Anyone bitten by a pike will know how much you will bleed, some BIG teeth!

[Steve Arnold]

I just found this Youtube video by scottish kayak angler Nicolas Valetin.......

Hope he does not mind my sharing these screenshots......

I remember my hand bleeding for hours after a 20lb Loch Lomond pike flexed and snapped as I was removing a hook from its jaw. The deck of my boat was covered in my blood, those teeth went clean through across my hands full width. Very fortunate I had no nerve or tendon damage!

Nicolas and his friends are very experienced kayak anglers, both around the coast and freshwater lochs.

 

[chevin4]

In the early eighties pike fishing was entering more enlightened times in no small part due to the efforts of the PAC. Having read up on their recommended unhooking technique it was time to consign the gag to the dustbin. At this time I was very much a novice pike angler. Having thought I had mastered the hook removal process I somehow got badly bitten by a pike in the process of removing the hooks. The cut was deep it bleed for a long time and my cut finger hurt like hell. As a precaution I went to the Lister Hospital in Stevenage for a tetanus jab I don't think the nurse believed me when I said a had been bitten by a fish. Nowadays I always wear a glove when unhooking pike

 

[steve2]

Many year ago I made a mistake when unhooking a pike. I still have the scares and now always wear a glove. One thing I would never do is hand land a pike

 

[riverman]

Many year ago I made a mistake when unhooking a pike. I still have the scares and now always wear a glove. One thing I would never do is hand land a pike

matt hayes has steve on many occasions.fingers under the gills and all that lol.

 

[seth49]

The thing is pike teeth carry an anticoagulant which stops the bites from stopping bleeding, so if it bites something which escapes it can follow the blood trail to its prey. clever isn’t it.

 

[Keith M]

The last time I demonstrated to someone how to unhook a pike safely I took some skin off of the back of my un-gloved hand and it bled for ages

Keith

 

[Aknib]

I've never been bitten by a Pike... I say 'bitten' but in reality the fish isn't intending to do that in an unhooking situation, but i have been clumsy withdrawing my hand from the mouth after unhooking and catching the back of my hand on the rear facing teeth on the roof of the mouth.

And yes as Seth says the anticoagulant will cause further concern, always in my case without further issue.

I used to be a member of the PAC throughout the 90's and their work promoting the handling and general fragility of Pike as a species, in contrast to the image we generally conjure up, is testimony to their deeper understanding and respect of the wider angling public to this day.

Far removed from what I was brought up on, well done them.