Good knife for fishing?

I used to be a super hardcore fisherman. I lived right next to tons of bodies of water and would fish a few times a week for years. Throughout that whole time I carried this Leatherman Squirt P4 on a carabiner clipped to one of my belt loops. It's fantasttic for taking hooks out of fish, trimming line and all sorts of other things.
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I paired that with one of those cheap Rapalla Bait knives. I also put a carabiner on the sheath of that knife and had it clipped to another belt loop. They're cheap and do the trick perfectly and if you get in the water they won't take off because they're both clipped to your jeans. An awesome combo, especially for someone who doesn't want to spend a ton of money. And you don't have to worry about keeping your knife in tip top shape. Both knives were just wiped on my jeans after use and stored in my fishing backpack in between trips. I'd oil both once a year or so haha. You can search Rapalla Bait Knife to see what I'm talking about. I had a link for you but not sure if that's cool here.
 
Ebbtide said:
The SwAK with the rust spot in the photo above. That was on my surf belt, wading in the waves at Montauk for a week or 10 days. No rinse or care during that time. I fished the morning we left so the wet waders, surf belt and plug bag went into the cooler for the ride home. Didn't get to rinsing it all off for a day or two after. That's the worst of the rust, right were the drain hole in the sheath let the air in. Cleaned right up with some WD40 and 000 steel wool.

As for edge holding, that's a little like asking "How long is a piece of string?"
That knife has cleaned multiple fish and trimmed knots without needing sharpening. I mean we're cutting meat and string. If I'm taking heads off larger fish I'll wait till I'm home and use a hatchet or machete.

How much edge holding do we need? If it stays sharp for an outing, well, for me that's fine.
Sharpening a knife is okay with me. YMMV.

The only steel I won't use is 420J2 :)
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The main drawback with SAKs in salt water is that they tend to get a little "crunchy" as salt and sand build up in the tiny crevices. A quick dip in clean water is usually enough to fix it. I may have used my wife's ultrasonic jewelry cleaner to clean knives before. My boat/beach knife for years and years was a Dragonfly 2 Salt (serrated H1), which I replaced last summer with a QuietCarry Drift (Orange G10 for marine use ;)). I didn't need to upgrade, because for the amount of use they get I don't really need Vanax, but an excuse to buy a new knife means I buy a new knife...
 
A Swiss Army Knife will come in extremely handy, especially if you’re wading streams or away from most of your gear. Doesn’t happen often, but every now and then I’ll notice a loose screw on a reel or rod holder on my kayak. SAK to the rescue and I’m back fishing. The scissors cut braided line easily enough. Get a lanyard and You don’t have to worry about dropping it in the water. I keep a SAK in the boat, along with an old Leatherman PST and I’ve never needed anything else.
 
OrangeBlueOrangeBlue said:
The main drawback with SAKs in salt water is that they tend to get a little "crunchy" as salt and sand build up in the tiny crevices. A quick dip in clean water is usually enough to fix it. I may have used my wife's ultrasonic jewelry cleaner to clean knives before. My boat/beach knife for years and years was a Dragonfly 2 Salt (serrated H1), which I replaced last summer with a QuietCarry Drift (Orange G10 for marine use ;)). I didn't need to upgrade, because for the amount of use they get I don't really need Vanax, but an excuse to buy a new knife means I buy a new knife...
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Ummmm no. SwAK as in Swedish Army Knife. It's a fixed blade without crevices. Made by Frost's of Sweden. There are photos above :)
ac3boyz said:
Well decided to go with a Mora. Sandvik 12C27 steel. We'll see how it holds up to salt water the first week of May.


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Excellent choice. May it serve you well.
Tight lines!
 
Boattale said:
What do you dislike about the Mora sheaths?
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It's just cheap, like you'd expect on a $25 knife. It takes too much effort to get the knife securely in and then out of it safely, especially when on my belt. I'll look into trying to reshape it some when I have time. That will probably make it usable.
 
ac3boyz said:
It's just cheap, like you'd expect on a $25 knife. It takes too much effort to get the knife securely in and then out of it safely, especially when on my belt. I'll look into trying to reshape it some when I have time. That will probably make it usable.
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Fair enough. I like them but don't carry on a belt. Zip tie to boat rail, milk crate on truck shelf, etc. They never lose the knife regardless of position, have a drain and they are very safe.
 
ac3boyz said:
The knife held up great, edge stayed sharp and no rust with no special care needed. The plastic sheath on the other hand sucks. Overall pleased.
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Right on man, glade to hear the knife held up great. Yea the sheaths are nothing fancy, that's for sure, but I've never had it come out while it's on my belt until I pull it out. If you're having retention issues you might be able to fashion a little doo dad to keep it a bit more secure with paracord or maybe some rubber intertube. One good thing about the sheath though is it's plastic and you can wade out in the water and not worry about getting it wet.
 
Jersey Drew said:
I am going to get back into fishing and was thinking of getting something nice to take with me. I am going to guess something with LC 200 would be best any recommendations that won’t break the bank?
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If it were me I would go with a multi tool that has reliable scissors for cutting line and the longest most needle nose (ie thinnest) pliers on it I could get. These are the two tools I use constantly when fishing.

For gutting there are numerous knives you could use and it comes down to personal preference I think. So many good knives out there.
 
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