Wild Northerner Magazine Summer 2017 | Page 33

We began hammering smallmouth

bass and some of the fish were engulfing the cranks. We went to the Bill Dance hook remover every time. It made our release times faster and more efficient, which was better for the fish since we were practicing catch and release.

I’m not sure how many times I stated that day I was buying one of those tools as soon as I got back to town. I was true to my word as I stopped at Moxy’s Bait and Tackle Shop later that day and bought myself one.

If you have never used one, and you fish a lot, I can’t recommend the Bill Dance hook remover enough.

There’s not much to it, but that simplicity is the ultimate design. It removes hooks from any fish, no matter how bad they are stuck and faster than any other method or tool I’ve ever seen before.

It is less than $20 and features steel and plastic construction. It measures eight-inches in length and has a spring-loaded hook at the end that slides in and out of a slim, steel sleeve. You squeeze the trigger handle up with two fingers and it exposes the hook, which you grab onto one of the hooks on the lure. With a quick twist

or turn, the hook pops right out. It

also sports a line cutter integrated into the handle.

I’ve used it on bass, pike, walleye and trout. Every other person I’ve fished with since and has seen me deploy the hook remover was blown away just like I was, and many went out immediately and bought their own.

It’s for good reason.

Any level of angler can use this tool to enhance their fishing experience.