Fishin' with your Traditional Knives

Chris, I know I'm late commenting, but that is another impressive load of crappie! I need to get into some crappie fishing. They're one of my favorite freshwater eating fish. I think I've just always been put off by the effort it takes to clean and fry em. Now if I had a deep fryer...
I've been waiting for the weather to hit 80 before I get out on the kayak. That 50 degree river water gets a bit chilly, but I just can't wait any longer. I've got the day off tomorrow, so i plan to get out for a few hours to scratch the itch.
And for the knife content, I got out the sodbuster, and I gave it a nice new edge. That fishing line don't stand a chance!
 
Hope you have good luck out there, Erik! :thumbup::thumbup:
Try to get the fish into the kayak with you, rather than you going into the water with them! :D

- GT
 
The best fish to eat around here, along with sauger and saugeye.

Enclosing the freezer bag in another bag of water is a good way to store in the freezer.

A sharp fillet knife is essential. Nice haul Chris.:thumbsup::thumbsup:
 
Thanks for the reply and tip.Those are gallon bags I just use those for transport home. I vacuum seal them in portions that are just right for my family, they get eaten pretty fast around my house.

As to the fillet knife, you nailed it. Without a sharp fillet knife the work on that many fish would be too much.

Chris
 
Thanks Kris. Let me see if I can find a way to get some to you. Wish you would have been here to catch them too my friend.

Chris
 
Chris,
We used to keep practically every crappie we caught, without respect to size. The lake we caught them from was full of crappie, but too many and they were stunted. You could get a bite off them, but definitely needed a sharp knife.
 
Just a comment on fishing knives. If you've never tried a Case or Imperial Fish Knife, you owe it to yourself to get one. I saw some photos of an Imperial in this thread. The knife has a slender "fillet" blade and a scaler blade with a bottle cap remover and that fantastic hook disgorger! The disgorger is a must for panfish! I inherited my grandpa's Imperial and gave a handful of the Case fishing knives to friends. They loved them! The Case has the hook sharpening stone in place of a shield on it. Really handy.
 
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I figured I'd go stainless this morning. The '15 forum knife was one of the knives that I kept around. I just love the single spring and the blade combo, and it's nice to have a stainless option.
I've been going crazy with this fly fishing stuff lately. I think I've been everyday except the 4th of July over the past week and a half.
While the browns in my river are wild almost all of the rainbows are stocked. I ended up pulling a couple gorgeous bows out that must have been there a season or two. Their colors were so vivid.
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I also pulled out a little crappie which shocked me. It must have gotten washed out of one of the warm water feeder creeks.
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My longtime friend and legendary, bamboo fly rod builder, Glenn Brackett, moved back to the city of Butte, MT to his own shop with just one employee. Glenn's longtime friend and business partner, Tom Morgan died last month. They purchased R.L. Winston back in the day in San Francisco and brought it to Twin Bridges, MT. They sold R.L. many years ago, but recently the shop burnt to the ground in Twin Bridges.

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Nice catch and pics Erik!

Good to see you post in the dishing thread OH. Strippers are fun to catch, congratulations and nice carry too.

Kris, you know I have said that I love a split bamboo rod and yours is stunning. It goes so nicely with that micarta Rick used. I hope all is well on the homestead.

Chris
 
Got to give some praise to what has become my must have knife for fishing: The Victorinox Farmer. I've tried leaving it behind in the past in favour of other, shall we say more stylish or older patterns (stockman, trapper, sodbuster etc.) but I always end up regretting it. Last time I did this I realised I had bought along an old style tin of sweetcorn, my favourite bait for the type of fish I go for (carp, bream etc.) but this one lacked a ring pull. I had to walk the perimetre of the lake in search of someone who could get the thing open for me, positively embarrassing for someone who prides himself on being well prepared. The Farmer's tin opener would have solved the problem with ease. Now I, like most 'coarse' fishermen, have no need of a knife for gutting and cleaning, I fish for sport and return my catch from whence it came, hopefully no worse off for the experience of being caught. But I need a blade for everything else; bait and food preparation, cutting of rag and cordage and all those other outdoors tasks, and the large spear point blade of the Farmer is great for all of that. Apart from this, another huge asset of the Farmer for fishing is the small but incredibly efficient saw, perfect for clearing the bank and lopping off small branches when line becomes tangled beyond reach. The punch and screwdrivers have also proved incredibly useful for repairs to equipment in the field. So now my Farmer stays in the tackle box where it cant be forgotten. A quick mention also of my equally trusty Leatherman Style CS, incorporating the perfect size pair of scissors for trimming line. Tight lines y'all!:):thumbsup:
Untitled by Blake Blade, on Flickr
Untitled by Blake Blade, on Flickr
Untitled by Blake Blade, on Flickr
Untitled by Blake Blade, on Flickr
 
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SadSappySucker said:
x2BHuRx.jpg

I figured I'd go stainless this morning. The '15 forum knife was one of the knives that I kept around. I just love the single spring and the blade combo, and it's nice to have a stainless option.
I've been going crazy with this fly fishing stuff lately. I think I've been everyday except the 4th of July over the past week and a half.
While the browns in my river are wild almost all of the rainbows are stocked. I ended up pulling a couple gorgeous bows out that must have been there a season or two. Their colors were so vivid.
2JOGE8h.jpg
I also pulled out a little crappie which shocked me. It must have gotten washed out of one of the warm water feeder creeks.
cnomkty.jpg
Click to expand...

I think we would get along really well. Fly fishing for trout is my obsession, and I'm even wearing that same watch right now!
 
Thanks Chris

Trout Hound said:
I think we would get along really well. Fly fishing for trout is my obsession, and I'm even wearing that same watch right now!
Click to expand...

Haha. I've often wondered whether you fished or not with that name.
I tell yah, I have not been this excited to pick up a rod in a long time. This fly stuff has really grabbed ahold of me.
I can't wait to start hitting up some of the mountain streams when I'm confident enough in my technique to not get caught up every third cast.
I'm still pretty green.
I spent ten hours today wading the Chattahoochee with some much more experienced anglers. It was a slow day for everyone, but I only managed two in the net. But between the nice brown and making some new friends I'd say it was a good day.
(but god I'm gonna be sore tomorrow)
R8edLiP.jpg
And as for the obligatory knife content, the two mainstays were on me, the 77 Barlow and Fiddleback forge patch knife.
zsWyYyR.jpg
 
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