Top 3 Fishing Stories of the Week: Unhook Yourself, Simple YETI Fly Fishing Gear, and Fix Bad Fishing Habits

From how to get a fishhook out of yourself, to a review of the simple, durable YETI Sidekick, to fixing the 4 worst fishing habits, these stories captured our Sports Illustrated fishing reader’s attention on Fishing on SI this past week.

The Top 3 Fishing Stories of the Week: Unhook Yourself, Simple YETI Fly Fishing Gear, and Fix Bad Fishing Habits | Joe Shead | Ken Baldwin | Justin Hoffman

1.) How to Remove a Fishhook From Your Skin: Simple, Safe, and Effective Methods

Ouch! Getting hooked isn't a fun experience, but with a little planning, you can remove a hook from your body without a doctor visit. | Joe Shead

The reality of using pointed, barbed fishhooks is that sometimes they catch more than just fish. Inevitably, if you spend enough time fishing, you or someone you're fishing with will get hooked. Although getting hooked certainly isn't a fun experience, it doesn't have to be traumatic, either. Even if you've never been hooked, it's a good idea to learn how to get a hook out so you're prepared when it happens.

After more than 40 years of fishing, I finally got hooked recently. My friends knew what to do, and even though I was clenched like a Civil War soldier biting a bullet, preparing to be amputated, all I felt was a slight prick and then immediate relief. It was surprisingly painless…GET THE REST OF THE STORY HERE.

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2.) Yeti’s Simplest Piece of Gear Is Also Its Best for Fly Fishing

Putting a bend in that rod. | Photo by Ken Baldwin

I like quality gear, but not a lot of it at once. This is a small battle I fight every time I prep to go fishing. What I actually need versus what I want to bring along.

I’m drawn to gear that’s simple in design, well-built, and performs at a high level. If it makes my fishing easier or more efficient, I'll find a place for it in my fly fishing rotation.

I recently spent a week at The Ridge lodge in Alaska, the place of fly-fishing dreams, with wild rainbow trout and char as long as your arm. As expected, I took interest in the gear the guides used. The equipment they rely on gets banged around, dropped, dragged, and abused daily — and this goes on for four months straight…GET THE REST OF THE STORY HERE.

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3.) 4 Bad Fishing Habits Every Angler Should Break: Easy Fixes for More Fish

Break these four bad fishing habits and watch your catch rates rise. | Justin Hoffman

A bad habit is defined as a repeated, almost automatic behavior pattern that has negative consequences. And although getting out fishing should never be looked at as anything but positive, all anglers have bad habits that can lead to sub-par catch rates.

Here are four bad fishing habits and the easy fixes for each.

This one we're all guilty of, and I know for myself, it's a bad fishing habit that's hard to break.

Fishing when the sun is shining, the weather's warm, and the winds are non-existent can definitely feel like you've won the lottery. And although as anglers, conditions such as these are glorious, when it comes to fishing it's often beneficial to let Mother Nature shake things up a bit…GET THE REST OF THE STORY HERE.

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