How many times have you been afraid to grab a fish by its lip and seen a couple of nice sharp treble hooks, and worried that you were going to catch one in the face or hand? If this is you, you have to get a lip gripper or fish grabber, whatever you want to call it.
So you have bene out on the water, catching a boat load of fish, only to be on the receiving end of some slinging treble hooks. Trust me, it happens to us all. You don’t want it to happen to you, if it hasn’t yet. It’s not a fun experience, by any means. There is something about the positioning of the fishing rod, with the fishing being right beside you, that allows these hooks to come free, and go slinging by your head at 200 mph. Scary feeling I tell ya!
Using a lip gripper is a great way to avoid this problem. Most grippers come with a built in scale on them as well, helping you quickly weigh your catch for your log books, or bragging rights! They way they work though, is using a pinching method that doesn’t hurt the fish, but keeps a firm grip on it’s lower lip. This helps with the fish flopping around.
We all know that when a fish starts flopping, and moving around a lot, that the hooks are likely to bust free. If they do, and you are using sharp hooks (like you should be!) they will bury themselves an inch deep, in the blink of an eye. Removing them is a very painful process. When you get the fish next to the boat, simply open the gripper, and release it on the fishes bottom lip. Lift him up out of the water, and remove the hooks with a pair of pliers, not your fingers!

How many times have you been afraid to grab a fish by its lip and seen a couple of nice sharp treble hooks, and worried that you were going to catch one in the face or hand? If this is you, you have to get a lip gripper or fish grabber, whatever you want to call it.

So you have bene out on the water, catching a boat load of fish, only to be on the receiving end of some slinging treble hooks. Trust me, it happens to us all. You don’t want it to happen to you, if it hasn’t yet. It’s not a fun experience, by any means. There is something about the positioning of the fishing rod, with the fishing being right beside you, that allows these hooks to come free, and go slinging by your head at 200 mph. Scary feeling I tell ya!

Using a lip gripper is a great way to avoid this problem. Most grippers come with a built in scale on them as well, helping you quickly weigh your catch for your log books, or bragging rights! They way they work though, is using a pinching method that doesn’t hurt the fish, but keeps a firm grip on it’s lower lip. This helps with the fish flopping around.

We all know that when a fish starts flopping, and moving around a lot, that the hooks are likely to bust free. If they do, and you are using sharp hooks (like you should be!) they will bury themselves an inch deep, in the blink of an eye. Removing them is a very painful process. When you get the fish next to the boat, simply open the gripper, and release it on the fishes bottom lip. Lift him up out of the water, and remove the hooks with a pair of pliers, not your fingers!