Knife Recommendation Needed

wuluf

wuluf

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I'm not a fisherman but my stepson is and I'd like to get him a decent fishing knife for Christmas. I've got lots of knifes :p but don't know what's necessary for fishing. He fishes lakes, usually for trout in Northern California. Does he need a gut hook? More of a fillet blade? I need your input, trying to keep the cost around $50.
 
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Having lived in Northern California for 30 years, and having fished plenty of the lakes there in the California wilderness areas, I'd probably recommend something along the trapper style of knife, i.e. a good, two-bladed pocket knife.

If you want a fixed-blade knife, Buck puts out a good fishing knife within your budget. It's called the "Woodsman," has a 4-inch, high-carbon stainless blade, and you can find them for around fifty bucks.

Most of the trout in the Northern California lakes are planted and not native. Assuming he's keeping what he catches and not "catching and releasing," he won't need a gut hook, just a good sharp blade.

Lots of good options out there.
 
Anglers need several knives. A pocket knife, a fillet knife, and a general belt knife for overall camp and trail use.

For the amount that you mentioned, I'd look at a cut rate place like Wal Mart for a Buck Pathfinder, Model 105. Blade length is five inches, maybe legal in CA? It's a really good camp knfe, useful around a boat, too.

Buck used to make a similar knife with a slightly longer and maybe thinner blade called the Model 121. Don't know if they still have it. I think I'd still get the Model 105 as the basic camp knife. If I was short of money nd needed a good basic oudoors knife, the Buck model 105 is what I'd get. I have one and really like it.

Victorinox used to make Swiss Army knives called the Angler and the Fisherman. They had a scaler blade and scissors for trimming flies and cutting line. See if you can find one Online, or just give the popular Camper model. It's the basic Spartan, plus a good small saw. You should be able to find one within your price limit. An angler really should have one in his tacklebox and a similar item in his pocket.

Some used to like pocketknives with (usually) yellow plastic handles and a Turkish clip blade and a scaler. Camillus and others made a lot of those. Case may still have them. All of the pocketknives made for fishermen may have hook disgorger blades incorporated in the scaler. Some scaler blades may incorporate a bottle cap lifter.

You can also Search for the true Schrade fillet knives in several lengths in their Uncle Henry line, with Staglon handles. Beware of current Chinese copies selling under the Schrade name. The real Schrade firm is out of business. The name was sold, and another company now has the knives made in China. Case may still make similar knives.

If the knife is exposed to salty or brackish water, it must be SCRUBBED under fresh water and oiled. RINSING it will leave a salt residue that will rust the steel. Use a sponge or a toothbrush to scrub the blade. My son followed this practice on Guam and his dive knife was the only one among his friends that didn't rust.
 
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I suggest you look at CUTCO Knives and their "Fisherman's Solution." It is the best fish fillet knife I have ever used and I own two of them. I keep one at home and one at my hunt camp to skin deer and wild hogs. You can extend the blade length depending on the size of the fish and buy replacement blades for the knife.
The knife is made in Olean, NY by the same company that makes Ka-Bar knives.
 
Always had good luck with Rapala fillet knives. Come in a couple of different sizes. Every fisherman should have a 6" and a 4" (the are available in 4", 6", 7.5", and 9").

Gut hook? God gave ya fingers for the internal work.
 
Hack said:
Always had good luck with Rapala fillet knives. Come in a couple of different sizes. Every fisherman should have a 6" and a 4" (the are available in 4", 6", 7.5", and 9").

Gut hook? God gave ya fingers for the internal work.
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No gut hook is needed or wanted. Those are for gutting game animals, not fish. Many dislike them, anyway, as they're a sharp nuisance to normal use of the knife in other roles. I think they were a gimmick designed to sell more knives or to just be different. I wouldn't own a knife with a gutting hook!

Rapala makes good knives, but they are/were pretty inexpensive and basic for a primary Christmas gift. As a secondary gift, okay. Those with birch handles can be a little slippery if one's hands are wet or slimy. They re, of course, fillet knives, and for that use alone. The shape and the blade thinness make them unsuitable as a general duty belt knife.

I do know of a fisherman in Canada who used his to stab a black bear in the chest as it attacked. That bear had already killed and cached the bodies of 8 or 9 other men! I think the story said he used a fillet knife, and it'd have been long enough. He may have actually used a Bowie or similar knife. All I know for sure is that he was a wading angler when the bear went for him. Most PREDATORY bear attacks are by black bears. Grizzlies do eat people, but more commonly attack for other reasons.

One man cleaning a deer was attacked by a coastal grizzly/brown bear and stabbed it in the neck with his Buck Model 110 folder. He must have hit a major nerve, as it seemed to almost defuse the bear, letting him crawl to his rifle and finish killing the bear. That bloody knife was displayed in Chuck Buck's office for years.

Overall, if you want to give a nice knife in your very limited price range, I'd get the Buck Model 105 Pathfinder. If it's too long by local legal standards, the Model 102 Woodsman mentioned in an early post here might suffice. I think it's too small to be as useful as it should be for making an emergency shelter or sharpening a replacement tent stake if one breaks or is missing. But most fishermen never have to do that sort of thing.
 
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Speaking from the perspective of a speckled trout/redfish fisherman, the knife I would like would be a Swiss Army Knife Tinkerer. Two blades, tweezers, toothpick, Scissors, bottle opener/screwdriver, can opener/phillips screw driver. most useful knife I own. Regarding filet knives there is only one choice: Dexter Russel. You want a 7" thin flex blade fillet knife. Inexpensice and the last you will ever own. The pair should not cost over $50.

As far as bird knives-Phooey! I use a pair of game shears on my birds.
Gut hooks? use them to scratch something ot straighten them out and use them to pick your nose.

One thing about the Swiss Army Knife-try not to let anyone else use your toothpick. ;)
You might want to get him one of these-I have one and it is wicked cool. Have never caught anything big enough to use it on, but sometimes these things just call out to you "Buy me" :D
http://knives.dexter1818.com/shop/processing/barr-brothers-hooks/t325-pgpc.html
 
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I am not a fisherman but the only fishing knife I ever saw my grandfather or father with was one of these. This one is a J. Martiini I found on ebay for 20 bucks
 

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CAJUNLAWYER said:
Speaking from the perspective of a speckled trout/redfish fisherman, the knife I would like would be a Swiss Army Knife Tinkerer. Two blades, tweezers, toothpick, Scissors, bottle opener/screwdriver, can opener/phillips screw driver. most useful knife I own. Regarding filet knives there is only one choice: Dexter Russel. You want a 7" thin flex blade fillet knife. Inexpensice and the last you will ever own. The pair should not cost over $50.

As far as bird knives-Phooey! I use a pair of game shears on my birds.
Gut hooks? use them to scratch something ot straighten them out and use them to pick your nose.

One thing about the Swiss Army Knife-try not to let anyone else use your toothpick. ;)
You might want to get him one of these-I have one and it is wicked cool. Have never caught anything big enough to use it on, but sometimes these things just call out to you "Buy me" :D
4in. Hook, Center Pull, 1/4" diam - Barr Brother Hooks - Processing - Shop
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Listen to Caj. He actually gets out there does it. Dexter Russell has been on every serious fisherman's boat I've ever been on.

A SAK is s good solution for an all around fishing knife--a leatherman might be better. Mine is always on my vest when I trout fish--it's come in very handy a lot of times, particularly handy if a reel needs a quick fix.

The comment about the bird knives cracks me up. I clean a LOT of birds over the course of a year and have yet to figure out what a knife would do for me. Shears with a bone notch! The only time I've ever used a knife cleaning a bird was cutting open a grouse's gizzard once when the crop was empty and I was curious what it had been eating.
 
Thank you all or your sharp insights and cutting edge advice. I'm going with the Buck Woodsman. My stepson is not a knife guy and will have heard of and appreciate the "Buck" name, and it looks to be a good value, made in the US and with the life-time warranty. I don't think a 4" blade is too short for camp chores; my in-camp knife is a Benchmade Rant which is actually sub-4".
Caje, I need to find a hobby in which i can use that hook!

Thanks everyone, this is why i come here. (not the "pull my finger" threads...)
Rob
 
I think you need a knife (multi-tool) to fish and a knife for fillet work.

On the boat or for shore fishing, I recommend the Leatherman Wave. It is invaluable for darn-near everything. The pliers are a bit more "needle nosed" for hook removal. It's great for reel maintenance, crimping slip-shot, etc. It can even clean a shore lunch with little effort. If that's too large or too expensive most any multi-tool/SAK will be well appreciated.

I had a Rapala fillet knife for well over 30 years. It ended up in my kid's tackle box a couple years back. I bought a Knives of Alaska Steelheader as a replacement. It's got a 6" blade and has good heft and balance and holds a great edge. I don't keep a lot of fish but this knife will handle any filleting chores I would encounter. The blade is slightly shorted than my old Rapala but has suited me well.

If your stepson plans on having to routinely clean a mess of fish (like a bucket of perch) then an electric fillet knife is great. I have used a friend's Rapala electric. I lost the "quantity bet" on an ice fishing outing a few years back and had to clean more than 50 perch and a couple of "boney" northern pike. It buzzed through them all in 1/2 an hour. It would have been a back breaker without it.
 
Hack said:
That is a Rapala fillet knife.
Fish 'n Fillet® Knives
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That’s weird the eBay listing said it was a Finnish JMartiini knife and to be honest I didn’t know the name of the knife until I googled “fishing knife” and clicked on the picture. But the one you linked to was the same knife my father and grandfather carried.

And to be perfectly honest I have no idea if it’s even a good knife that's just what comes to mind when I hear "fishing knife"
 
Smoke said:
That’s weird the eBay listing said it was a Finnish JMartiini knife and to be honest I didn’t know the name of the knife until I googled “fishing knife” and clicked on the picture. But the one you linked to was the same knife my father and grandfather carried.

And to be perfectly honest I have no idea if it’s even a good knife that's just what comes to mind when I hear "fishing knife"
Click to expand...

This confuses a lot of Americans. Martinii is the actual Finnish maker. The importer of the Rapala lures (also Finnish) brings in the knives here under the Rapala name. They have several models.

The situation sort of parallels that of Swiss Army Brands, a US company that imports Victorinox knives. (A separate company used to import the Wenger knives, no longer made.)
 
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