SPYDERCO SALT THREAD...fishing, ocean, stories, pics and all things "salt"

Surfingringo

Surfingringo

Joined
May 25, 2013
Messages
3,700
Hey all, most of you know I've got a couple of spyderco salts that I love and that I do a lot of kayak fishing with my knives. Well, I like posting my pics and stories, but I thought it might be nice to have a general spyderco "salt" thread that everyone could participate in and maybe we can keep it going. I think the h1 salt knives are really amazing, and they suit my purposes well, but I'm sure there are plenty of others out there using them for all kinds of activities. So, this is where you posts your pics and tell your salt stories! Looking forward to hearing from some of u other salt users!

Ok, i'll kick it off. Went fishing with the kayak today with my two salts...dragonfly on my neck and pacific salt on my waist. Not a lot of fish biting, but lots of scenery. Saw some humpbacks about 400 yards out. Had a large spotted eagle ray playing on the surface right next to me. Had a large needlefish on the line and he went nuts and jumped completely over the bow of the kayak...At least he missed my head this time! (read here if youre not in on that joke http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...ue-story!-Thanks-Sal!?highlight=Trip+hospital) and to top it all off, I passed within 30 yards of a crocodile about 300 yards from shore! (Don't be a doubter, we see them all the time surfing). I did manage to score an amberjack and a decent little snapper, so as revdevil says...FISH TACOS! Knives didn't really get any use today other than a little fish cleaning.

Here's the snapper I got on the outer reef.
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Man...crocs give me the heebie jeebies...uughh....

I do need to snag a Salt for my brother though, he's into hard-core tuna fishing out of Cape Cod. Gave him an el cheap gerber awhile back which has rusted away...
 
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philllll said:
Mmmm amberjack is one of my favorites. I don't know why it's not more popular.
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Amberjack is one of the more common carriers of ciguatera in a lot of places I think. I think it's pretty safe down here...has been so far, hehe.
 
rpn said:
Man...crocs give me the heebie jeebies...uughh....

I do need to snag a Salt for my brother though, he's into hard-core tuna fishing out of Cape Cod. Gave him an el cheep gerber awhile back which has rusted away...
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He will love you!! I bought a Gerber six or eight months ago and it started rusting and falling apart in the first month. Once i saw my mistake i spent $15-$20 more than what the Gerber cost and got my dragonfly salt. I have the feeling it will last for years!

I think the Salt knives represent the best value in the entire spyderco line!
 
Favorite fish to eat: Red snapper is probably my favorite. A good tempura coating and deep fry tastes like huge chunks of crab meat to me.

Most underrated fish to eat: Hmm.. mullets. I catch them with a flounder rig and some cubes of pork fat (stays on hook all day). Throw some corn meal clumps (like chum) in the water and you'll catch dozens quick. They're also the easiest fish to clean in my opinion.

Most overrated fish to eat: Hogfish. It's a type of snapper and real ugly too. That being said, I'm more convinced people praise them because they're a lot more uncommon to catch.

Most caught fish: Damn this is tough one. Probably a tie between pink mouth grunts and eels (I fish a lot on the seven mile bridge near Miami). Pinfish too, caught A LOT of those.

Biggest catch: 5 foot black tip shark. Pretty good too, but soaked the meat in milk to take the bite off.

Most used salt water knife: All sorts of cheap knives until the caspian 1 salt. It's been my most used utility knife for fishing. List of things I've found it useful at include: quick bait cutting, line cutting, rope cutting (this happens a lot less than people realize), prying off barnacles, and shucking a lot of oysters. Not so great at: cleaning fish. I can gut them well, but not enough blade area to scale them. And most certainly not good for filleting :p.
 
TEFL0N_D0N_81 said:
Favorite fish to eat: Red snapper is probably my favorite. A good tempura coating and deep fry tastes like huge chunks of crab meat to me.

Most underrated fish to eat: Hmm.. mullets. I catch them with a flounder rig and some cubes of pork fat (stays on hook all day). Throw some corn meal clumps (like chum) in the water and you'll catch dozens quick. They're also the easiest fish to clean in my opinion.

Most overrated fish to eat: Hogfish. It's a type of snapper and real ugly too. That being said, I'm more convinced people praise them because they're a lot more uncommon to catch.

Most caught fish: Damn this is tough one. Probably a tie between pink mouth grunts and eels (I fish a lot on the seven mile bridge near Miami). Pinfish too, caught A LOT of those.

Biggest catch: 5 foot black tip shark. Pretty good too, but soaked the meat in milk to take the bite off.

Most used salt water knife: All sorts of cheap knives until the caspian 1 salt. It's been my most used utility knife for fishing. List of things I've found it useful at include: quick bait cutting, line cutting, rope cutting (this happens a lot less than people realize), prying off barnacles, and shucking a lot of oysters. Not so great at: cleaning fish. I can gut them well, but not enough blade area to scale them. And most certainly not good for filleting :p.
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Mullet? Really? Never ate em.

Pinfish...don't really catch em here, but I heard they make good grouper and snapper bait.

Black tip. I've never had that either but I've got buddies in Florida that rave about it.

Caspian salt. Like I said in another thread, I might have to find one to permanently mount in the kayak. I got a chuckle out of (and agree with) your "rope cutting" remark. When I was asking questions about fishing knives people were always suggesting se knives because they cut through rope and nets so well! I was always thinking that their "fishing" experience was a lot different than mine. I am digging the se salt big time, but I'm still looking for some nets to cut! ;-)
 
Surfingringo said:
Mullet? Really? Never ate em.

Pinfish...don't really catch em here, but I heard they make good grouper and snapper bait.

Black tip. I've never had that either but I've got buddies in Florida that rave about it.

Caspian salt. Like I said in another thread, I might have to find one to permanently mount in the kayak. I got a chuckle out of (and agree with) your "rope cutting" remark. When I was asking questions about fishing knives people were always suggesting se knives because they cut through rope and nets so well! I was always thinking that their "fishing" experience was a lot different than mine. I am digging the se salt big time, but I'm still looking for some nets to cut! ;-)
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Mullets are considered junk fish in a lot of parts. I like them a lot though, good flavor and lots of them out there. They have very small mouths, and hit/release quick. I use a flounder rig with a #6-8 hook every 6 inches of line; about 3 to 4 total. A little piece of pig fat lasts all day. Mullets also fly out of water alot, so it's cool to watch a whole school swim out (sometimes they jump right into the boat).

I forgot to add that I like red drums too. Black drums get bigger but I've caught a few with thick worms in them (parasites) so I try to release them back if they're still alive.

You're exactly right about pinfish, they're great baitfish for groupers. Black tips and white tips are dime a dozen for sharks in FL. Shark is surprisingly good, and easy to clean past the tought skin (no bones at all).

I noticed you also use a Dragonfly H1. How is that thing? You don't find it a bit too small?
 
I had my Tasman with me this weekend out on the kayak. Saw a few wild manatees. Didn't have my camera though. I will have to bring it next time for this thread.
 
philllll said:
I had my Tasman with me this weekend out on the kayak. Saw a few wild manatees. Didn't have my camera though. I will have to bring it next time for this thread.
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That tasman H1 looks interesting too, but I worry it might be too bulky when closed. Also what do you use sharpen it? I never owned/used a hawkbill before.
 
philllll said:
I had my Tasman with me this weekend out on the kayak. Saw a few wild manatees. Didn't have my camera though. I will have to bring it next time for this thread.
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Yeah, that's definitely another knife that I want but don't need! Ill convince myself I need it soon enough. ;). In response to dons question, I would imagine that hawkbill sharpens up just fine on the sharpmaker.
 
Hey, all you other salt owners feel free to jump in with stories and pics!! We are going to keep talking about fishing, but this thread is for EVERYONE who enjoys the salt knives whether you fish or not! I would love to hear some non ocean/fisherman experience with the knives. I'm sure they are being put to all kinds of good use outside of our little fishing world!
 
I don't fish. Not that I haven't tried, but all I ever caught was a couple Dorado on a chartered boat off Mexico. (Not that that's not a lot - it was awesome. But I've tried rivers, lakes and the ocean alone and with family and never, ever had any luck. So now I rarely go out.)

Anyway, I picked up a Salt I to carry when I swim - be it rivers, lakes, pools or the sea. It's probably spent 20 or 30 hours in my pocket, in the water, so far.
I rarely rinse it off and never dry it until I get home. I also rarely find that I need to use it. Exept to cut citrus for the lemon drops or mai tais at the end of the day!
Still, I have to agree with the value statement. Light, easy to carry, and I expect it'll last forever.
I hope to put it to more/better use out on the water at some point, but since I don't fish and rarely boat there isn't much need. But I'll continue to carry it, and never give it up.
 
I currently own a PE dragonfly salt and I recently snagged the now discontinued SE fixed blade Aqua salt from my favourite Canadian online knife source (who still has some in stock in black and yellow if anyone is interested). I've been feverishly researching fishing kayaks to drag the few blocks to the lake Ontario north shore here in Kingston to snag some pike, bass, maybe the odd trout. I was hotly debating a hobie revo 13 or outback but am leading toward a paddle yak (predator 13 or ok trident ultra likely) with hopes of maybe upgrading to a hobie in a few years. I plan on doing some kind of bolted fixture for the kydex sheath of the aqua salt to the rod pod area of the yak.

My wife and I are traveling to the mayan for a wedding next January and I will definitely be looking see if anyone is running a kayak charter for one of the days. Those salty beasts look like a ton of fun to reel in.
 
brodester said:
I currently own a PE dragonfly salt and I recently snagged the now discontinued SE fixed blade Aqua salt from my favourite Canadian online knife source (who still has some in stock in black and yellow if anyone is interested). I've been feverishly researching fishing kayaks to drag the few blocks to the lake Ontario north shore here in Kingston to snag some pike, bass, maybe the odd trout. I was hotly debating a hobie revo 13 or outback but am leading toward a paddle yak (predator 13 or ok trident ultra likely) with hopes of maybe upgrading to a hobie in a few years. I plan on doing some kind of bolted fixture for the kydex sheath of the aqua salt to the rod pod area of the yak.

My wife and I are traveling to the mayan for a wedding next January and I will definitely be looking see if anyone is running a kayak charter for one of the days. Those salty beasts look like a ton of fun to reel in.
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My goodness.. you have an aqua salt? Lucky you! Saw it on a Deadliest Catch re-run the other day.
 
I like to sharpen my serrated knives with a narrow sharpening rod, one serration at a time. The hawkbill shape doesn't really make a difference in this case. The tasman is a little bulkier when closed but not by much.
 
@Don, honestly I find the dragonfly very capable dispute it's diminutive size. I chose it because of how I carry it. I wear it clipped to a cord around my neck. That's actually my edc whether I'm fishing or not. Never felt like it was too small. I ended up getting the pacific salt more because I wanted it, not because I needed it. I'm talking about boat use. Cleaning is a different story of course. That's where the pacific shines.

@Brodester. Man, I don't know what to tell you. If you are really planning to do some real fishing, it's hard to not go with the hobie! I know it's more $$ but its a completely different experience. I would be watching craigslist! That's how I scored mine actually.
 
I very much approve of this thread. I will spend most of my time looking in here than most other places on this site.
 
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tjswarbrick said:
I don't fish. Not that I haven't tried, but all I ever caught was a couple Dorado on a chartered boat off Mexico. (Not that that's not a lot - it was awesome. But I've tried rivers, lakes and the ocean alone and with family and never, ever had any luck. So now I rarely go out.)

Anyway, I picked up a Salt I to carry when I swim - be it rivers, lakes, pools or the sea. It's probably spent 20 or 30 hours in my pocket, in the water, so far.
I rarely rinse it off and never dry it until I get home. I also rarely find that I need to use it. Exept to cut citrus for the lemon drops or mai tais at the end of the day!
Still, I have to agree with the value statement. Light, easy to carry, and I expect it'll last forever.
I hope to put it to more/better use out on the water at some point, but since I don't fish and rarely boat there isn't much need. But I'll continue to carry it, and never give it up.
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Interesting how luck can affect how things turn out. Ill bet if you had bumbled around and gotten lucky on one of those solo trips then you might have gotten addicted like the rest of us. I know it took a little accidental success to get me hooked. but one you get the bug you're toast. There's just nothing like feeling that fish hit or hearing the drag start screaming as a big one runs. THE TUG IS THE DRUG! Hehe
 
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