Here is a situation that arose the other day while out on the water that shows why it is so important to have a quality set of hook cutters in the boat at all times. We had a nice fish come in and take a Suick on a figure 8, and after a short fight we had it in the net, well the front and rear hooks caught the bag and at the same time the fish started rolling (yes the fish was still in the water). Before you knew it we had a fish wrapped in what appeared to be massive cocoon of netting around its head with nine very sharp hook points hidden somewhere in the middle of this mess. The fishes head is underwater so you know it’s breathing fine, but as your staring down at this mess you think to your self, “How the Hell am I going to get this out” Well that brings me to the point of this post, with my pair of Knipex cutters I was able to quickly cut apart all 3 of the hooks, and a several strands of the net (Sorry Dave) to get this fish free as quickly as possible.
I can’t stress the importance of making sure that you have a set off cutters that you know will perform quickly when the situation arises. The fish swam away strong, the net is fine, and I have all of my fingers, and I know that my cutters will perform great the next time that I need them to. If you have a pair of hook cutters and never had to use them in the past, please test them out on an old hook to see how they perform. If you are having a tough time cutting through the hook, you need to ask yourself “Will I be able to cut a hook free when the time comes that I’m by myself and you have a 5/0 in your hand and the other side attached to a fish?”
Be Safe and Have a Great Season!
Mike
Yes definatley test them out! I found out the hard way, attached to a 5/0 treble in my hand with a angry thrashing fish on the other side of the hook, it wasnt pretty, my cheap bolt cutters woulnt cut through the hook..
Long painful story but I ended up using a fillet knife to cut the hook free from my hand 😡 !…I have good ones now, and have tested them out before putting them into service…
Todd
I`m going back to hand landing,funner,more exciting,get to fight the fish more,and I`ll have all my tools there.Grab em by the gills,unhook em,no picture,admire em a second,and wave bye,bye…not netting anymore…even if i get a 50,and she comes off….bye,bye…it doesn`t matter to me if I loose a fish.More of a toe to toe battle…so Mike,Todd,Tom,Will.Bomba,etc,,..we don`t have to fish together anymore…the net is hangin on the wall……lol
DU 😯 👿 😀
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