Team Catfish Yellow Floating Fish Grip

These have now reached mandatory status in the ranks of my fishing equipment. Typically by the end of the summer, my thumbs look like I have dragged them over a belt sander and my fingers bear the signature scars of squeezing against too many catfish barbs. I have tried several types of fish holders in the past, and these are by far the most useful fish grabber I have found yet. Not only do they save your hands from the fish themselves, but they make removing the hook a much safer task. These are simple design that is extremely durable and plenty strong enough to hold any fish (that you are going to be able to hold up by yourself, anyway). The only downside is that they are difficult to use on smaller fish, which in the catfish world are some of the worst offenders for sticking a fin barb into your hand or flopping a hook into your flesh – but honestly I have yet to find any fish grabbers that work well for the dreaded “fiddler” cat (“fiddler” is southern for “skinning size” channel catfish, i.e. under a pound). On bigger fish, they work so well that I often have difficulty getting the grips out of the fish’s mouth once they are in the live well. These work for bass fishing too, as they are great for avoiding the tepid dance between fish and fisherman when trying to lip a bucket mouth when he has five hooks to spare from that crankbait you enticed into his mouth.

I use these all the time when kayak fishing. Very handy this year with inshore closed to rockfish and Ling cod. When fishing for halibut these have allowed me to release beautiful Ling cod without damage. They lock onto the lib quite well and will hold large fish. Being plastic, they both float and don’t rust in salt water. I’ve had this paid for a couple years with no issues, sitting on the back of my boat through all kinds of weather.

Received this grip a few days ago and put it to work over the weekend on some nice redfish . Several good points, first, it floats, second it is MUCH stronger that it appears online. Its operates like a pair of non-adjustable vice grips. You do not need to squeeze hard for it to solidly hold. Also, the strap easily goes over your wrist and makes it simple to carry. Worked fine in holding the fish to remove the hook. Will put it to use on some bull reds in a few weeks and will revise/update this review.Review update, used several times throughout September on 20 -30 lb redfish caught on their fall breeding run in Winyah Bay, Georgetown, South Carolina. Amazingly strong product well worth the money. One additional comment from earlier review. They are fine to lift a fish from the water or to hold for a quick photo. There is of course no swivel so you need to hold on tight.

i've used these for about a month fishing now, and am very happy with them. they lock securely over the lip of fish and hold them securely so i can dehook them quickly.these are absolutely essential for pike and gar, or any fish that cannot be lip-landed.they get a 4-star rating because they are fairly slippery when wet, especially if you are holding onto it after handling a fish. a little more molded in grooves and texture would make it a perfect product.a fantastic feature is a simple, yet strong circle molded in the tip of the handle. it's intended for a lanyard, which is fine, but i prefer to use it to hang held fish from while weighing them! superb!

I must say it saddens me that since ive got this item ive not caught a fish big enough to use these grips on. I brought them luring, boat fishing at sea and have them either clipped to my pants or to my pouch. They are so light you hardly notice them which is great especially when you are trekking through the forest and climbing over vegetation to get to that prime spot. We don't have to worry about rust, maintenance or any of that crap. that is a definitive plus. I do however wonder if there could be some way to make this grip easier to release. Perhaps a spring loaded hinge or something. also the part that grips the lip seems to press extremely close together with very little give. could that hurt the fish i wonder.Otherwise excellent product. Cheap and great quality.

This grips work great! I have had the Rapala lock and weigh (not bad but not great) and was thinking about getting a Boga Grip, but decided on these instead for three reasons. 1. They are a lot cheaper than Bogas 2. They can EASILY handle catfish well over 50 lbs (I got them for striper, of which we catch a lot of 30-40lbs) 3. They didn't swivel (the swivel is great if you are using the grips to land a fish, but I wanted them to actually hold fish while I unhooked them in the net, which we leave over the side of the boat in the water so as not to harm the fish)

Works well for larger fish, but does not work for smaller fish. If the fish's mouth is small its difficult to get the grip into its mouth before he closes it. If you fail to get it in the fish's mouth he's going to close tight; forget it after that.

I bought this over the Berkley based on reviews and I could not be happier. Shipping was quick enough that I got to try it out this weekend. This made my wife actually enjoy fishing with me since she didnt have to handle slimy, barbed catfish. The vise mechanism works great to hold a giant range of light to very heavy fish. It has a big enough surface area to spread out pressure and ensure that the fish can be released unharmed, unlike many other similar products which tend to perforate the mouth. I am going to buy one for my father and grandfather, I know they'll love it!