The Cure for Bloody Fingers

I have a problem: whenever I go on a fishing trip to chase species that weigh more than trout, pull extra hard, or swim very fast, my hands end up shredded and looking like this. In other words, whenever I fish for tarpon, bonefish, dorado, pike, stripers, sailfish, marlin (and so on), I come home looking like I stuck my right hand in a Cuisinart.

I know… there’s a simple fix for that: “Don’t hang on to the fly line after the fish eats, stupid.” Now, I’m proud to say that over the years I’ve been able to master the double haul, the Snap-T, the lob roll cast, and many other tricky maneuvers that help me transcend fly fishing obstacles. But hanging on to the fly line is one nasty habit (among many others) I cannot shake.

I’ve innovated. I’ve tried duct tape (too hot, and too sticky). Hockey tape, like the kind you wrap on your stick (pretty good at first, but ultimately ends up frayed). Johnson & Johnson medical tape, applied in just the right spots… totally worthless, especially in the salt. Those little finger slip-ons… well’ they’re good for a morning or two, after which they end up a stinky, shredded, bloody mess.

The best answer I have found thus far are these Sun Gloves by Simms.

Costing about $20, they offer real sun protection (SPF 50) on the backsides of your hands. But in the facing fingers, they are reinforced with padding in the right places, which eliminates the slicing and dicing when an eight-pound bone rips the line from your hands.

They take some getting used to, but they aren’t uncomfortably hot, and within a day or two on that week-long vacation that involves stripping flies and fighting fish that pull back, they just make sense.

Sponsored Link: Buy Simms Sun Gloves