http://howto.wired.com/wiki/Remove_a_Fi … om_a_BuddyForget the ER. If the hook isn't embedded beyond its bend, and it's not lodged in the nose or an ear, you can extract it yourself.
1. Cut a 20-inch piece of heavy fishing line and loop it around the hook's bend.
2. Push down on the far end of the shank until it touches the skin.
3. Quickly jerk the line straight back. The barb should pop right out.
-- William Snyder from Wired Magazine
Caution, the above method is very difficult if a barbed hook is embedded in the scalp beyond the barb. There may not be adequate clearance between the skin and the skull to do the push and pull method.
Alternative method
1. Push the embedded hook point through the skin and up to expose the barb (you may need pliers to grasp the hook shank). Be careful that you don't break the hook. 2. Using a pair of pliers with a cutting edge, snip the hook shank just behind the barb. 3. Back the hook out. 4. Wash the wound thoroughly, treat the wound with a topical anti-bacterial medicine and/or see a doctor.
Advice
1. Use a barbless hook. Better for the fish (if you intend to release it) and better for you if you get hooked. It's quick and painless to take a hook out if you get stuck with one, regardless of size of hook. Knowledgeable flyfishers know this from experience. 2. Carry an all-purpose tool like a Leatherman. 3. Carry a small first-aid kit with you. 4. Try to do outdoor activities with a buddy.
My suggestions are based on real life experiences (extracting a size 12 barbed hook from a friend's scalp, extracting someone else's barbed size 2/0 hook from my finger, and not losing fish due to barbless hook flyfishing from northern California to Kamchatka, Russia.
Not that i've ever been fishing but hey you never know.
