Kevin Van Dam Forums

Hi Kevin, my friends say I’m nuts but when ever I fish I pretend I’m in a tournament. My wife gets mad at me because I barely take time to drink , forget about eating, unless i can shove something in my mouth and keep casting I wasn’t eating. I don’t have a seat at the front of my boat so I stand and cast all day. I’d say I cast 3000 to 4000 times a day. Lately I’ve had elbow pain, is this common on the tour. I fish 3 to 4 days a week. I know the pros fish more than that. Is fishing elbow a real deal?? Thanks BH

Any repetitive motion thats done in excess will cause injury eventually.

I believe Mark Davis had Tommy John surgery several years ago and Dustin Wilks had shoulder surgery that almost cut his fishing career short.  I think wrist, elbow and shoulder injuries are pretty common in pro fishing because the repetitive motion for casting.

i had a sore elbow last year from casting big baits with heavy rods, it took all winter to heal. i’m fishing more this year but not casting as violently as before, i’m letting the rod do most of the work and it has saved my elbow. and my casting distance hasn’t decreased on average and my accuracy is better and not as many or no backlashes. put an elbow sleeve on it, it helps, rub some ben gay on it before you put the sleeve on.

3000 to 4000 a day is a lot, how much time does it take you to make that many casts?

Yes it will happen. At the end of a day my hands start to tingle and go numb. It will feel like Im getting a shock sometimes also. I think I have some sort of carpiltunnel going on because I use alot of the same motion at work usin tools like a screwdriver and stuff.

yea, not just a problem with the elbows, my wrists and hands are sore and my hands are all tore up. i still feel it in my elbow, more of a throbbing achy tiredness. i keep my fishing time per day on the days i fish to around 4 hours. with walking around the ponds with a 20 lb backpack on my back and all the long casting, i’m pretty tired after 4 hours, but have gone longer when they are biting. cut back on your wacka doo also, haha

stick um - 24 May 2012 03:40 PM

Yes it will happen. At the end of a day my hands start to tingle and go numb. It will feel like Im getting a shock sometimes also. I think I have some sort of carpiltunnel going on because I use alot of the same motion at work usin tools like a screwdriver and stuff.

you ever tried gloves or anything for your hands? mine ache bad everytime Im done fishing, but I figured its cause I got little baby hands lol

after fishing the last three days my right elbow is killing me, im not complaining though the fishing was great in between rain storms the bite was on. my big bass was caught on Sunday it was 8.3 lbs. i caught over 100 bass in 3 days. and i have an aching elbow to prove it. lol BH

wear the elbow sleeve when you are fishing, it helps and it doesn’t restrict anything.

I had arm issues when I first starting using c-rigs with braid (no real give - long casts)

I would read up on ways to repair the strain at night…maybe do what MLB pitchers do after starts with icing their arm down

Didn’t Denny Braur also have surgery?...I think he was pugging the Hospital that did it…I would too if they saved my career

combsdale - 13 June 2012 10:03 PM

Didn’t Denny Braur also have surgery?...I think he was pugging the Hospital that did it…I would too if they saved my career

He has had a couple of back surgeries.  Byron Velvick just had the vertebrae fused together in his neck from years of bouncing over big waves.

Who says fishing is not a rough sport!