When you're fishing, you need a good pair of pliers. These Bubba Blade Pliers are more than that.
One of the more useful pieces of fishing gear you can own is a good pair of fishing pliers. We never leave home without them.
Bubba Blade Knives, a company well known for their fillet knife and other fish cleaning products, sent me their 7.5" fishing pliers for a test run.
I took them to a Michigan lake to see what they could do, and now this fishing tool will have a permanent spot in my tackle box.
The mid-size plier
Travis Smola
Bubba Blade makes several different versions of their fishing pliers. There are two 8.5-inch models with a long nose, one with traditional handles and one with a pistol grip. There's a 6.5-inch version as well. But right in the middle lies the 7.5-inch version they sent me, and it seems to fit comfortably between all the others.
They range in price from $41.99 to $57.99.
I mostly fish for bass, pike and catfish, so for a Michigan angler like me, I'd say this size is perfect. It won't really work for removing deep hooks from smaller panfish, but there aren't a whole lot of pliers that are good for that.
The company has gained a lot of notoriety in recent years for their no-slip-grip handles on their knives. I can see why this grip is popular. It just feels right in the hand and the red handles were easy to grip when my hands were wet and covered with fish slime. The spring-loaded jaws worked like they were supposed to.
Travis Smola
There are mixed online reviews for these pliers, with some criticizing the material in the stainless steel jaws. I have no idea what grade of steel they are. I couldn't find that information anywhere. For the rest of the construction, Bubba Blade states they are made with "aerospace aluminum."
That being said, I had no issues while testing. They seem plenty heavy-duty to me. I can't say how they would handle saltwater exposure, because there isn't much in Michigan. I didn't catch any fish of a real notable size while testing, but I did plenty of twisting and turning of the tool while removing stubborn hooks from the jaws of largemouth bass.
The pliers also feature three crimper tools which I used to crimp some split shot on a worm fishing rig for panfish. Never did I have any issues with the metal bending or warping.
I also dropped them on the deck of my parent's boat several times with no issue.
Other features
Travis Smola
These pliers feature a cobalt cutter tool for snipping fishing line. I only tested it on monofilament, so I can't say how it would handle fluorocarbon or braid, but the jaws seemed plenty sharp enough.
The lakes I was fishing during this test were relatively new to me, so I was changing lures constantly. They did the job every time.
I do wish that the line cutters were located within the back of the jaws behind the convenient split shot crimper like some other pliers I've used. It's just more convenient that way. But I quickly got used to it. It's a minor complaint at most.
The pliers also come with a nylon sheath so you can keep them on your belt clip for ease of use. They also come with a coiled lanyard in case you're worried about losing them in the depths of the lake or ocean. Both seem well constructed and worked as advertised. I made sure to test both, but mostly I just kept the pliers in my tackle box until I needed them. That's just my personal preference.
A versatile fishing tool
Travis Smola
Overall, I really like Bubba Blade's fishing pliers. They're one of the nicest fishing accessories I've used in quite a while and they handled all the fishing tasks I've asked of them so far. Things like like crimping and snipping line are really easy. They also made hook removal a breeze.
Like I said, these pliers are going to have a permanent place in my tackle box all through the summer, and likely into the winter when ice fishing season gets here!
Everyone needs fishing pliers, and you might as well go with a good, sturdy pair.
For more outdoor content from Travis Smola, be sure to follow him on Twitter and check out his Geocaching and Outdoors with Travis Youtube channels.
NEXT: CAN A CAMPING KNIFE AND A HUNTING KNIFE BE ONE AND THE SAME?
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