5 Fishing Pliers Reviewed

Fishing pliers are an essential piece of angling equipment. They are used primarily to remove hooks, but are also used to pinch barbs, cut line, modify lures, and more. It’s one of those pieces of equipment that every angler should have.

It’s important to use pliers designed for fishing. A general-use multi-tool or set of pliers will often rust and freeze up when used in water. This is especially true if the pliers are used in saltwater. Listed below are reviews on some budget, mid-range, and premium quality fishing pliers.

Boom Fishing X1 Aluminum Fishing Pliers

These are my personal favourite set of fishing pliers. They are an affordable set of “no-name” pliers that have managed to fit alot of functionality into a very simple design. It is an aluminium construction, so is rust resistant even in salt water.

I really like that the tungsten carbide cutters are inline with the pliers jaws. Makes accidentally pinching yourself with them much less likely. Unlike some of the other pliers on this list though, I don’t think there are replacement parts available for the tungsten cutters.

I like that it has a “tooth” at the very end for opening split rings. This makes swapping out hooks on your lures much easier. Don’t use on extra heavy duty split rings such as those used in lager offshore fishing applications (tuna, shark, swordfish, etc), the pliers are not built for that heavy duty of use.

Overall it’s a solid pair of cheap pliers. It’ll get the job done, but don’t expect it to last forever given it’s price point. That’s not really a concern for me as I’m horrible for losing pliers, regardless of brand.

Pros

• Very affordable.
• Simple, yet utilitarian design.
• Light construction.
• Aluminium construction.

Cons

• Will wear out eventually.
• Sheath isn’t the best quality.
• Will not hold up to abuse.

Manley Saltwater Fishing Pliers

A good mid-range set of fishing pliers. They are made of aluminium, so are lightweight and resistant to rust in fresh and salt water.

The teeth run the entire length of the jaws. I like this as it adds extra grip for the length of the jaws. If your using small hooks, it’s nice to have a flat section in the jaws for pinching down barbs.

These pliers come with special cutters designed specifically to cut braid. This is nice as braided line doesn’t always cut as nicely as mono of flouro lines. These extra cutters make the pliers a good choice for anglers running braided line. The line cutters work on mono and flouro lines as well.

The sheath included can attach to a belt, and comes with a tether. I frequently end up dropping pliers in the water, where I sometimes lose them forever. The tether is a real plus for me.

Unfortunately the handles on these don’t have grips, so they can be a bit slippery to use when your hands are wet, or even worse if your hands are coated in fish slime. Luckily they have tether attachment mentioned above.

It’s worth noting that you should keep these pliers in their holder. As useful as the external cutting blades are, they pose a risk when not stored in the sheath. If you keep these in your fishing box or pocket unsheathed, there is a risk of getting cut when reaching for them.

Pros:

• External cutting blades offer quick way to snip line.
• Cuts braided line well.
• Affordable price point.
• Comes with sheath and tether.
• Replaceable parts available.
• Durable in salt water.

Cons:

• Handles have little grip.
• External blades offer hazard if pliers not stored properly.
• These are large pliers, may not be the best choice for those with small hands.

Leatherman Wave Multitool

This is a very good set of pliers. There are many low quality multi-tools on the market, but the leather man offers a large number of tools without sacrificing quality.

Unlike many multi-tools, all of the blades are available externally. This means you can access the blades more quickly without having to open the whole tool. The other non-bladed tools still require you to open the pliers however.

These are a rugged, well built set of pliers. It’s not unheard of for people to still be using the same pair after 10+ years. They may be more money upfront, but this is a set of pliers that will last you a while.

In place of the external cutters present on some other fishing pliers, this set has an inline set of cutters. These don’t cut line very well, but are excellent for cutting wire and hooks. It’s really a matter of personal preference.

Pros

• Has a very large selection of tools.
• Blades available externally.
• Rugged. Will last a long time through abuse, even salt water use.

Cons

• No sheath.
• No tether.

Listed below are a few of the pliers listed here, as well as a few other products. If you decide to buy something, I do get a small commission.

Van Staal Titanium Pliers

These are a set of very high quality fishing pliers, and are one of the better ones available on the market. They are made of titanium, so are even more salt resistant than aluminium pliers. It’s a very solidly built set of pliers that should last you many years of use and abuse. A common choice of fishing guides.

They are a nice size in you hand, and are quite comfortable to use. They are also alot lighter than other similar sized pliers, so are a good choice if you’re carrying it around with you.

They have a set of tungsten cutters on the underside of the pliers for cutting braided line, wire, hooks, or anything else that will fit in there. There are replacement parts available for these cutters, and they are quite straight forward to replace.

Pros

• Very well built.
• Titanium construction, very rust and corrosion resistant.
• Light construction.
• Replaceable and strong tungsten cutters.
• Comes with sheath.

Cons

• External cutters mean you have to keep them in sheath.
• Not a multi-tool, trade off for light construction.
• Price.

Kelly hemostat forceps

This one’s a bit out of left field, but forceps have been used by anglers for years. If you just need something cheap to remove hooks from a fishes mouth, this’ll do the trick. It’ll also work for pinching barbs on smaller hooks. If you want any more functionality than that, I recommend one of the other sets of pliers on this page.

These are very small and light weight, and can easily attach to your belt or vest. Get the curved forceps to make it easier to grab a hook lodged in a fishes mouth. The pliers do lock in place, so once you get ahold of the hook, you don’t need to keep applying pressure to maintain grip.

These are made of stainless steel, so they will eventually rust even in fresh water. I don’t recommend using these in salt water.

Pros

• Cheap.
• Small, very lightweight.
• Very easy to handle.

Cons

• Limited functionality.
• Will rust.

That’s the extent of my review.