Tackle Review - Release Tools

[Paul Schlagel]

Jim -

I've heard that question from folks that have fished with me. The answer is no, it doesn't seem to hurt the fish. I wouldn't use it on a small juvenile fish, but adult fish, certainly those 40" or bigger, arent' harmed in the least. Heck, on the big fish 50" and bigger, even the super spreader doesn't open their mouth that well. I would argue vigorously that this thing is acutually GOOD for the health of the fish by minimizing the time spent unhooking. Thanks, good question.

[Paul Schlagel]

BBushy,
Thanks man for the feedback. I'll try to keep 'em coming. Hopefully it'll be a help to some of the musky anglers out there and hopefully it will help alleviate the boredom of a long winter without musky fishing. Future posts probably won't be as long or have as many photos. I think loading photos is still a pain in the butt. Thanks again.

[Sam]

I thought the Hook Pick was pretty stupid but I bought one last year anyway because there pretty cheap and hey what the heck I spend a lot of money on musky stuff I don't need. Anyway I only used it once and it was pretty slick. I'll check out that pliers and that jaw spreader is a good idea

[Jim]

Since winter is the best time for tinkering with gear I wasted no time making a super spreader. i'm really surprised that it isn't as strong as I thought it would be. It's stronger than a regular jaw spreader, no doubt, yet it isn't so strong that it'll hurt the fish. That idea is a winner.

[Backlasher]

Is the Hook Pick still sold? I tried the website www.hookpick.com and it looks like the website is gone.

[Backlasher]

OK, I checked around a bit more and the Hook Pick seems available all over, but they either ended their website or let it expire. Musky Tackle Online, Thorne Bros. and others still have them for sale. Hopefully they didn't quit making them.