Monster PBs caught in 2007

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Danh;1119860; said:
Did you go to the ER to get that hook out?? Or did you break the barb off?

First tried to crimp the barb and couldn't, any movement of the hook was very painful. Then tried to cut it with surgical scissors and a hack saw. No luck there either. Decided after a while that I may inflict more trauma to the hand with what I was trying do and troubled by the other treble hook which I couldn't get rid of with only my right hand to work with and ended up with a trip to the ER. The Female doc attending assisted by two female nurses couldn't cut it off either. They got the help of a stocky guy who managed to cut the hook using a wire cutter using both hands to press on the tool.

The trip to the ER is probably long overdue anyway. My last tetanus shot was over 20 years ago and been lucky, I guess. Have had numerous accidents with my hands working with my tanks the past five years and just dealt with them using OTC antibiotic sprays, ointments, and alcohol based germicide.
 
Using alchohol, what??

That sucks man. I had a hook stuck in my leg when I was younger. Not quite that heavy duty, but you could see no bend in the hook, all you could see was the shank. Needlenose did the trick for mine... Used by the ER of course with some local.
 
Danh;1121475; said:
Using alchohol, what??

Tincture of Iodine, 47% alcohol. It really stings. I grew up thinking the greater the sting the more potent it is. lol

Look a day later no more HITH (Holes in the Hand) lol

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JuanTamad;1121759; said:
Tincture of Iodine, 47% alcohol. It really stings. I grew up thinking the greater the sting the more potent it is. lol

Look a day later no more HITH (Holes in the Hand) lol

Hi Juan,

Did you release the culprit or it is used for the healing :P

RNL
 
Rio Negro Lover;1123457; said:
Hi Juan,

Did you release the culprit or it is used for the healing :P

RNL

It Was released to fight another day. Was a very worthy adversary.

Dmack says it's a voodoo Cichla and to stay away from it. lol
 
The universe works in mysterious ways..........I'm back to the usual stuff and ended up catching my biggest/heaviest/figthingest pair I ever have to deal with. Male is # 26 for 2007 at 20+ inches while the female is well over 18 inches at # 27. Both fish gave many many long runs before I could land them. Was tempted to tighten the drag each time they made another run. Was thinking that somebody must have loosened the drag. Resisted the temptation and just endured and enjoyed the runs.

Probably won't even have seen this pair If I hadn't lost my locking tape measure earlier.

Went out very early today at 7:30. That's very early by my standards. Went past the beach where I caught the monster pair without even seeing them. Went on for about 200 meters before I saw a pair behind a rock. Almost missed them too if I hadn't stopped to stare at the rock. At first glance, there was nothing there. But after a couple of minutes of staring, on of the fish moved then the other. Caught both of them in a few minutes. Made measurements and pictures, packed up and headed for home. As I exited the nearest gate to our community to take a short cut back to the house, I notice that my 35 foot locking tape measure wasn't in my pocket. Headed back to retrieve it. It was gone. Probably left it where I caught the pair and I left it there for no more than 10 minutes.:(

At that point, I was midway in the trail I normally take and decided to just retrace my steps back home instead of going back on the short trail. On my hike back, the sun was now shining bright, and noticed two shadows just off the beach I passed earlier. On closer examination, they looked like decent sized PB, so I started casting for them. No luck with the lure I used to catch the first pair. Switched to a Glass Shad Rap in blue and aqua. Still wary of using my lures with the heavy duty trebles and comfortable with the knowledge that I can cut the hooks on the Rap if I have to. To make a long story short I landed both of the fish from this pair and very pleasantly surprised with the fight they put up and the size they turned out to be.

The male at 20+ inch is probably heavier than my previous personal best of 22 inch PB considering the type of fight this one put up.

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The female at 18+ inch. Not much smaller or lighter than its mate.

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Picture of the female PB in my hand taken by a neighbor walking her dog.
Pictures of the other pair is in my latest catch thread in the fishing section. Total count for the year now at 126

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Danh;1124052; said:
Did you keep those?

No. I can't keep pairs these size very long. Too expensive to maintain them and it's getting harder to collect feeder sized fish in the lake. I just spent $12 to feed my pairs yesterday. 100 2 - 3 inch rosy reds is what it takes to do a feeding for my pairs. Will probably let them go back and grow some more for next year's fun when it starts getting cold. Heating their tanks can have a big impact on the power bill.
 
Forgot to post pics of the pair in the original post

Monster # 26 - 20+ inch male

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Monster # 27 - 18+ inch female

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