Best/favorite hook remover for LMB?

[pauldconyers]

Dropped my hook remover in the lake tonight and need to get something new to do the job. Just curious if anyone has one they really like or have had good luck with?

[Bluebasser86]

My hands mostly, but I have a pair of aluminum H2O pliers from Academy I like a lot. They have cutters on them that cut braid really nice also and they don't rust. 

[TOXIC]

I have been through literally 30 or more different pairs of needlenose style pliers and there's 2 pair that have been with me for over 20 years.  One is a large pair of hemostats that I got from someone who was an ER nurse and a pair of the black Rapala needle nose with the split ring tab at the end.  As I cycled through the others rusting and having poor grip strength or the handles scissoring sideways, those 2 tools have always been with me.  And worked flawlessly.  

[DogBone_384]

My #1 hook remover is a 8” curved foreceps. #2 is a 7.5” Gander Mountain pliers with line cutters.

[Deleted account]

Needle nose pliers, pretty much any decent ones. Bass have large hard mouths that makes hook removal fairly easy for the most part. When one gets trebles way back in the gills, I just reach in through under the operculum and snip the hooks with diagonal cutters. 

[Spankey]

54 minutes ago, TOXIC said:

I have been through literally 30 or more different pairs of needlenose style pliers and there's 2 pair that have been with me for over 20 years.  One is a large pair of hemostats that I got from someone who was an ER nurse and a pair of the black Rapala needle nose with the split ring tab at the end.  As I cycled through the others rusting and having poor grip strength or the handles scissoring sideways, those 2 tools have always been with me.  And worked flawlessly.  

I'm basically set up the same way. Use a few more of the Rapala tools. The large side cutter and the small panfish needle nose plier come handy and these show no signs of rust after much use. What is nice about the Rapala fisherman plier along with the split ring built in as they have a crimper built in and wire cutter is made as well as any of my electrical tools. I would recommend a pair. 

[thinkingredneck]

I keep a set of Olsen hagar needle drivers on a lanyards around my neck.  They have cutting blades, too.  Just not for braid.

[BassNJake]

1 hour ago, reason said:

Needle nose pliers, pretty much any decent ones. Bass have large hard mouths that makes hook removal fairly easy for the most part. When one gets trebles way back in the gills, I just reach in through under the operculum and snip the hooks with diagonal cutters. 

I agree with this approach. I have a long needle nose pliers for most all removals.

I also have a pair of sidecutters that I use to cut the hooks when they are either in the gills or swallowed.

 

I had a pretty decent success rate with laying over the side of the boat with the fish in the water and using the thru the gill trick. Sometimes it would take 5-10 minutes to do it this way.

 

Now I just cut the hook, remove and release. I have not found an easier more effective way for gut or gill hooked fish.

 

[Djohn]

This one has saved many a bass for me

 

https://www.basspro.com/shop/en/bass-pro-shops-squeeze-out-hook-remover?hvarAID=shopping_googleproductextensions

 

[lo n slo]

yep, the old bass pro blue handle hook remover, works like a charm.

[keagbassr]

Dollar store needle nose for me

[Scott F]

Pliers work well but I always have to search for them on the floor of the boat when I need them. I use locking hemostats, Dr. Slick scissor clamps to be exact. I clamp them to my shirt after use and they are always right where I need them.

 

[NYWayfarer]

2 hours ago, keagbassr said:

Dollar store needle nose for me

I have so many fishing pliers (rapala, madbite) and hook removers (baker, buck) and yet my go to pliers for the last 2 years is my dollar store needle nose. I wipe them with a damp rag after every trip, dry them with a paper towel and a drop of oil and they still look like the day I bought them.