Hooked in Curacao

[Green Bay]

This spring my husband and I took a group night dive at the resort we were staying at (Breezes) in Curacao. The Dive master indicated we would follow the reef (directly in front of the resort) to the left. We noticed a person fishing from shore, and inquired if it would be wiser to dive to the right. We were told no worries.

Needless to say on the way back at about 40' my husband felt a tug on his tank. He instictively put his hands behind him to find the problem. He quickly found the line and as he unhooked it from his tank the fisherman gave it another pull and now it was imbedded in his hand. He started swimming towards the fisherman and again worked to get it out of his hand and just as he did the fisherman gave it another yank and now the hook was in his other hand. (I know, what are the odds!)
It has pitch black, he was struggling to get the hook out and his ears were in great pain as he needed to clear. We do not dive with a knife, he was the last person in the group, so no one else knew what was happening as it was happening so fast.
He knew he had to get the hook out before the large barb was imbedded, fortunately he gave the hook a good pull and got it out, cleared his ears, and rejoined the group.

The experience taught us four things, do not dive where people are fishing, carry a knife, just because he/she is a dive master does not mean they are making a good decision with your life, large fish hooks leave large holes in your skin.

 

[scubatexastony]

I feel his pain! I do a lot of fresh water diving and learned the hard way, it's best to have a pair of shears to cut a line that has a hook in your hand/ shoulder/ arm/ neck....you get the picture... unless the line can be held/ looped over the knife, the tugging from cutting adds to the embedment....ouch :11: get some good shears too!

tony

ps.... OH and welcome to the forum!

 

[Xanthro]

I second the shears call. EMT shears are the way to go. Big enough you can use gloves, will cut right throug the line, even if it is a steel line.

Even plain line can wiggle while trying to cut it with a knife, sending the hook deeper, and this is on SHORE.

Xanthro

 

[ScubaFreak]

OUCH!!

Glad he's ok though! I vote for the shears call too!! You'll notice a lot of the time some dive knives aren't sharp enough to cut butter, the shears are a handy tool!

Safe diving!

SF

 

[Green Bay]

Thanks for the great tip on the shears. Our anniversary in 2 weeks, that will definitely be a gift for him!

 

[ShakaZulu]

Can't you signal a SOS signal to the fisherman, by tucking the codes on the line???

 

[Xanthro]

Can't you signal a SOS signal to the fisherman, by tucking the codes on the line???

A true fisherman would just think he has 9 fish then.

Xanthro

 

[scubatexastony]

six little ones and three big ones! set the hook!

 

[Rick Inman]

Even plain line can wiggle while trying to cut it with a knife, sending the hook deeper, and this is on SHORE.

Xanthro

Got a nice fisherman's hook in my leg diving the Breakwater in Monterey at night. I was wearing a DUI neoprene dry suit and the tip of the hook was just poking my leg through the suit. When I cut the line, I DID feel the tip poke in a little deeper!
BTW, my wife was on the breakwater, following along watching my light and said the fisherman was very apologetic and giving me slack line, thank goodness!

 

[jlayman800]

If you rely on a dive knife, make it fairly sharp. I have had the same knife for about 10 years. A couple weeks ago I went to cut a small rope that was tangled around my tank valve. I tried for about 5 minutes and had to give up. I took off the BC and had to untie the rope. My next diving related activity was to sharpen up that knife. Somewhere less than razor sharp is recommended because its too easy to cut a hose or something important with a really sharp knife.