That being said, I have now ripped the hooks our of quite a few people in recent years. One time, Pete Edwards came in with a hook buried in his thumb. Pete wanted it removed and wondered if I could help. I proceeded to snip the two points off of the treble hook which were not stuck in Pete using my bicycle spoke cutters. My cutters were back from my bike shop days and I kept all my bike tools - just in case I decide we need to go back into selling bikes. These spoke cutters would snip through 12 gauge, stainless steel spokes with ease and they work really well on hardened fish hooks.
So, the first step is to carefully snip any potentially threatening hooks along with the lure so we only have the remaining hook stuck in Pete's thumb. I know from experience, that a finger/thumb injury hurts all the way up to one's neck, so I carefully removed the points trying to not wiggle the main hook. Pete was understandably wincing.
After I isolated the hook to just the part stuck in his finger, I found some 50 lb. test fishing line and a screwdriver. I put one loop around the base of the hook where it was sticking out of Pete and took the two ends and tied them around the screwdriver handle to fashion a MacGuyver-esque starter cord like you would find on a lawn mower. With the ripcord handle in my left hand and my right hand thumb in position, I told the "braced" Pete, that I would push down on the eye of the hook and rip at the same time to cause the hook to roll out in one swift motion. This maneuver allows the hook to open the skin and give a place for the barb to go that is not catching on skin. It rolls out in a quick flash of pain that ends usually pretty quickly with very minimal damage. It sounds terrible, but it does work.
Pete was going to be the first person I've ever done this to, ever....
I was ready, Pete closed his eyes and braced his aggravated thumb solidly on the counter right next to the cash register. I said, "On three. One, Two, RIP!"
The hook flew out of the thumb and pinged off the ceiling and walls at least three times. Pete roared in agony, "Jesus, Jumpin' Jehosphat! Oh MY GOD tell me it came out because that hurt like HELLL!" to which I quickly replied "Oh sorry, Pete - we're gonna have to try it again. It didn't work!"
Pete groaned like a dying lion at the thought of attempting it again and I quickly added that I was just kidding. It came out just fine. He opened his eyes, smiled and said "Whew!". We both had a laugh and Pete back out fishing.
Well, this is his brother Paul:
I'm really getting my technique down. LOL!
