Keep a first aid kit handy when outdoors

Last Saturday, fishing a kayak bass tournament on Central Lake near Jackson I got one of the hooks off a treble hook caught in one of my little fingers.
As soon as I saw how deep it was I knew it was either the ER or get another angler to help get it out.
Sometime ago a method was devised to remove hooks without cutting the shank then pushing the point through the skin.
The new method involves two people, a length of braid and  a push and pull. Russell Wilson from Central Michigan Kayak Fishing arrived to help.
"I don't have any pliers with me to cut the hook off the plug," he said. I didn't have any either. So Wilson began to slowly open the split ring and slide the treble off the plug.
Once the plug was removed, he had more room to work. He cut a length of braid and wrapped it around the hook's bend.
"Push down on the point or where it should be," he told me. As soon as I pushed on the point he yanked the line and out came the hook, pain-free.
I twas painful when I first got stuck and painful getting the treble off but the removal was painless.
I had my first aid kit with me. We squirted some antibiotic on the wound, covered it with a bandaid and I went fishing.
Check hook removal out on You -Tube. If you're ever in this situation, it's a good think to know.

River Bassin comes to Michigan

Last Saturday, approximately 52 anglers in kayaks hit moving water in a 50 mile radius from Flint thanks to the efforts of Jeremy Crowe.
Crowe is an avid kayak angler. So is his finance, Shannon Williams. These two pre-fish tournament together, fish tournaments close to each other and travel out of state to fish river bass trails.
However, the two readily admit they have difficult figuring out where to fish lakes. But give them a river and chances are they will find some fish.
One big difference about fishing a river is the wearing of a pfd. If you ever had any doubt about not wearing one, don't let it be on a river.
Too many things can happen and most of them aren't good and most happen quickly on the river.
Reaching for a lure or rod caught in a tree can cause your yak to dump you.
Once in the moving water and especially near sweepers; those trees that hang close over the water with several limbs on top or barely underwater, can be the cause of your trouble.
Branches almost reach out and tangle you up in them. Once that occurs, the hydraulics of the river, the motion of the current, can pull you down in no time. No pfd is a good recipe for disaster.
Both Williams and Crowe can testify to finding themselves in the water several times. And both are devotees of wearing a pfd.
River and lake fishing or paddling is fun. But in no time it can turn into a serious situation when things start to go bad.
Who is the better angler, Williams or Crowe? Lets say Williams cashed a check Saturday.