Stripper's Hand

[acorad]

Yes, Stripper's Hand!

I went to Catalina Island a couple weeks ago, and developed a hand "injury" while fishing there.

I'm right handed and strip the fly in with my left hand, and after about 6 straight hours of essentially constant stripping flies, and stripping them in just as fast as I could possibly do it, over and over again, the tendons on the back of my stripping hand (those tendons that basically lift my fingers up and open my hand) were so incredibly sore I could hardly strip the fly in any more. The back of my hand was even noticeably swollen.

I grabbed some ice out of the cooler and iced it as much as I could while we were motoring to the different spots, but man, it hurt!

Seemed to go away after a couple days, thankfully.

Anyone else ever get Stripper's Hand?

Any suggestions on how to avoid it in the future?

Andy

[lucfish]

I've had something similar. My suggestion is to put the rod under your right armpit and strip with two hands, you can strip faster with less effort, that's what I do at the island.

[NorcalBob]

I second what Luc said. Two handed retrieve is the way to go to avoid "strippers hand". I get it quite often, and when it flares up I switch to the two handed retrieve. Although to be truthful, I prefer to experience "stripper's hand" in a much different venue!!!

[BrownBear]

Yup. Lucfish nailed it.

You want to talk FAST, try fishing for Atlantic barracuda, jacks, king mackerel, tuna and more. You just can't strip too fast, and one-handed won't cut it.

[lucfish]

Yup. Lucfish nailed it.

You want to talk FAST, try fishing for Atlantic barracuda, jacks, king mackerel, tuna and more. You just can't strip too fast, and one-handed won't cut it.

Just talking about tuna makes me think of the bonito and yellows that I was fortunate enough to catch this past summer, miss it already, and brown bear, you are right, you can't strip fast enough even with two hands!

[briansII]

I get it on a regular basis. End of the first day can be very uncomfortable. Morning of day two I'm medicated with Ibuprofen. That gets me through the day.......usually. If it gets too bad I re-medicate, but that's hard on the stomach. Best cure is a hot bite, and you forget the pain.

briansII

[WanderingBlues]

Yep, I've had the lesser, Pyramid Lake version.

[acorad]

Needless to say I was disappointed this thread had nothing to do with exotic dancers.

Ha!

It hurt so much that when I caught the big'un that took me deep, I couldn't even grab the handle with my left hand to reel the fish in. I had to turn the rod over, hold it in my left hand with the reel on top of the rod, and turn the reel backwards with my right hand.

Cpn. Vaughn though that was pretty funny!

The two handed technique sounds like the way to go, I'll have to practice it. Maybe do some hand exercises before I go out next time.

Thanks guys!

Andy

[Bernard]

Yup. Lucfish nailed it.
You want to talk FAST, try fishing for Atlantic barracuda, jacks, king mackerel, tuna and more. You just can't strip too fast, and one-handed won't cut it.

Agreed - Although I stubbornly will not consistently use the two-handed technique, I have experienced moments when switching to two hands suddenly increased my ability to entice better fish.

B.

[DarkShadow]

Stripper's hand, eh?

Try *'s wrist.


Happens every year in the fall....the largemouth go all suicidal on baitfish and throwing a * is a fun option. But after all day of the same repetitive motion, my forearm and wrist is out of wack for a few days.

I usually drink a beer to take the edge off.

[DrCreek]

Yes, Stripper's Hand!

I went to Catalina Island a couple weeks ago, and developed a hand "injury" while fishing there.

I'm right handed and strip the fly in with my left hand, and after about 6 straight hours of essentially constant stripping flies, and stripping them in just as fast as I could possibly do it, over and over again, the tendons on the back of my stripping hand (those tendons that basically lift my fingers up and open my hand) were so incredibly sore I could hardly strip the fly in any more. The back of my hand was even noticeably swollen.

I grabbed some ice out of the cooler and iced it as much as I could while we were motoring to the different spots, but man, it hurt!

Seemed to go away after a couple days, thankfully.

Anyone else ever get Stripper's Hand?

Any suggestions on how to avoid it in the future?

Andy

Awww, Andy ! Too much fishing? Awww... big guy !

I'm with you. Those few great days I had with Richard at Spanish Landing did the same thing to my R forearm, shoulder and R hand. Mine was from all the constant fish catching we were doing. It hurt, but I got over it once I remembered how much fun I was having !!!

Medically speaking, lay off the arm for a while (no way could I do that now that I'm into the salt so much). Rest and ice are always best. Massage works, but finding someone to do it for you might be tough. I use ICY HOT or BANALG or CAPSACIN or something akin to that. The hotter the better for me.