Hemostats/Forceps Do You Use Them?

[fadeaway263]

I regularly lose a set a year. The Prof says they are not necessary if you know how to take fish off. I think they are invaluable.

 

[geebee]

i use hybrids - scissors and hemo's in one.

nothing like them for a fish hooked in the gullet when streamer fishing.

also useful for pressing down barbs, i also have a hook eye clearer on mine:

they are also bloody necessary if you hook your sweater, bag, bag strap, hat or net and don't crimp the barb enough.

i keep mine on an orvis retractor so i don't lose them.

Mark.

 

[fadeaway263]

Geebee:I just lost the ones on the left at Muddy this weekend

 

[PatrickC]

I order the cheap Pakistan made hemostats off of Ebay for about $1 a pair. They are usually sold in lots of 10. For a buck, you can afford to loose a pair now and then ;-)

Never seen forceps for removing hooks from fish. Hemostats and forceps are not even sort of the same thing.

 

[PACOFRANSICO]

I use WJ hemocuts. Probably
The best hemostates made in my opinion. They cut just about anything.

 

[Swattie87]

I use them...at least once an outing if I'm into a fair number of fish. Just makes life easier on you and the fish sometimes depending on how they're hooked.

I lose them too...maybe a pair every other year or so. I just clamp them to a strap on my bag and they get knocked or pulled off once in a while I guess and I don't notice until the next time I need them. I've found two pairs while fishing too...one was rusted and no longer usable, the other was banged up a bit but still in usable condition. They're now in my bag as a backup. Weird thing is where I found them...both were on steep, remote streams you wouldn't expect to see a lot of anglers on.

 

[klingy]

I use cheap ones as well. Can't seem to keep ahold of any pair for very long. The grass along the letort seems to eat many things of mine. Most of the time I use them more for yanking flies out of my clothing more than fish, though I do use them for their intended meaning frequently. A must have for me.

 

[fadeaway263]

I do have to relate a funny story. When I lost my Dr. Slicks this weekend I went to my local CVS to see if they sold them. All the youngsters who worked there had no idea what I was talking about. When I google imaged the hemostats for them they said they did't sell "roach clips" at C V S!

 

[lv2nymph]

I carry a pair with me, I hardly ever use them. But when you need them for that occasional fish that takes a fly just a wee bit too far back they're nice to have.

 

[lv2nymph]

fadeaway263 wrote:
I do have to relate a funny story. When I lost my Dr. Slicks this weekend I went to my local CVS to see if they sold them. All the youngsters who worked there had no idea what I was talking about. When I google imaged the hemostats for them they said they did't sell "roach clips" at C V S!

That is funny, just shows the difference in mind set. I went into a right aid to buy pipe cleaners to clean my Springfield and got carded, for pipe cleaners!

 

[SBecker]

I keep a pair of Dr. Slicks hemos strapped to my WillyJ confluence pack with zingers. I RARELY need to use them due to barbless hooks.

 

[caveman]

I actually lost a pair on the Donegal, the summer of the big flood Was it Tropical storm Lee? and after the flood was down there checking out the damage and doing a little fishing and found them in a new gravel bar. Usually just get the cheep ones, but I keep them on a retractor now and haven't lost any since. Used to just keep them clipped onto a strap. I like them for removing tiny flies and ones inside the mouth. Not as much trauma as trying to get my big fingers in there.

 

[fadeaway263]

Keep it coming guys. Tired of the Prof's elistist attitude.

 

[mikesl]

I am surprised to hear so few people use them.
i have about 4 cheap pairs and lose one a month just about.

i use cheap ones since i like to use them for tying on flies, and this is easier when not attached to a retractor.

i can clamp the hemostats on the hook bend, thread the eye, give the hemostats a spin and i have a fast clinch knot with lots of turns.

also a must-have when i go fishing near home for sunfish since they hit the hoppers and poppers so hard and inhale.

 

[Maurice]

I have a pair attached to a zinger and I clamp them on the underside of my sling pack to keep them out of the way. Since I started using the zinger I have not lost a pair.

I do not debarb my hooks and try to pop the fly out with my fingers first. If its a tough one I use the hemos...actually a sort of plier. It never takes more than 15 or twenty seconds.

I find hemos a few times a year along the stream. I give them away.

 

[boychick]

I use them. Hemos are invaluable. I use the cheap ones. I keep them on an old shoe lace that I use as a lanyard that also has a pair of nippers on it. While walking I tuck the tools into my shirt pocket or front of my waders to keep from losing them. This way, they don't fall in the water when they pop off.

 

[Fishidiot]

I like hemos and find them helpful when unhooking trout that have taken very small flies. If you fish for sunfish, as I do, you'll definitely want them as sunnies will take flies deep and their small mouths can be hard to get your fingers into.

 

[pcray1231]

I use them.

I have 2 remaining pair. I got them free for a long time, and the reason why is prime fodder for those who complain of excesses in the medical world.

After surgeries, they are discarded instead of re-used. Yes, they can be cleaned and re-used, they're stainless steel afterall. But they don't do that. Because some bean counter calculated that the danger of improperly cleaning and sterilizing would result in litigation much greater than just continually opening new ones out of sealed packages from the supplier in the operating room.

So the discarded ones go in a pile to be sent in for scrap. My mother worked in a hospital, knew we used them, and well, brought many pairs home for free. I have 2 pair left. She retired. So when I lose these I'm outta luck.

 

[crs2006]

The single piece of gear I lose most. I used to buy them from fly shops but actually have been getting them from menards now. Very cheap. I carry one small one, one extra long one, and a backup that I keep in the pack in case I lose both...which I have done before.

Im not a huge fan of zingers, I always seem to break them, or they pop off my pack and are directly responsible for me losing hemos.

 

[McSneek]

Mine probably get used more to crimp splitshot than to remove hooks. Never the less, I consider them an essential piece of fishing equipment.

I tried a pair of the mitten clamps once. Didn't like them and went back to hemos.