Fishing Multi-tool or Pocket knife

[MichaelVerdirame]

I had a Victorinox Angler for 2 years, a handy tool to take whilst backpacking and canoeing. Sadly, I lost it somehwere in Oakville.

Although it had the name "angler" it wasn't really good for any specialty fishing applications. It didn't have pliers. I never used the "hook disgouger" but I did use the scaler.

I was looking into the Leatherman Juice S2. Then I thought, hey why not check for purpose-built angling multi-tools. Something that could be of use if I deep-hook a Northern.... well that's wishful thinking, full-scale pliers would be required. But something close to that.

Any thoughts on a good camping/backpacking and fishing tool?

 

[NigelBond]

I use a leatherman wingman. I think you'll find that fishing specific multi tools will be kind of big as thell have the longer pliers on them. I'm very happy with my wingman for my purposes. The thing i use the most is the pliers for unhooking. The nose is pointy enough and is spring loaded which is very handy when de-hooking. The knife as accessable with one hand from the outside when the pliers are closed. The blade is a combination blade with a section of serated blade built in. I'd rather it be all smooth blade instead. There are also scissors on the other handle also accessable when closed. The one thing this is lacking is a good quality hard wire cutter. The wire cutter on the wingman is ment for cutting soft electrical wire. You can cut a hook if you had to but it's not ment for it. The juice is probably too small to be a good option for fishing. I feel the leatherman wingman or the sidekick make for good versatile fishing tools. Both are springloaded and have outside blades. If weight and money isn't an issue I'd get a charge.

 

[MichaelVerdirame]

I use a leatherman wingman. I think you'll find that fishing specific multi tools will be kind of big as thell have the longer pliers on them. I'm very happy with my wingman for my purposes. The thing i use the most is the pliers for unhooking. The nose is pointy enough and is spring loaded which is very handy when de-hooking. The knife as accessable with one hand from the outside when the pliers are closed. The blade is a combination blade with a section of serated blade built in. I'd rather it be all smooth blade instead. There are also scissors on the other handle also accessable when closed. The one thing this is lacking is a good quality hard wire cutter. The wire cutter on the wingman is ment for cutting soft electrical wire. You can cut a hook if you had to but it's not ment for it. The juice is probably too small to be a good option for fishing. I feel the leatherman wingman or the sidekick make for good versatile fishing tools. Both are springloaded and have outside blades. If weight and money isn't an issue I'd get a charge.

Thanks for the feedback, it helps a lot.

The nose on the wingman looks really pointy, which would be key. I should simply carry a long hemostat for unhooking, it's a tool that seems best-suited for that job .

Weight and cost are both factors, it would be on my person while hiking. I wouldn't want to go as far as the charge, it does look like a beast of a tool though.

Let's see... this is what I use most often while fishing: nail clipper (cutting line) and pliers (split shot and hook removal). Simple right? Screw the multi-tool LOL

... now how about a hook sharpening tool? What do you guys use?

 

[NigelBond]

The wave and charge have diamond files which would work great for hook sharpening. I usually carry a pocket diamond sharpening tool with my tackle. It's a pen like tool for knife sharpening with a slot for hooks. I got it at princess auto but if you search google for Buck Diamond Pocket Sharpener, you'll find what Im talking about. The princess auto one I have is some generic version. If you wan't a really compact option for hook sharpening, get yourself a set of diamond needle files. The truth is even though i could sharpen hooks, i just change them instead. I always have plenty of hooks, jigs and trebbles for the type of fishing I'm doing.

 

[FishingNoob]

Thanks for the feedback, it helps a lot.

The nose on the wingman looks really pointy, which would be key. I should simply carry a long hemostat for unhooking, it's a tool that seems best-suited for that job .

Weight and cost are both factors, it would be on my person while hiking. I wouldn't want to go as far as the charge, it does look like a beast of a tool though.

Let's see... this is what I use most often while fishing: nail clipper (cutting line) and pliers (split shot and hook removal). Simple right? Screw the multi-tool LOL

... now how about a hook sharpening tool? What do you guys use?

I have been locking into a hook sharpener for a while but they all seem hard to use