Dear SurvivalBlog,
After searching every nook and cranny of the Internet I have had no luck in finding a decent (in quality and price) pair of needle nose “fishing specific’ pliers. How about taking on the challenge? – JLN
Pat Cascio responds: I love to fish, and there is a pond just 50 yards from my front door on my neighbor’s property, and I can fish there all I want. I’m a sport angler; I catch and release most of the time. I’ve been fishing since I was about 10 years old. I started out using a bamboo fishing pole.
Attached is a picture with a few of my pliers. The first, long pair of fishing specific pliers were purchased at K-Mart many years ago for under ten bucks if I recall. The middle pliers are from a set of various pliers given to me by my local gun shop. The last is my Leatherman Blast multi-tool with needle nose pliers. As you can see, the fishing specific pliers are rusted. They spend most of the time in the bottom of my fishing tackle box and rarely get used. The middle pliers are just an example of what is out there. You don’t have to purchase fishing specific needle nose pliers. The Leatherman multi-tool is what I use 98% of the time to dislodge a hook from my fish. It works wonderfully for me, and my wife and daughters also use multi-tools to dislodge a hook.
In the past, I have used surgical forceps to remove hooks. They are convenient in that you can lock them onto the hook, and they come in different sizes and lengths. They work quite well, and you can find them for under five bucks. However, when it is all said and done, the Leatherman multi-tool works best for me. It’s always in the pouch on my belt and it only takes a few seconds to get it out and put it to work. Yes, you can go to any sporting goods or big box store and find fishing specific long needle nose pliers, and they work well. However, for my money, it is hard to beat a multi-tool with needle nose pliers for dislodging a hook.