Best Fish Fillet Knife & Best Ultralite Spinning Rod

Ulf Krogstad

Ulf Krogstad

Joined
Nov 19, 2013
Messages
6,784
Well I bought a quantum rod and reel ultralite combo about two weeks ago and as soon as I got it out of the box it was broken. Practically crumbled in my hands by just touching it where the two rod pieces connected together. I've always just used Ugly Sticks cause they always worked but am wanting to try something new as to get better casting accuracy and distance. So I'm hoping somebody could give me recommendation. Looking for something under 6'0,spinning rod, preferably a two piece and under $60. Thinking about Daiwa. Also since this is BLADEFORUMS anybody got any suggestions to what fillet knives they think are best. Really like Martiinni fillet knives. Thinking about getting one of the Lone Wolf folding fillet knife but I seen some guy on youtube filleting a pike and had this really great looking fillet knife (might be a Browning with an aluminum handle)and was hoping somebody might know the name of it or other good quality fillet knives???
 
I have several fillet knives , Martiinni, Chicago Cuttery, Cutco, and Browning and probably a couple more that I cant think of at the moment. The Browning is my favorite and it is inexpensive at about fifteen dollars.The last Martiinni I purchased was made out of a different steel and is a horrible knife.
 
For fillet knives, I have a Buck Silver Creek, and its done really well for me. Generally on the good fishing days, I'll end up doing 30-40 smallish fish (not doing full size salmon or anything), and it will hold up to that with no troubles at all.

For rods, I'm not much help either. I like my Rapala magnum. Although maybe just get one of the really light uglysticks?
 
I can't help on the filet knife, as I am a catch and release guy.

For ultralight rods, I have a Pflueger President combo. 5'6" 2 piece rod with a president reel, which is fantastic, and is a great combo. I got mine on clearance at Meijer a while back for $40 but even for the original price of $80 its a nice rod. I also have a cheapo Shimano .. cant remember the name, its Red. I keep that one in my car for "emergency" fishing stops. Its been a nice rod for $20.
 
My most-used spinning rod and reel is a Shimano TX120Q reel matched to a Bass Pro Tourney Special rod. Mine is a 6'6" two-piece, which I find best suited to general purpose fishing - not too big, not too small. The reel is an older model from 1990s, made in Japan. After twenty+ years the gears inside had a bit of slack and the handle had some wobble, so I bought an identical 'vintage' replacement on eBay last week for $30. It's excellent.
The new graphite reels from Shimano are made in China, lack the quality of those older reels, and don't have even close to the same features.

Since you asked about ultra-light, I've got a decent set from a year or two ago. The reel is a Shimano Spyrex 1000RG (rear drag). The rod is a Bass Pro Microlite. It's a fine set overall, but I don't care for the double handle on the reel.

My boy uses a small rod and reel combo. Marketed as a lightweight set, it's also just right for a young boy. It's a Quantum Snapshot rod and reel from a few years ago. Budget priced and purchased at a large discount department store, there's nothing at all wrong with it. In fact I picked it up one day to try, and hours later realized I hadn't switched back to my own setup. It cost around $30 as I recall.

Check at BassPro if there's one near you. They often have a bargain bin of rod/reel combos on sale or closeout at really good prices. :thumbup:
 
TronixPro HTO Rockfish

Victorinox

PESCI46576_ERE45.jpg
 
I've not used one in a long long time but my dad has a Rapala filet knife that worked pretty good. I should probably pick one up before they start making them in China, if they haven't already.
 
Mora make quite a few cheap and cheerful offerings. The 155 is more the sports knife type thing and twangy. They have more the commercial / pro type stuff too, some flexible and twangy, some more stiff like boning knives. Might be worth a punt.
 
The last Rapala I bought was made in China. The steel was different, real chrome looking. Terrible steel. That was the 4 inch blade , maybe the longer blades are different. I wont be buying anymore.
 
dipbait said:
The last Rapala I bought was made in China. The steel was different, real chrome looking. Terrible steel. That was the 4 inch blade , maybe the longer blades are different. I wont be buying anymore.
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Too bad. The old Rapala fillet knives were made by Marttiini in Finland.
Fortunately you can still buy Marttiini knives, and they're still made in Finland.
 
I bought a Rapala knife one of those that didn't have the Martiinni name on it and it sux. Very gritty. Dull out of boxand could barely get it sharp. It was one with a black rubber handle.The Martiinni/Rapala knifes I got have been perfect since day one though. Nice call baldtaco on the TronixPro HTO Rockfish probably gonna pick one up. Pfluger presidents would be a good choice too. Got a Penn Battle 1000 that I'll probably pair with a Daiwa Laguna rod.Have a medium size daiwa that's flexable,strong and cheap.Hopefully that one with be too. Got old shimano reels that work great but trying to get a new set-up for cheap. Really like the Penn. Got a Mora with a 8 in. blade that I use for cutting meat. Think I'm gonna get a Ka Bar as a new fillet knife. A nine incher. Anyone got a Ka Bar fillet knives or a lone wolf folding fillet knife that they could say weither good or bad?
 
I've never used the Ka-Bar fillet knife, but I have the Mora 155 and it holds an edge much better than the Rapala that I lost. From what I understand, the Sandvik steel Mora uses is comparable or slightly better than the 440A the Ka-Bar is made out of.

I wish I could recommend a good spin rod, but I can't. I'll be reading the suggestions for one also.
 
The biggest consideration with a fillet knife is the type of steel. Fillet knives need to be super sharp to work properly. Unless you want to spend a lot of time sharpening try to find one made from a known, good quality steel. I've got a couple Shakespeare fillet knives as well as a kershaw. They don't hold a very good edge and I am constantly having to touch them up. This gets annoying especially if you are processing a lot of bigger fish (I mostly do salmon). The extra dollars spent on a quality knife made with good steel will pay off quickly as it will minimize your sharpening time, last a long time and be a joy to use.

-mike
 
Victorinox-Swiss Army-Forschner Knives makes a very good filet knife, also see their flexible boning knives which are almost the same as a filet knife only a little tougher. They have a fibrox handle coating which is very non-slippery and are used by many chefs and restaurants. Price is reasonable, quality very good, IMHO. These are knives that get more use in a day in a commercial kitchen than most fillet knives get used in a life time. The shape of the knife means a great deal when you have a bunch of fish o fillet.


Forschner Fibrox Knives by Victorinox


Forschner Fibrox knives by Victorinox are NSF approved for commercial food service use (and are a common site in restaurant kitchens). Forschner Fibrox knives are slip resistant when wet for safety and dishwasher safe as well (though we recommend all cutlery be hand washed instead). A number of the Forschner Fibrox cutlery pieces have been recommended as top value picks by Cook's Illustrated magazine for home use. The R.H. Forschner by Victorinox knives are made by stamping out a single piece of metal, then the blade is hardened, tempered, ground, polished and finished.
Victorinox, inventor of the Swiss army knife in 1897, has been making cutlery for more than a century. Victorinox knives today continue that tradition with fine cutlery designed for both professional and personal home use.
 
billygoat162 said:
I've never used the Ka-Bar fillet knife, but I have the Mora 155 and it holds an edge much better than the Rapala that I lost. From what I understand, the Sandvik steel Mora uses is comparable or slightly better than the 440A the Ka-Bar is made out of.

I wish I could recommend a good spin rod, but I can't. I'll be reading the suggestions for one also.
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I'm not convinced that explains the difference. I very strongly suspect it is the heat treatment. The Mora is hardened up to 58, but the Ka-Bar is potentially very low at 55-57.
 
GatorFlash1 said:
Victorinox-Swiss Army-Forschner Knives makes a very good filet knife, also see their flexible boning knives which are almost the same as a filet knife only a little tougher. They have a fibrox handle coating which is very non-slippery and are used by many chefs and restaurants. Price is reasonable, quality very good, IMHO. These are knives that get more use in a day in a commercial kitchen than most fillet knives get used in a life time. The shape of the knife means a great deal when you have a bunch of fish o fillet.


Forschner Fibrox Knives by Victorinox


Forschner Fibrox knives by Victorinox are NSF approved for commercial food service use (and are a common site in restaurant kitchens). Forschner Fibrox knives are slip resistant when wet for safety and dishwasher safe as well (though we recommend all cutlery be hand washed instead). A number of the Forschner Fibrox cutlery pieces have been recommended as top value picks by Cook's Illustrated magazine for home use. The R.H. Forschner by Victorinox knives are made by stamping out a single piece of metal, then the blade is hardened, tempered, ground, polished and finished.
Victorinox, inventor of the Swiss army knife in 1897, has been making cutlery for more than a century. Victorinox knives today continue that tradition with fine cutlery designed for both professional and personal home use.
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Swibo are just as good if not better. I'll use either.
 
One of my all time fav. custom fillet knives from GL Drew here on bladeforumes.


 
baldtaco-II said:
I'm not convinced that explains the difference. I very strongly suspect it is the heat treatment. The Mora is hardened up to 58, but the Ka-Bar is potentially very low at 55-57.
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The difference I noticed was between the Rapala and the Mora. The Rapala was made out of unspecified steel with unspecified HRC. The Mora holds a much better edge.
 
billygoat162 said:
The difference I noticed was between the Rapala and the Mora. The Rapala was made out of unspecified steel with unspecified HRC. The Mora holds a much better edge.
Click to expand...

I understood that. The fault is mine. I used the definate article, and I was wrong to. Sorry.

What I should have said was; “I'm not convinced that explains any difference....”


Just to expand a bit: I know some, and I'm not implying you, see 12C27 as somehow special, but I think that is way over played. One guy, that I do have a lot of respect for incidentally, played up the fine grained structure of it a hell on a lot on forums. I can see why too. He wanted a stainless that could be quite tough to complement the A2 he made much of for toughness. And yeah, it's quite good for that. But since then that seems to have taken legs quite disproportionate to the actuality, and internet legends are borne. When you add Moras into that mix, that do have some redeeming features and are made from 12C27, that 12C27 “halo” gets stretched a bit too far. I've owned loads of AUS6 from Hattori and Moki that in no way showed inferiority to 12C27 at edge retention. From the few 440A knives I've had I'd say the same about them too. I think the heat treatment is by far the biggest variable between those steels.

On your speculation ;-) on the Mora vs Ka-Bar – Ka-Bar, perdictably with its military slant hardens up rather low, so it will just mash and not hold a great edge for long. ESEE does the same to 1095. Although 1095 is a bit out of its depth for edge retention compared to modern steels, a skilled maker could get way more cutting performance from it than they do. As it is they harden for warranty claims not edge retention. I think that's exactly what Ka-Bar does to 440A.

I don't know about Rapala. I just know of them. I gave up chasing the trail of these sorts of branded knives years ago with Normark. I retain my sanity on fishing forums when I see “Snowbee makes a great knife” and “my Abu made knife” by swerving all that sort of thing a retaining a bubble of blissful ignorance. I can't communicate with fishing guys [most of 'em] that think a great knife is made from draining board, and I'm far from a knife snob.

:-)
 
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