Lip gripper?
 

Are they a must have item on a kayak? Which one? Any to stay away from? Boga is the cadillac, but was hoping for a more inexpensive but operable substitute.

I have the Berkley 12" model. I also have a lanyard on it and bungee it down to reduce noise when paddling. Anything and everything need to be secured down and have a leash IMO

Thats exactly what I do. Boga is useless for me, cant lift the big ones up high enough to get a good weigh on em. Leashes are a must when your in the surf zone.

This is the one I have, under $30 and works very well. I didn't get the one with the tape because it just rust and breaks lol...

Ross,
It seems that a lot of the kayak guys like the Rapalla wide mouth from the yak. NilsC feels it is easier and quicker to use than the others. They retail for around 40 buckaroos. Lock'n Grip lower right in picture.

Hope this helps.

I have both the Rapala and the Berkley and would give the nod to the Berkley. The Rapala made it half a season-maybe I bought a bad one? Also the Berkley fits nicely in one of the rod holders by the seat.

nightfighter - I think it really depends on how diligent you are with cleaning and how often you fish. If you fish more than a couple times a week and are not super diligent with rinsing and caring for the gripper than get the boga if you can swing the $$. I fish 5 or more days a week from the yak in the summer and have tried all the grippers mentioned. I have had my boga for 6 years now and it is as solid as the 1st day I bought it. I bought other cheaper grippers for friends to use when they take my other yaks but they barely made it through a season. Now granted I do get neglectful and occassionally forget to rinse etc. but if your in it for the long haul the boga is in a class by itself.

are you talking about the O handle type.?

raven.
yes, the wide handled model on lower right is the one DonM showed me when he dropped off my new kayak. I have only used Boca grips in the past, but don't own one..... Leaning towards Berkley after shelling out for TWO yaks and extranious gear... Hell, I still have to meet with Beachwalker to pay and pick up the Heritage!

I like the Rapala because to me it makes handling bluefish a lot easier and I don't have to pull it into the kayak to get the hooks out.

My problem with some of the other grips is to get it over the jaw and locked while maintaing balance and not loosing any gear. I have one grip with a scale but the it's not opening wide enough to lip large bass, the scale goes to 50lb but that doesn't help if I can't lip the fish.

Nils