Yeah, with bad infections, the doctor will lance it to allow it to drain. I'm sure they're pumping him full of antibiotics and saline to keep it flowing. Nasty stuff.

2nd pic....you can see the "rounder" hole...that's where the ray hit.

The rest is where the doctor's split his foot open in several places.

Yeah, I finally noticed that Bull. Thanks.

Perhaps the doctors made the slices to relieve the pressure of the swelling.

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some of you people are unreal.......

Look, Capt. Mike is a friend and I posted this to let everyone know so they can pray for the man. He is hurting.

He, himself posted the pics....and I copied them over from his post on 2cool.

This is serious........and to think that some of you think this is a farce....is unbelievable to me.

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Bull-

I didn't intend to discount the story with my comment of photoshopping. Sorry if I ruffled your feathers. I have personally seen two people that have been hit and it didn't look anything like that. I know Mike as well and know he is not the type to blow things out of proportion. Rest assured that he is in my prayers and that I hope to be fishing with him again in the near future.

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Perhaps the doctors made the slices to relieve the pressure of the swelling.

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Bingo- what I'm thinking is he received a fasciotomy, not unusual with Nec Fasc, where they must open the fascial compartments surgically emergently to keep swelling from severely damaging nerve and blood vessels/flow to and from that area (an attempt to preserve the limb).

Troutslime.....

no problem..... it just touched me wrong!


You just need to keep "making me laugh" on this board!
Although I've had many friends "hit" by rays, the last few have suffered mucho trama, FAR beyond the normal recovery from stepping on a ray. Each case is different I guess.

I had one buddy that was fishing in front of Allyn's Bight, and he just barely caught the head of the critter with his heel. The ray was SO BIG that he raised out of the water and the tail coiled around the top of his tibia (like a boa constrictor) .... the barb actualy hit him right behind the knee!!! The poor soul almost bled to death before he made it to Key Allegro. He was DOWN for 4 months and nearly lost his leg twice during the recovery.

just an fyi....

Damn thats some bad luck there Mike.
I hope you heal up fast and as good as new sooner than later.

Don't know if you guys saw it yet, but there's a benefit auction/donation forum on 2Cool now to help out Mike and Trish. If you have the means to donate a fishing trip or a hog hunt or something, it would be a nice gesture, and I'm sure they'd appreciate it greatly.

I got hit by a big ray, and if I have the pic location down right, almost in the same spot. On the outside of the left ankle in the soft spot in front of the "ankle bone". The muscle strands (white strings) were pulled outside the nickle sized hole in my neoprene wade boots. The ray was big enought to "carry" me sideways for about a foot before the impact, which was like getting hit in the ankle with a piece of #8 rebar.

While my foot swole something terrible, it did not have to be lanced. They do not sew up the hole, but let it drain on its own to heal from the inside out. Problem was the barb hit the bone and went up the leg. Two months later had to get it operated on to remove a pocket of necrotic tissue about the size of a baseball.

Unfortunately for Capt. McBride, he will be out of comission for more than a month. A ray hit like that will take a few months to heal to the point he can wade again.

Rays are bad business, period. I heard an oldtimer once refer to them as the rattlesnake of the bays. I also had an old doctor tell me after I got hit he had had a large ray "challenge" him over a spot he was wading toward. He told me he slapped the water with his rod tip, and poked at the ray and it just moved toward him and stirred up the mud till he could not see it. He just slowly turned and shuffled the opposite direction, expecting the hit.

Rays suck.

Speedy recovery to Capt. McBride.

update direct from Mike McBride:

Stingray updates and answers
First of all, I am totally blown away and extremely humbled by all of this, both by the incredibly 2Cool responses, and by those little critters which can hand you a life changing event with one little poke.

Aside from all of that, there have been a ton of questions raised which need answering to set some of y'all at ease. This is nothing to freak over, but it is something to be educated about. Here's what I do know, and I do know that we don’t need anybody else going through this.

·No I was not wearing protective boots, just regular flats type booties.
·The hit was top dead center of the ankle joint. I was actually not moving, but a client next to me was while we were trying to Boga grip a 28" trout.
·No I did not seek immediate medical attention. [I went in but let it ride…just didn’t look worthy of a holiday weekend trip to town.]
·The swelling, etc., looked normal until the next afternoon [24 hrs later]...then everything literally exploded within a period of 2 to 3 hrs.
·The exploding infection caused necrotizing fasciitis. Yes, commonly known as “flesh-eating disease”. Symptoms are rapid swelling turning quickly to violet and black, plus gaseous surface blistering with high skin heat.
·Many types of bacteria can cause necrotizing fasciitis: Strep, Staph, Vibrio vulnificus, etc. We don’t know yet what it was but cultures are being run and we’ll find out.
·The bacteria could have come from several sources; on the ray, in the mud, in the dirty water near the slough… we just don’t know. It seems to always be there in one level or another, but has been very rare down here. We were, however, in the effluent of a draining freshwater slough. The enemy wasn't the ray but the bug.

Here’s the results. Extreme tissue destruction, tendons exposed, grafting required. A life changing event no doubt with a long road ahead.

The question is: Is this a kill switch issue? Perhaps. Lotta ways to make contact with this type of bacteria, but put your gear on and eliminate one of them. Seriously, this stuff is so strong, that if I had been immune compromised I may not be typing this. Y’all be careful out there, take proper precautions, and again, there are no words worthy enough for Capt. Tricia and I to thank y’all enough. There is no way we could have made it through this without you guys.

that's a tough dude. i'm still freaked out by it.

I have been hit by a ray before, It slashed me 1/4" above my ankle armor on my reef boots. Its not pleasant. They do not always poke the barb into you and getting slashed by a ray is like getting cut open by a razor. I had a 1.5" gash that was 3/4" deep into my ankle. It was in July and I was very worried about Vibrio.

That said I believe the picture showed areas where Mike's foot was opened up by his doctors since he has necrotis fascitis which is a flesh eating bacteria. I googled it and 30% of the people that contract this die from it so this is very serious.

My house in POC is available on the auction for Mike. He is in my prayers. I hope some of you will join me in bidding on items on 2cool as I am certain Mike will need the money as I do not believe he has any health insurance.


Deliver Me!

Damn, not sure if I want to ever get out of my boat now. That is some scary stuff and will definitely be weighing on my mind.

T&P Capt. Mike.

Heavy, and a bit cumbersome, but they'll stop all but the biggest rays.

[This message has been edited by MouthBQ98 (edited 5/28/2009 2:23p).]

I've been wading for years in these



May be time to invest in some Ray Guards

To clarify the claim that it was not THE flesh eating bacteria.
"Flesh eating" refers to the medical term "necrotizing fasciitis".
Necrotizing fasciitis can be caused by several bacteria.
Vibrio, Staph, Strep , Clostridium, and others can cause the problem alone and in combination.

The multiple wounds are surgical incisions to relieve pressure from swelling and to clean out dead tissue(debridement).

Bottom line, take painful, rapidly swelling wounds seriously.

Mike Knapick
Class '76
Houston

One thing that has not been mentioned, is Mike got hit on Friday.....he fished on Saturday, and did not go to the doctor until Sunday.

good info, did not know that.....

sounds like why he's having so many problems now

Stingray usually hits once. Those cuts you see are referred to as a fasciotomy which are surgical incisions into the fascia to prevent further damage via cell destruction. This releases pressure caused by the inflammation.

My 9 month old Labrador got Necrotizing Fasciitis, which we eventually determined was caused by Strep Canis. I came home from work one night and noticed he was curled up on his bed, not looking too well. I went over and realized his left thigh was about 3 times it's normal size. I took him to the A&M vet school at about 10pm and was there until 2 am. He spent the next 4 weeks in the ICU at the Vet School. His entire left thigh muscle was filled with pus and infection. The took out more than 20 oz of puss. They eventually made an 8 inch incision, and installed a drain.

The infection permanatly crippled his femur, and he eventually had to have a femoral ostectomy. He is 13 months old now and happy, healthy and fully recovered.

That NF is some nasty sh**, let me tell you. To this day they Doc's dont know what caused it. He had no wounds, in or outside his body. They said it was only the 3rd time they'd ever seen it in a dog at the Vet School.

This can happen from any injury. My dad dropped a wooden door on his foot when he was rehanging it up. the gash and bruises lead to the flesh eating bacteria.. his skin got tight and hot from inflamation.

He failed to go get it looked at and the results were that he could not move from his eazy boy for two weeks as he healed up.

Word to the wise is to suck it up and pay the copay.. don't risk your life over a hurt foot.

t&p, looks painful as hell

All the more reason to invest in a boat that floats shallow enough so you don't have to wade, you can just pole the boat along.

And it doesn't have to be a $45,000 Hells Bay skiff either. You can spend well under $2K for a Native Ultimate kayak or a Flats Stalker and if you want to get to really remote areas you can piggyback either one on a bigger boat as a mothership.

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All the more reason to invest in a boat that floats shallow enough so you don't have to wade

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Most people I know that fish the skinny water use their boats to get to where they are going, then get out and wade.

I'm setting up a mothershipping rig for my boat later this summer. Side slung kayaks...or maybe even just towing them...

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jh0400
posted 4:27p, 06/03/09




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All the more reason to invest in a boat that floats shallow enough so you don't have to wade
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Most people I know that fish the skinny water use their boats to get to where they are going, then get out and wade.

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Exactly my point. Get a boat that floats shallow enough, like 4-6" shallow and can be poled quietly and you don't have to wade. In this aspect I think the attitude of inshore fishermen in Florida is superior to Texas.

They tend to be concerned with how shallow something will float and how quietly it can be poled not how great of a hole shot they can get or how shallow they can get up on a plane. It's also a helluva lot easier to unstick a 500# skiff than a 1200#+ Majek.

Sure, I've seen big reds and drum in water too shallow even for a Hells Bay that floats in 5" of water to go but in those instances you can see a ray pretty easily and avoid him.

I generally agree with this sentiment..Texas boats are oversized, but then again, Texans spend time fishing open bays instead of protected mangroves and super shallow tidal flats, so sometimes you need something that will get you home when it gets nasty.

Another difference...in florida, with the clearer water, you do more sight casting, whereas in texas you are beating the water more with fan casts. The generally somewhat murkier water lets you wade closer than you otherwise might.

My skiff is small, but not a flats boat. I have to start poling in a foot of water, though if I tilt the outboard up I can get through 7 inches of water ok.

The kayak really helps when I want to go super shallow.

Another thing: In Texas, you have a lot of fisherman sans boat, that can wade in from the shore. When they get a boat, old habits die hard. The boat is mostly transport.

Wading >>>>> Drifting

There is a different feeling, excitement, whatever you want to call it to getting in the water and fishing. Doing off of a boat just doesnt do it for me. I will go up against the dangers to be in the water every day. No one should tell someone how/where/when to fish, its up to that person. I don't know this captain, but can almost guarantee you that he will be back in the water once he is able to.

Fishing off a boat basically eliminates sting rays. Fishing off a boat does not eliminate vibrio. Your kids can get it fishing off a pier from a live shrimp or a piggy perch etc.

Learn the signs.

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Another thing: In Texas, you have a lot of fisherman sans boat, that can wade in from the shore. When they get a boat, old habits die hard. The boat is mostly transport.

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I love wading and hate fishing from a boat. If I am in a boat during the warm water months, and can see hard bottom, I will usually get out. I just can't help it.

There is always nasty stuff and all kinds of risk associated with the outdoors. You can sit at home in the rocking chair or you can get out side and enjoy fishing.

Thousands of people wade the Texas coast without problems from bacteria and rays. So many people in fact that it is hard to get the hell away from them all.

I'd say your risk of getting tetanus from your own rusty hooks is far greater than a ray hit.

Im not saying you shouldnt be cautious and use common sense, but to say you need a flats skiff or a kayak because wading is too dangerous is rediculous.

If you have the money and a constant companion to pole you around than the skiff might be the way to go, but you still miss a lot by not wading.

just sayin...

While the opportunities aren't as numerous, I guarantee that sight-casting to a big red from the bow of a skiff being poled in 6" of water is every bit the rush that catching one while wading is.

I'm just sayin' that by and large, Texas fishermen tend to have the mentality that it's all about having a big, heavy, tunnel-hull boat with a 150+ HP engine that will run on a plane in 4" of water to get to the fish.