Tampa, Florida June 1, 2008 The Team Marine News Network Vent Now…….or Pay Later Breaking News.…….Team Marine Introduces (3) Professional Quality Reef Fish Venting Tools….
We didn’t invent venting……….we perfected it!
Hypodermic Needles and Boating………Not Good!
On Tuesday March 11, 2008, a couple of buddies and I were returning to Johns Pass from a day of fishing offshore. As we approached the Pass, we were boarded by U.S. Customs/ Dept. of Homeland Security. The boat was pretty awesome. Looked like a 40 foot Midnight Express and had 4 motors. The agents were all business and were primarily looking only for drugs, weapons and illegal contraband. They searched us and every inch of our boat and all they found was my hypodermic needle that I use as a bladder popper. When they found this the agents wanted to know why I had it. I can only imagine what was going through his mind. For the next five to ten minutes I tried my best to convince him that I don’t do drugs, don’t have drugs and tried to explain to him how the bladder popper was used to help a released fish to survive. The whole search and explanation session lasted thirty five minutes or so, plus they also ran our driver’s licenses to see if we had any warrants out for our arrests. I don’t know if by having a hypodermic needle in possession gives them reason for Probable Cause or not, but one thing is for sure, I’ll never put myself in that position again.
I’ve used a hypodermic needle for a bladder popper for over three years. They can be a real headache and safety risk also. They would rust pretty quickly and become flimsy. The safety risk involved with the hypodermic needle is that they can easily poke you and you run the risk of a nasty infection, especially while on a boat in pitching and rolling seas or simply just reaching into your tackle bag to find it. They do have a push on cover for the needle, but it’s very common for me to lose it in my tackle bag or just plain lose it on the boat.
Jeff Strane of Team Marine USA heard about this incident on the Florida Sportsman’s Forum, contacted me and asked my permission to put my experience into writing. Jeff offered to give me a Pre-Vent and I plan to keep it readily accessible and in plain view!
Lucas D. St Petersburg, FL
I wanted to share a recent fishing experience with you. I was invited on a Middle Grounds trip by Captain David Walker. He had a client that wanted to make the run and wanted someone else experienced with him on his boat. The day was by far, my best offshore experience ever. I’ve made more than my fair share of trips and to use the words of Captain Walker, we vaporized them. I assumed the mate role on his boat, aiding in the landing and releasing of fish. We saw your product at the Captain Mel’s Tournament and commented throughout the day (while using the syringe) about how much easier and safer your venting tool is. Then it happened, yes, you guessed it, I was in the process of venting a fish and as he flopped, the syringe went into my hand. As the fish was flopping all over the place, I had the line wrapped around my hand, a needle 3/8” deep in my palm, easy to say the fishing was halted. I looked to make sure it had not gone thru my hand then pulled it out. Capt. Walker, understanding better than most the effects of flesh eating bacteria (he was one of the 6 guides that contracted it from the Tampa Bay area the year before and had to undergo an extreme regiment of treatment to fight it off) said we need to clean it and clean it good. So while I was forcing it to bleed, he washed the wound with bleach and I’m sure I created some new words during this process. So, we get it cleaned and now we need to bandage it up. It needed to be water tight, so Captain Walker got some thin plastic and super glue and applied the bandage, more new words came out. The whole time his client is looking on in awe. We finished the day making the ride back in and then on we went to the clinic. It’s Sunday, so my doctor was not opened and wanting to treat the wound as soon as possible, my only choice was a walk in clinic. The next day I paid a return visit to my doctor and some serious antibiotics to kill any potential bacteria. Grand total with insurance $387.00. This would have been more if not for the treatment I got from Captain Walker. I will never make another trip offshore without Team Marine USA’s venting tool and nor should anyone else but if some people still choose to use inferior venting tools, as my Dad always told me “IF YOUR GONNA BE DUMB YOU BETTER BE TOUGH”
Sincerely,
A life long Team Marine USA supporter Tom Tylisz
Wang Anchor 813-442-4196 "HANG OUT WITH YOUR WANG OUT !"
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