Scary Ordeal Ends Well for 10-Year-Old Angler

You’re casting toward shore. Your lure gets snagged in the rocks or the weeds. You tug on the line, your lure breaks free and comes flying back at you as if it were shot from a slingshot.

You duck, and consider yourself fortunate to still have both eyes.

Most fishermen can relate to this, having become snagged at one time or another. Unfortunately, some can relate better than others: Those who were unable to duck.

One such person is 10-year-old Nikki Hartley of Glenrock, Wyo.

In a push to get anglers to be more careful, particularly parents with young children, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department chronicled Hartley’s ill-fated fishing trip last year in a recent news release.

Her nightmare began during a guided float-trip with her parents down Wyoming’s remote Green River, a renowned trout fishery beneath Flaming Gorge Dam.

Her lure got stuck in the rocks near shore. Her father, thinking it was merely stuck in some moss, grabbed the rod and gave a stout pull.

The lure, a large Rapala with two sets of barbed treble-hooks dangling beneath it, flew from the rocks and smacked Hartley in the face.

Instinctively, she clutched at the lure and in the process set the hooks. All three hooks on one of the trebles became embedded: one in the upper lid, one in the lower lid and one in the middle of her right eye.

They were in a wilderness area, miles from civilization.

The guide immediately beached the boat and scrambled up the cliffs to locate another guide--who was also a paramedic with a cellular phone--operating nearby.

Despite the pain, Hartley didn’t cry. Sensing her father’s anguish, she asked him not to cry, either, or she would start.

Her mother, Peggy, feeling helpless, could only offer encouraging words. “I was afraid she would go into shock,” she said.

The guide returned minutes later with the paramedic, who took one look at Hartley and knew he was under-qualified. All he could do was clip the lure from the hook, which remained embedded in her eye.

Hartley was told to keep her eyes closed and to focus straight ahead to avoid movement and possible added damage. Her father told her to fantasize about riding horses, something she loved to do.

Rain started to fall and lightning filled the sky as the group hastily paddled downriver, reaching the next landing in about an hour. From there the Hartleys began a 70-mile ambulance ride to the nearest hospital, in Rock Springs.

“The ambulance crew was wonderful,” Peggy Hartley said. “They told stories of other accidents and funny incidents they had encountered. Nikki laughed at these and even told them about the shrike birds that lived at our place, [which] trained the cats to stay in the barn.

“If the cats ventured out [the birds] would swoop down and rake their backs with their claws. Everyone thought this was very funny and Nikki was pleased that she had her own story to tell.”

They arrived at the hospital but it, too, was not equipped to handle such a delicate operation. Doctors suggested another ambulance ride to the Moran Eye Center, 100 miles away in Salt Lake City.

Before they left, nurses cut away the T-shirt Hartley’s father bought for her at the fishing lodge to fit her with an IV, and it was then that she broke down and started crying.

“Don’t let them cut my shirt, I love it, I don’t want to have it ruined,” she told her father.

He explained that removing the shirt was necessary and that he would buy her a new one. She told her father she loved him and drifted off into a painless sleep.

A long day felt like an eternity to her parents. They didn’t arrive in Salt Lake City until 10 p.m., eight hours after the accident. Surgery began at 1 a.m. and lasted until 4:30 a.m.

Doctors removed Hartley’s shattered lens, repaired her cornea and discovered, to her family’s relief, that the retina hadn’t been pierced.

Nikki spent five days in the hospital and was eventually fitted with a special contact lens that restored her vision from near blindness to 20/40. After her 14th birthday, when her immune system is stronger, she will receive a cornea and lens transplant that, it is hoped, will restore her vision to normal or near normal.

Peggy Hartley, reached the other day by telephone, said Nikki, now 11, still has nine stitches in her eye and has monthly checkups. Otherwise, she has been busy leading the life of a typical 11-year-old girl, swimming, dancing and riding horses.

“As you can see, this accident hasn’t slowed her down,” Peggy Hartley said. “She is not afraid to try anything and, if anything, it seems her confidence has grown because she realized she conquered the accident and that she is strong.”

Perhaps, but there is one thing Nikki Hartley hasn’t done since the accident: Cast a lure into the river.

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Catch of the week: A 110-pound gulf grouper caught by Donnie Smith of Tustin at the Uncle Sam Bank off Baja aboard the Excel out of Fisherman’s Landing in San Diego. If approved by the International Game Fish Assn., Smith’s catch will become an all-tackle world record. The current record is a 106-pound 3-ounce grouper caught off Baja in 1989.

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Casino night: The Sportfishing Assn. of California’s annual fund-raiser will be held Nov. 15 at the Balboa Pavilion in Newport Beach.

Participants will buy scrip to purchase chips and try their luck at craps, roulette and blackjack, then turn in their chips for raffle tickets. Prizes include everything from tackle to long-range fishing trips.

Dozens of skippers will be on hand, and the event will be emceed by Pete Gray and Marty Miller of the XTRA radio show, “Let’s Talk Hookup.” Cost is $50, which is good for $100 in scrip.

Proceeds will enable SAC to continue to represent the industry and its passengers as it has for the last 25 years. Recent accomplishments include working with the Navy to obtain and maintain access to San Clemente Island and persuading the Mexican government--an annual, time-consuming affair--to issue permits for the long-range fleet.

For more information on Casino Night, call (619) 226-6455.

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From the log of the Polaris Supreme:

“As the crew chummed live sardines and mackerel, the passengers witnessed an acrobatic show as the ‘hoos shot out of the water, up to six feet, attacking baited mackerel and retrieved lures. Everyone was bendo racing up the sides of the boat, around the bow and across the stern trying to keep up with these speedsters of the sea. The Supreme had five of these stops, all producing a dozen or more fish with one stop for 31 skinnies.”

Translation: The wahoo bite was incredible during a recent trip off Baja.

FRESHWATER REPORT

IRVINE LAKE--Trout opener is Friday and barring a heat wave, it should be a productive one as 10,000 pounds of Mt. Lassen Hatchery trout will be stocked Thursday. Most will weigh between three-quarters of a pound and two pounds, but some will be in the 10- to 15-pound range. Meanwhile, catfish remain active off Rocky Point and west shore.

LAKE PERRIS--Largemouth bass hit and miss. William Urmin, Diamond Bar, 8-2 bass, on six-inch purple plastic worm at east end. First trout plant of season scheduled this week.

CORONA LAKE--Trout opener is Saturday at 6 a.m. About 8,000 pounds of trout from one to 20 pounds will be stocked this week, but that won’t necessarily ensure a productive opener. Last year a heat wave just before the opener raised the water temperature in the tiny lake to the point where more fish died than were caught.

ANAHEIM LAKE--After being open only a month, the lake will close Nov. 15 because the Orange County Water District will no longer supply water to the lake, citing cost. Meanwhile, trout and sturgeon are active.

SILVERWOOD LAKE--An occasional striped bass and largemouth bass, but fishing is slow. The Department of Water Resources, with help from the California Conservation Corps this month will place 640 PVC-constructed “fish spheres” in Cleghorn and Miller Canyon areas to provide added habitat.

GREEN VALLEY LAKE--Trout slow to fair. James Bon, Green Valley Lake, season-record 10-6 trout, on Trout Teaser. Other trout weighed in at 8-8, 6-7 and 5-10.

LAKE CACHUMA--Trout fair, but deep, most caught by trollers using Needlefish off E Point. Some bass taken on crankbaits, spinners and plastic worms at east end and flats.

LAKE CASITAS--Largemouth bass unusually slow. Largest a 7-8 by Ed Whitecomb, Oxnard, on plastic worm. Catfish best bet. Gina Rodriguez, Ventura, 11-0 catfish, on mackerel from shore at Santa Ana Cove.

PYRAMID LAKE--Largemouth and smallmouth bass fair. Justin Peltier, Frazier Park, three largemouth bass at 2-0 apiece, and a crappie at 1-8, on Shad Rap and white grubs at Bear Trap. Catfish fair. Raul Garcia, Canoga Park, 6-8 and 1-0 catfish, on mackerel at Yellow Bar. Striped bass boiling in late afternoons, but few being caught.

LAKE PIRU--Largemouth bass bite has picked up. Mike Staley, Quartz Hill, nine bass averaging 2-0, on unknown lure toward north end. Chris Hayes, Simi Valley, 5-0 bass, on Shad Rap lure at north end. Catfish slow to fair. Larry Rem, Reseda, 15-8 catfish, on night crawler at Reasoner Cove. Some trout caught by trollers using Needlefish and Kastmaster lures at 10-30 feet.

CASTAIC LAKE--Largemouth bass good in both lakes, with lower lake pro. Shannon Alston, Texas, 10-4 bass, on crawdad in upper lake. Pat Buckley, Castaic, 8-8, 7-0 and 6-0 bass, on crawdads in lower lake.

SAN DIEGO CITY LAKES--El Capitan: Largemouth bass fair, but no big fish reported. Other species slow. Miramar: Trout season under way--of 427 anglers checked, 341 trout were caught, the largest at 2-8. San Vicente: Trout and largemouth bass fair. Some catfish. Clint Hicks, San Diego, two blue catfish, largest 55-8, on mackerel at Barona Arm.

LAKE CUYAMACA--Trout picking up: They’re averaging one fish per person now. Power Bait and Sierra Gold getting most.

LAKE SKINNER--Striped bass biting periodically at inlet and Ramp 2. Chicken livers and surface plugs getting most. Trout fair at Ramp 2 and across from marina. Some limits.

SALTWATER REPORT

The Times accepts and publishes the catch count as a public service. Any responsibility for accuracy is that of the landing operator.

MORRO BAY (Bob’s Sportfishing)--9 anglers (1 boat): 1 ling cod, 105 rock cod, 30 assorted bass.

AVILA BEACH--17 anglers (1 boat): 48 red rock cod, 207 assorted rock cod, 3 lingcod.

SANTA BARBARA (Sea Landing)--20 anglers (1 boat): 51 calico bass, 23 sand bass, 1 halibut, 4 sculpin, 11 barracuda, 2 whitefish, 7 rockfish, 1 sheephead.

VENTURA--14 anglers (1 boat): 5 calico bass, 45 rockfish, 41 sculpin, 12 sheephead, 65 whitefish.

OXNARD (Cisco’s)--14 anglers (1 boat): 8 ling cod, 135 rockfish, 5 sculpin, 3 sheephead, 2 whitefish.

PORT HUENEME--24 anglers (2 boats): 105 rock cod, 109 rockfish, 1 sheephead, 2 sand bass, 12 whitefish.

MARINA DEL REY--45 anglers (4 boats): 12 halibut, 20 sand bass, 137 sculpin.

REDONDO--32 anglers (3 boats): 4 red snapper, 9 salmon grouper, 235 red rock cod, 2 sand bass, 45 sculpin, 66 rockfish.

SAN PEDRO (L.A. Harbor Sportfishing)--15 anglers (1 boat): 53 sand bass, 16 sculpin, 2 whitefish.

LONG BEACH--16 anglers (2 boats): 7 barracuda, 9 calico bass, 31 whitefish, 12 sheephead, 77 sculpin, 12 rockfish. (Belmont Pier)--5 anglers (1 boat): 6 perch, 5 red snapper, 75 rockfish, 1 sand bass, 30 sculpin, 1 sheephead, 21 sole, 15 whitefish.

SEAL BEACH--14 anglers (1 boat): 13 whitefish, 190 rockfish.

NEWPORT BEACH (Newport Landing)--23 anglers (1 boat): 101 sculpin, 1 whitefish, 105 mackerel. (Davey’s Locker)--4 anglers (1 boat): 29 sculpin, 1 sand bass, 1 sheephead, 1 rockfish, 40 mackerel.

DANA WHARF--39 anglers (2 boats): 16 blue perch, 10 calico bass, 6 sand bass, 104 mackerel, 138 rockfish, 3 sculpin, 11 sheephead, 14 whitefish, 50 white croaker.

SAN DIEGO (Islandia)--36 anglers (3 boats): 112 bonito, 2 sand bass, 22 calico bass, 22 sheephead, 12 sculpin, 77 rockfish, 346 mackerel.

TROUT PLANTS

LOS ANGELES--Big Rock Creek, Crystal Lake, Echo Park Lake, Elizabeth Lake, Piru Creek (Frenchman’s Flat), Willowbrook Lake. RIVERSIDE--Lake Hemet, Lake Perris. SAN BERNARDINO--Big Bear Lake, Mojave Narrows Park Lake. SAN DIEGO--Doane Pond. VENTURA--Lake Casitas, Lake Piru. SANTA BARBARA--Lake Cachuma. SAN LUIS OBISPO--Atascadero Lake, Lake Lopez, Santa Margarita Lake. KERN--Hart Park Lake, Kern River (Live Oak picnic area to Democrat Beach and Edison Powerhouse No. 3 to Riverside Park), Lake Isabella, Lake Ming, Woollomes Lake. TULARE--Kern River (Fairview Dam to Lazy River Lodge and Johnsondale Bridge to Fairview Dam).