What brand/make of saltwater fishing pliers do you folks use and like? I need a better pair than what I have.

I have a small pair that are like the Manley's - they work well, but are too small for cutting thicker things like 5/0 hooks.

I used a pair of Donnmar Checkpoint 850 (w/ return spring) and they didn't give adequate leverage. Seems like the side cutters are "stronger" - more mechanical advantage and less strength is needed.

Any one use/own the Abels, Van Staal, or Old Florida ones?

Open to suggestions. :)

I got a pair of 7" Van Staal pliers a couple months ago and I can't wait to use them. They come with a lanyard and a leather sheath.....no more dropping and losing my pliers in the surf. Very expensive for pliers, $250.00, but I will probably never have to buy another pair. If you do a search here you will find a thread that I put up about them and many others here on the site offered some great advice about all different pliers and their likes and dislikes. Search under Van Staal Pliers.:kewl:

Thanks BF. I was looking for the search feature to be up top, not on the bottom of the screen (got a small window open and didn't scroll down).

Have you tried cutting thick hooks and wire with your $ VS's? ;)

What!!!! And ruin em'!:laugha: No not yet.....got em more for removing hooks than cutting hooks. I will probably only cut line with them as I keep a great pair of cutters in my surf bag if I need to cut anything heavy. These cutters have a tapered nose and are razor sharp. I can get a better angle on cutting most anything with these than I will be able to with the VS. Like I said, bought em' for removing hooks in the surf, getting them salty and having them last. (Love that titanium)

Take a look at Donmar pliers as well. VS copied them more or less ;). They come in SS and Ti and are a little less in price. Donmar has a very good service policy should you ever need it. I don't know about Zebco's but I am sure they will stand behind thier product as well.
http://www.anglerscenter.com/acc_donnmar-tools.htm

I have the stainless ( the poor mans version of the Ti)...Both are similar in desing, the Ti is lighter but given my habbit for loosing them....more then I wanted to spend on a pair of pliers. They have a great cutter. GET THE TETHER and the sheath. You drop these overboard and your are going to feel seasick.


I also have several other cheapo stainless pliers on board (a la shiamno @ 17 bucks) and on on my surf belt at times. Last year I lost 3 pair in the water...two from the boat and one from the shore.:af: But the donmars stay strapped to the sheath. The only problem is that you can't give it to someone else to use very easily. But that style is what you want. Both VS and Donmar do a solid job on these. (they look identical)

Originally posted by maddog2020
Have you tried cutting thick hooks and wire with your $ VS's? ;) they will not be able to do it. VS cutters last about 10 uses, then they suck!

donnmar 950's and a small set of bolt cutters i got from the hardware store is what i carry. you can get bolt cutters that are about 7" long. they will cut through anything and only cost about $10. check out the thread we had when BF was first asking about the VS pliers.

I agree T-Lap, thats why only gonna cut line with them.:happy:

Honestly I have not tried to cut a thick hook with them and if I did It was because it was stuck in human flesh and would only need it to cut thru once. The cutter blades are easily replaceabe on the donmars (I think the vs's as well) I have cut regular wire line and wire leaders without much of a problem.

Never had an occasion to cut a hook while fishing unless stuck in human flesh as Sandman says. That did happen twice and I cut the hooks with the cutters I talked about earlier. I am never without them while fishing. One time a little boy fishing close to where I was with my sons got a hook stuck in his scalp. Glad I had those cutters with me, he was freaking a little and his Mom would have had to take him to the hospital. I simply cut the barb off the hook and slid it out and the grateful boy and his Mom were good to go. I could not have made that cut as easily with the VS pliers simply because of the angle I would have to have the pliers. These cutters I speak of have like a needlenose and can cut right on the tip very easily. Like I said I am never without them ever.;)

the replacement cutter policy for the 950 donnmars is kind of a pain in the butt. you can not purchase spair cutters. you have to send in the pliers with a check, like $20 but i am not sure, and they send you a brand new pair. not bad, but then you need a back up pair for two weeks. oh yeah, don't send them in during August, either, because that is when they shut down for vacation. :smash: i know this from experience.

Why not carry 7" diagnals for cutting hooks?

I read alot of what has been said about pleirs not just in this thread. I personely don't think pleirs are worth what they're asking for, I don't care what there made of.
Two years ago I had a hook removed from my finger in the ER, they used three different bolt cutters and stuggled. Would a VS or Donmar have cut it? I'm not so sure.
I see no need to cut hooks out there. I bought shimano pleirs for under $20 at Mike's last year. Even though I religiously resined and lubed them, it didn't take long before the cutters went. The shimano have a good point on open split rings and strong enough to remove hooks in lips n gill plates.

I know you get what you pay for, but for that kind $$$ I can use it better else where.

what goose said.

either I am too cheap, too poor, too smart or all of the above to spend $250 dollars for a pair of pliers.

I have a $5 and a $15 pair of pliers...thats more than I will ever need. but just in case we need to cut a hook theres always a pair of snap-ons in the buggy

:huh: I bought em', I love em', can't wait to use em'!

used em most of last season
cutters fine
30 bucks for both
I just spray em down with wd40

Thats mint for you BF:btu: bet those are nice.

Forgot to mention, the bolt cutters I was refering to where not the type to cut pad-locks but the smaller cutters used for heavy wire ect.

IMO these would be far better for hook cutting, we cut nails with them all the time. They are 9" long.

Diagonal-Cutting Pliers - Ironworker's
Additional features:
Angled head design for easy work in confined spaces.
High leverage design. Rivet is closer to the cutting edge for 36% greater cutting power than other plier designs.

Those are like the cutters I was talking about, cept mine are about 6 inches long. They cut great don't they Bill?

Not to advertise my excrutiating cheapness but... I go to Job Lot or something like it and load up at the begining of the season with four 6" diagonal cutters and four 9" needlenose pliers. I treat them with reel oil or wd-40. I only went through three sets last year for a total of eight bucks. I took an old piece of denim and made a case that holds one on each side and snaps to my beltloop.

these are what i carry for cutting hooks. one night in the westerly hospital was all it took. :(

There's no question the 6" VS pliers will cut hooks, nevermind the 7". Probably not the ideal task for them, but just ask the Ironman about the 4/0 treble that got stuck in his hand. They stayed in service till this winter after lopping thru that hook mid-season. Mike only uses mono though which obviously doesn't need the same edge braid does.

I think he got at least 2 seasons out of those jaws plus winter time rigging.

I agree, they are too expensive. Given the fact the VS went BK...it does not seem as though they are selling enough of those $285 pair of fishing pliers.

No one uses the Manley side cutters? Wow, the small pair is wicked for the size. May be I'll just get the bigger sized ones. Not sure who made those originally, but I see lots of copies of those.

I've played with the VS reels and chatted with a couple of their guys at last yrs shows. I have a cnc machining back ground so I see things a bit differently than most folks. They lost $ on lots of little things like not farming out some of their smaller pieces and doing too much of their own hand labor in house. Man hours cost you the most $ and machine hrs are considerably less. Go price out blocks of 6061 aluminum and see if you want to take on the machining challenge. ;) NOT - I rather buy the reel if I wanted one......lol.

Sorry for side rambling. I wanted to visit VS when they were in Hopedale, but didn't get around to it before all this craziness.

I appreciate the comments about the pliers. I purchased a pair of the long Shimano titanium coated ones last yr via mail order and when cut the zip ties off I could see there was rust already on the pliers (from being in the containers going over the ocean I assume....lol). I just use them at work - they are some alloy so they are much lighter than a regular pair of the same size.