I used to brag about how careful I was and then within a year I caught a small pickerel right off the boat, yanked him in, he thrashed and got a treble in the fat of my palm and continued his fresh flipping. Finally got him off hook and then did the push thru method, amazing how the point was pushing up the skin without piercing, needed pliers to push it thru and cut. Then, in the semi wilderness in the ADK's alone in kayak ~1 mile from friends camp, caught a big pike. Kind of a newbie kayak fishing and was not prepared...two hooks in two fingers that time with pike still thrashing. Feeling woozy, got pike off and decided I could not paddle a mile with hooks in fingers (big jointed floating Rapala)...no cutters, bit the bullet and yanked out the way they came in, ouch for a week, sucked big time!