A few years back I had a pair of compound action diagonal cutters. Fancy name for well leveraged cutting pliers. Anyways, I used them to cut hooks in half whenever I had a gut hook or other tough to remove hook. After loosing them it took me years to find a replacement, but now a new pair is readily available and I wanted to share this info.
If you struggle with gut hooks, hooks in the cartilage and tendons of the corner of the mouth, and think there has to be a better way with less damage to the bass then try these pliers. To me it is worth cutting the 50 cent hook and retying rather than struggling to back the hook out. Cutting the hook works best when you can see both ends of the hook, but backing it out would be difficult and damaging to the fish.
Available at Lowes and many online locations for just under $20. As a bonus they can also cut line.
Crescent 9" Compound Action Diagonal Cutters.
