Eagle River’s People Catcher’s Club: A Northwoods Rite of Passage

Walk into the ER at Aspirus Eagle River Hospital on a warm June morning and you’ll likely spot them: anglers with sheepish grins, hands wrapped in gauze, clutching a bobber pin like a badge of honor. They’ve just become the newest members of the People Catcher’s Club, a quirky Northwoods tradition that’s been turning fishing mishaps into community folklore since the 1990s.

This isn’t your typical hospital waiting room decoration. Behind glass at both Aspirus Eagle River and Howard Young Medical Center in Woodruff, hundreds of extracted fish hooks glisten under fluorescent lights — treble hooks, crankbaits, spinners — each one representing a story that usually starts with “I was just casting” and ends with a trip to the ER.

It’s medicine meets Northwoods humor, and ya know what? It works.

How a Ceiling Tile Became a Northwoods Landmark

The club’s origin story reads like most good Northwoods tales: practical, a little odd, and born from necessity. Back in the early ’90s, ER staff at what was then Eagle River Memorial Hospital started pinning extracted hooks onto a ceiling tile mounted above the doorway.

“They used to put a ceiling tile that was attached to the wall above the doorway, and then they would take fish hooks out and they would put them on the board throughout the summer,” recalls Dan Halverson, a paramedic who’s spent 40 years at Aspirus Eagle River. By summer’s end, the hospital would toss the collection and start fresh the next season.

Halverson saw something worth saving. In 1993, he built the first proper display case, preserving hooks and even the occasional nail that got stuck in someone. Two years later, he crafted a larger case for Howard Young Medical, emblazoned with the words “People Catchers.”

Today, those cases serve triple duty: conversation starter, photo op, and the kind of public safety reminder that actually sticks. Patients from years past still wander over during follow-up visits, pointing out their contribution to the collection.

Membership Requirements (Not Recommended)

Getting into this club requires no dues, no application — just one really unfortunate cast or an ambitious reach for a lure tangled in lily pads. Hands are the most common casualty, but Halverson has seen hooks embedded in scalps, ears, and pretty much anywhere skin meets barb.

The membership perks? A card, a bobber pin, and a story that’ll get retold at every fish fry from here to Minocqua. Pets occasionally join the ranks too — dogs stepping on discarded lures make surprisingly frequent appearances.

“We always have people taking photos. And then we’ll have people, in years following come in for some other reason, and they’ll come over here and they’ll say that was my fish hook that I got back 10 years ago or something.” — Dan Halverson

According to Tricia Meyer, ER manager at Howard Young, most injuries happen during the chaos of unhooking fish or when anglers forget to check their surroundings before casting. The treble hooks — those three-pronged devils — are the worst offenders.

What to Do When You Become a People Catcher

Let’s be honest: removing a deeply embedded hook yourself is rarely a good idea. Halverson has seen what happens when well-meaning anglers try cutting off barbs or yanking hooks free, and it usually means more time under ER lights.

If you find yourself hooked, here’s what the pros recommend:

• Don’t cut the barb off — it makes removal trickier because staff can’t tell exactly where the hook sits beneath the skin
• Tape down other barbs on treble hooks to avoid a double (or triple) mishap during transport
• Keep it clean but don’t attempt bathroom surgery with pliers
• Head to the ER where they’ll clean it properly with soap and water, ensure no infection risk, and send you home with care instructions

“We clean it up real good, soap and water, make sure they keep it clean and don’t put your hand in lake water for several days and generally they’re pretty good,” Halverson says. Infections are rare when treated properly, which is a relief considering how many Northwoods anglers depend on those hands for their next cast.

Prevention Beats the Clubhouse Every Time

The People Catcher’s Club makes for great photos, but nobody actually wants membership. Prevention comes down to awareness — something that’s easy to forget when you’re focused on that musky cruising past your boat.

ER staff across the Northwoods emphasize a few simple rules. Maintain a rod’s length between you and others when casting. Check behind you and to the sides before you let that lure fly. Secure unused lures properly instead of leaving them loose on the boat floor where bare feet wander.

With over 1.1 million fishing licenses sold across Wisconsin in 2025 and Vilas County alone issuing around 25,000, the math suggests plenty of opportunities for hook-related adventures. The Eagle River Chain of Lakes — 28 interconnected lakes sprawling across 6,500 acres — sees particularly heavy traffic during walleye and musky season.

Those crowds mean congested boat launches, tight casting quarters at popular spots, and the occasional errant lure finding unintended targets. Add warming lake temperatures extending the fishing season deeper into fall, and you’ve got more time on the water — which means more chances for mishaps.

More Than Just a Collection of Mistakes

The displays at Aspirus Eagle River and Howard Young represent something deeper than fishing fails. They’re artifacts of a region where water defines life, where kids learn to cast before they learn to drive, where opening day feels like a civic holiday.

Fishing tourism pumps over $200 million annually into Vilas and Oneida Counties, supporting thousands of jobs in guide services, bait shops, and resorts. Minor injuries rarely slow that economic engine, but they do create teaching moments. The People Catcher’s Club humanizes those lessons, turning ER visits into something almost… fun?

There’s something quintessentially Northwoods about making light of misfortune while still taking safety seriously. These hospitals serve a region where the nearest trauma center might be an hour away, where prevention matters, and where a little humor helps the medicine go down easier.

The club also reinforces what every local angler already knows: respect the water, respect the gear, and when things go sideways, we’ve got your back. Or hand. Or wherever that hook ended up.

So this summer, when you’re out on the water chasing those lunker walleye or trying to land your first musky, keep your casts clear and your hooks accounted for. The People Catcher’s Club will always be there if you need it, but the best fishing stories don’t require a trip to the ER.

Though if you do end up joining, at least you’ll get a bobber out of it.