From: wahls@cs.iastate.edu (Tim Wahls)
Subject: fish story (true)
Organization: Iowa State University, Ames IA
Date: Wed, 29 Jul 1992 20:07:41 GMT

   So last night I'm fishing with my favorite surface lure - the Zara Puppy.
 For those who haven't seen one, it looks like a small stick with crankbait
 style treble hooks - one on the belly near the front, and one at the rear.
 Anyway, a small bass (maybe a pound) hits the lure, and I hit him right back,
 then water-ski him in over the dense weeds.  He just has the rear hook in
 his mouth, so the front treble is flying around as he thrashes.  

   I make a grab for the lure, and get (I think, anyway) a good grip.  As I 
 lift the fish clear of the water, he starts shaking his head again, and the
 Puppy comes loose - but not all the way, 'cause the front treble is now 
 imbedded in my thumb, and gets driven in a little farther every time the fish
 shakes.  This stings a bit, so I grab the bass by the lower lip with my other
 hand, getting my best spinning reel wet in the process.  Damn.

   My sister walks over, and together we get the fish off the rear treble, and
 gently release him.  Does this qualify me for some sort of C&R award?  Anyway,
 it's too early to quit fishing, so I borrow my sister's pocket knife, and, in
 the best western tradition, we heat the blade with my lighter to sterilize it.
 As I start digging around in my thumb with the blade, I realize that this is
 one of the duller knives I've ever encountered.  I have to use quite a bit of
 force just to puncture the skin.  My sister has stopped watching by this
 point.

   I do finally manage to cut deeply enough to get to the barb of the hook.  As
 I work the point of the knife back and forth accross the barb to enlarge the
 hole, the hook vibrates, sending a surge of cold shivers through my body.
 Satisfied with the size of the cut, I begin to pull backwards on the hook,
 twisting the lure for leverage, but I fail to move the hook at all.  I try
 the knife bit again, but even a larger cut fails to loosen the hook.  There is
 surprisingly little blood - enough to coat the lure well, but no more.

   I finally give up, and we head for the nearest emergency room.  The story
 gets boring at this point, but the doctor and I did have a nice discussion
 of his problem hooking bass with plastic worms.  Turns out he was setting
 the hook too quickly, especially when he could see the hit.  I also got to
 sit in the waiting room for about half an hour with the lure protruding from
 my hand.  At least the Olympics were on - I am impressed with the gymnasts
 this year.  Anyway, the doctor also tried to pull the hook out and failed.  
 So, he clipped the barb with a wirecutters (the most painful part, seeing a 
 good lure damaged like that), and shoved the hook the rest of the way through 
 and out, pausing only to enlarge the prospective exit hole with a razor blade 
 so that the hook would slide out cleanly.

   The whole point of this narrative is background for several questions.  I
 would like answers soon, if convenient, because I plan to head back to that
 same lake tonight.  The questions:

   1.  Will a Zara Puppy "walk the dog" correctly with one of the front 
       trebles clipped?

   2.  How much will this affect its hooking ability?

   3.  Do largemouth bass find a lure soaked in human blood attractive or
       repulsive?  In other words, should I wash the Puppy, or just tie it
       back on and go?

                                     Thanks,
                                     Tim
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