Fishing is great for the whole family. Most of the time it's not very dangerous, but sometimes your fingers and the fleshy (pinky) sides of your hands take a beating. This starts even before you get on the boat while you're tying knots and rigging rods. Pulling knots tightly or wiring food fish barehanded in the heat of the moment - admittedly not the best things a mate should do - results in some nasty cuts. Add a little bit of salt in those fresh cuts, and you now have a dark cloud over your great day on the water. Joe "the Seagull" Figiel showed me a trick that tones down the sting in existing cuts and helps prevent new ones.
Figiel applies a thin coat of Super Glue or Zap-A-Gap - commonly found on most boats already - to the sides of his hands and in the outside joints of his index and pinky fingers where cuts usually occur. Just a small amount gets the job done.
Now you have some quick, cheap armor on your hands that washes off quickly with a little bit of scrubbing.
Eric Leech / Pompano Beach, Florida
