Fishing Safety Guide: A Safe Fishing Trip is a Fun Fishing Trip
Last Updated on June 26, 2024 by Boatsetter Team
Fishing isn’t generally a dangerous endeavor, but it’s still important to take safety seriously, especially when you’re fishing from a boat, and using safe boating strategies is critical. What are some of the fishing-particular safety items you need to keep in mind? How will they change when you’re standing on a shoreline versus renting a fishing boat for the day? Our Fishing Safety Guide has you covered.
Safety with fishing hooks
When it comes to fishing gear the most obviously dangerous items are the hooks. And yes, it does really, really hurt to get stuck by a fishhook. What’s worse is getting it out. Those barbs are quite effective, and in some cases if the barb gets deeply buried, a trip to the emergency room may even be necessary. In this case prevention is by far the best medicine. Always be careful with your hooks, don’t let them swing around freely or sit on the deck of a boat where they may get stepped on, and keep them out of the hands of children.
A great way to reduce the likelihood of hook injuries is to only use single hooks as opposed to using treble hooks. With a treble hook a dangerous situation can arise as you land the fish. While trying to control it the fish may thrash around, and with just one of the three tines in its jaws, the other two may be exposed — and flying back and forth through the air. If you’re using a plug or similar lure with multiple treble hooks, there can be lots of sharp points swinging around. With a single hook already buried in the fish’s mouth, on the other hand, you have no such worry. Many anglers who want to boost their safety level will choose lures with single hooks, only, or remove the treble hooks and replace them with singles.
Another thing you can do is fish with barbless hooks or crimp the barbs down with a pair of pliers. Yes, you will lose some fish as a result. But if someone does get a hook through the skin it will be easy to back it right out.
Safety with fishing gear
Though hooks hold the spotlight, they aren’t the only thing you need to use caution with. On offshore and deep sea fishing trips you’re likely to be exposed to gaffs, a large hook mounted on a pole which is used to lift big pelagic fish into the boat. The key to safety with a gaff is to leave its use to an experienced mate or captain, and be sure that giant hook is always capped off with a piece of hose or a cover when it’s not in use.
Another thing to be careful of is fishing line. It’s thin, strong nature means it can cut through your skin when it’s under tension. Never allow it to get wrapped around a finger, especially when you’re snagged or there’s a fish on the end of the line. This is true of all fishing lines in all situations, but note that braid lines are especially apt to slice through skin.
Fishing rods are also deserve some special attention from the safety perspective. When using a rod to make a cast anglers generally swing for the stars, and if that rod hits anyone on the way, they’ll be seeing stars.
Of course, there are many other items which anglers use that could prove dangerous in their own way when misused. Pliers, bait knives, lead weights, and just about everything else needs to be treated with an appropriate measure of caution and common sense.
Safety when fishing with others
When a number of people are crowded onto a boat or stand close together on a shoreline, always remember to cast with care. Swinging rods and flying lures or weights will hurt, sometimes a lot, if a body part gets in their way. Always, always, always look behind yourself before cocking the rod back for a cast. And if you take kids fishing be sure to take the time to explain how dangerous making a cast can be for the others around you. If you see them swing back without checking behind themselves first, sit them down and explain it again. With inexperienced or very young anglers, it’s always a good idea to choose a place and style of fishing where they can simply drop the lure or bait straight down, eliminating the need for casting altogether.
Safety on a fishing boat
When you go fishing on a boat all of the usual boating safety rules apply. Be sure to run through your boat safety equipment checklist before shoving off, pay heed to all the usual weather safety tips, and remember that all of the safety issues we’ve talked about can be exacerbated by lots of jolting, rocking, and rolling in bouncy seas. If the conditions are rough and the danger factor is clearly increased consider postponing the trip.
Additional tips for fishing safely
- Never drop a bait knife into a bucket without putting a scabbard over it, first. Do so, and someone might reach in without knowing the blade is exposed.
- When taking kids or inexperienced anglers fishing, bring short rods as opposed to longer ones. This will reduce the dangerous arc created as they cast.
- Make sure that hooks rigged to rods are capped, removed, or secured during travel.
- Carry a “lip gripper” device so you can control toothy fish without getting your fingers near their mouth. Also watch out for the fish’s dorsal fins, which can be sharp on some species.
- Always latch tackleboxes shut after opening them, so hooks and lures don’t spill out and present a hazard.
Along with all of these pertinent points, a healthy dose of common sense goes a long way when it comes to fishing safety. Pay attention to what’s going on around you at all times, and you’ll be in for a fun — and safe — angling experience.
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With over three decades of experience in marine journalism, Lenny Rudow has contributed to dozens of boating and fishing publications and websites ranging from BoatU.S. Magazine to BDOutdoors.com. Rudow is currently the Angler in Chief at Rudow’s FishTalk, he is a past president of Boating Writers International (BWI), a graduate of the Westlawn School of Yacht Design, and has won numerous BWI and OWAA writing awards.
