty store to find the tape Football players use, it's not very expensive but holds up better than the crap in most kits on the shelf. The tape really helped during a weeks stay in Canada, it was the difference between fishing or sitting in the boat watching my buddy fish!!
Now I usually have a cooler of Beer & Water in my boat, nothing feels better than sticking your hands in the cooler to grab another, on a very hot day the ice is a great way to keep cool. For those that don't, a chemical Ice pack should be included in the kit as well. |
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Posts: 1936
Location: Eau Claire, WI | Hey Todd,
I think adding something for bee stings both swelling and anaphalactic shock is a good idea.
Pulled muscles...yes.
Instant Ice for sprain.strain type injuries.
Foil Blanket for hypothermia type exposures.
I guess I go a little overboard with my first aid kit but I figure better to have it than wish you did.
Good idea... |
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Location: Athens, Ohio | Right after I read Ranger's initial post on that injury I bought a pair of LONGnosed pliers. They are now known as my RangerPliers.
You might want to call or e-mail Tony Grant for advice, he's got a killer first aid kit that he's rigged up in his guide boat. m |
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Posts: 149
| Well I can't add much to what other have in terms of horror stories but here are some suggestions that would be useful in an outdoorsman's 1st aid kit.
- whistle : a referee's type whistle that really makes a piercing ring. Not one of those cheap a$$ one's.
- a set of laminated quick reference cards with best approach to dealing with the issue: how to identify/address heat stroke, heat exhaustion, hypothermia, frostbite, snakebites, heart/chest pain, eye injuries etc.
- Asprin and non-asprin pain reliever.
- emergency contact #'s card
- probably can't do this but everytime I travel to an unfamiliar fishing spot, I look up the closest hospital(s) to the lake(s) I'm going to be on and write down the ER # and print out a map of where it is.
- I use superglue to quickly seal up minor cuts. I'm sure it's not sanitary but it stops the bleeding and gets me back to fishing.
- Antiseptic swabs to clean out cuts, gashes
- gauze bandage to wrap open wounds
One of the things with first aid kits is that they tend to go unused / unchecked for extended periods of time so an inventory checklist and date last checked would be a useful for those who choose to use it.
Adolph's meat tenderizer / anti-sting ointment to take some of the burn out of bee stings / fly bites.
That all I have off the top of my head. I hope it helps some.
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Posts: 1996
Location: Pelican Lake/Three Lakes Chain | I have had people throw out their back, pull muscles in their shoulders, and a common one, bruise their ego. Well, most of those people were me, but....
Good idea Todd, I like the idea of some quick reference cards that would show how the professionals like yourself would recommend we care for some of the more common fishing mishaps. That would be very useful in remote areas like LOTW where your nearest medical person is also the resort owner.
Edited by nwild 11/10/2004 7:43 AM
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Posts: 1286
Location: Stevens Point, Wi. | Two more things--- eye drops and chap stick. |
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Posts: 149
| One more thing occurred to me... I believe that there is a solution or powder that you can add to water to make it potable. If you need drinking water and are stranded, it would be nice to be able to "sterilize" some water for drinking. |
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Posts: 1086
| Wow. Those are some great, but painful stories, and great ideas to have added to a Fisherman's First Aid kit. I know I'd be purchasing one. I do carry a first aid kit in my boat...but nothing to the extent of what the contents of this kit that you're talking about could be including. I think it's a fantastic idea.
I have many stories from over the years as well...but none that could top Rangers story that's for sure.
One thing that would be interesting, but very dangerous and probably shouldn't even be suggested would be some kind of a suture (sp?) kit for stiches? I know if no one is medically trained to do stiches shouldn't be performing stiches...but...if you're in the backwoods of Canada fishing...and the nearest hospital is a plane flight out...it's better than bleeding to death. Along with the suture (sp?) kit...some local antisthetic to numb the area needing stiches.
This story doesn't compare to Rangers...but it's relative to the possible need for a suture kit, IF IT'S LEGAL to include, in a first aid kit for fishermen:
I remember one day as a young teen, I was out with my two cousins fishing. We had just arrived at our spot that we picked out. My two cousins were already wetting a line, I was in the back by the tiller and was working on changing the rig on my rod and reel. I had out my lock-blade knife and was about to make a cut in the line...when Johnny Jacka$$ with his speed boat pulling a water skier buzzes our boat withing less than 25 yards!!! Throwing a mighty wake. That powerful wake hit our boat and I put that lock-blade down into my index finger of my left hand and through the tip of my thumb on my left hand. The bone of my index finger stopped the blade from cutting the finger off but I lost the tip of my thumb. I called out to my cousins " Well! Time to go!" They looked at me in confusion like "Hey, we just got here bud!" That's when I help up my left hand and they saw the blood pouring. I fired up the whopping 8hp tiller that we had to our disposal at that time and started our loooong treck back to camp. I filled the back area of the boat full of blood. By the time I was making our way around the turn to our cove to our camp...I too was feeling light headed from the shock, the heat of the summer and probably now the lack of blood.
Fortunately for me...at camp with my familiy, my Uncle is a dentist. And he's licensed and trained for stiches and carrys with him at all time, a suture kit and antisthetic. I got six good stiches in my index finger, but the thumb, being the tip was cut off and laying in the dirty bottom of the boat (it was mearly a good chunk of skin and a portion of the thumbnail...no bone), we could only guaze bandage that up.
Oh..some guaze would be good to ad into the kit as well as that good sport/athletic tape that someone else was mentioning.
Edited by MACK 11/10/2004 8:00 AM
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Posts: 3242
Location: Racine, Wi | I think maybe some handwarmers, or toe warmers as well if you get stranded. The rest of the ideas are great as well. |
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Posts: 146
Location: Wayzata, MN | I'd add:
- Butterflies [or todays version] for 'stitching' larger cuts.
- Liquid skin [helps stop bleeding]
- maybe small splints of some sort for broken fingers and/or severely sprained ankle(s)
- Quick Stop for smaller cuts?
I don't have any hair raising stories like the one's above [wow]... but I do have a 'masters' in sprained ankles
[probably due to my high center of gravity ;]
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| it really depends on how big you want to make the kit...
perhaps you could package a couple different versions to meet different needs?
- bandages of various sizes, especially ones for going around fingers
- small splints for jacked up fingers
- cravats for use as pressure bandage or sling
- generic pain killer
- topical hydrocortizone
- bacitracin or other anti-infection cream
- CPR instructions and rescue breathing mask
- reference card for handling hook injuries (stabilizing, removal, etc.)
and other common situations (exposure, heart attack, etc.)
great idea.
my theory on these types of things is that if you put a muskie on the packaging...it will sell.  |
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Posts: 2515
Location: Waukesha & Land O Lakes, WI | You need to add a padded neck collar. I get whiplash checking out the hotties on Daddy's pier. |
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Location: Minneapolis, MN | One word......IMODIUM! Nothing worse than having the chits on the water.
I'd also add Neosporne for infections with all that slime and rust we put in our cuts. |
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Posts: 4266
| I always carry that new self-adhesive gauze tape. It's great for applying pressure to wounds, and is also easier to apply than a bandage.
I also carry a bottle of rubbing alcohol. You know those razor-like cuts that you get from pike teeth and gill rakers that just wont stop bleeding? I just pour the alcohol over the cuts and it cleans them out and slows the bleeding.
Benadryl is a must. I've had many different adverse effects from insect bites.
My personal kit also contains many perscription meds for back spasms.
Liquid Skin as someone mentioned. "New Skin", for burns. If you apply it immediately, the burned skin wont stiffen, it will stay flexible. "Healing Bandages", instead of just regular ones. They start the healing proccess right away and are also very helpful on burns.
Pain medication, anti-inflamatories, muscle relaxers. Ace Bandages, gauze, tape, scissors. Ice packs, the kind that you crush to activate....not the 10 ounders that I take. 1/3 alcohol-2/3 water....doesn't freeze, but stays slushy and is cold enough to burn exposed skin. Has saved my shoulder and back on many occasions.....right Sworrall?
Think of things that can be applied when someone is alone. Sometimes I have the right stuff, but it takes forever to apply, so the slimy fish towel soaked in alcohol gets used.
You could fill a big box with most of the stuff mentioned.
Be prepared....take a nurse!
Beav
Edited by Beaver 11/10/2004 9:04 AM
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| To give you guys some background…the doctor I’m working with is an Emergency Room Doctor and also Certified Wilderness Doctor and I’m a firefighter / paramedic.
All your suggestions are what we have planed on equipping this kit with. I was just looking for how often you have seen some types of injuries. From what I’ve read these injuries happen every year.
Lambeau brings up a good point…how big will the kit be? As of right now were looking to keep it small and equipped correctly with the injuries we’ve talked about and some others and also looking to keep the cost down.
This is not a complete list of what we’ll be stocking but should give you an idea of what were looking at. Items to care for headaches to bee stings, make sterile water to clean your cuts, bandages and Band-Aids to cover your injuries. We’ll also have information on dehydration, care for sunburn, and bug bites and many more items and directions on care of these injuries. The information cards will be laminated too. A kit with directions on hook removal.
If everything goes well we should have something available the first part of next year.
Keep up the replies so we can crate a good Fishermen’s First-Aid kit.
Todd
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| i don't know..."Fisherman's FirstAid Kit?"
sounds like hype to me...which means it'll be more popular than the Weagle!
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Posts: 620
Location: Seymour, WI | Toilet paper.
Grass, |
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Posts: 2091
Location: Stevens Point, WI | Since I suture and staple people I carry my own kit that has local anesthesia, mosquito forceps, needle driver and pick-ups. Obvioulsy not an option for everyone. I think the kit should include some of the following items.
Zantac or Tagemet for allergic reactions, which are H2-Blockers that work differently than Benadryl.
Benadry obviously for allergic reactions.
Bacitracin Ointment, this is all we use in the ER due to many people develop an allergy to Neosporin, and Bacitracin is cheaper.
Betadine 10% to clean any wound.
ASA (aspirin) definately the miracle drug.
acetaminophen (tylenol
ibuprofen
eye drops (Vasocon or Visine)
Misc. sized band-aids.
Waterproof medical tape.
misc. gauze, 2X2's and 4X4's maybe some Telfa pads.
Urgent QR Powder to stop bleeding. (its available over the counter too)
3-octyl cyanoacrylate medical glue (plain super glue works nearly as well)
thermometer (oral)
sliver forceps
These would be the basics that I think would make a good fishing kit. |
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| Derek, I think we have the same idea and possibly the same med kits. 
Were on the same page for items needed in this kit.
Todd |
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Posts: 32926
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | Make the case ABSOLUTELY moisture proof, too! |
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Posts: 2091
Location: Stevens Point, WI | Maybe a SAM splint and a 4" Ace wrap would do nicely to stabilize most extremity injuries. |
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Posts: 149
| To follow Worrell's lead, it should probably float (or sink slowly) in case dropped / blown overboard. |
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Posts: 326
Location: Plainfield IL | Not sure if anyone added Nu-Skin or super glue. |
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Posts: 185
Location: Mendota Heights, MN | Not quite while fishing but funny none the less.
http://www.startribune.com/stories/531/5080420.html
Steve |
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