Tag: short-story

EGO TIDEWATER TOOL KIT – FISH CLEANING

Reviewed by: CAPT. MIKE SCHOONVELD

Every angler should have a fish cleaning kit that includes the essentials for cleaning the size and type of fish you plan to catch and keep. For me, a kit that has a couple of different sized fillet knives is important. I’ve cleaned large fish with small knives, small fish with large knives, but cleaning any fish with the appropriately-sized knife makes the job simpler and the finished product better. Each knife should be in a sheath, as well. That protects the user, it keeps the knives from cutting the case in which all the tools are stored and the sheath also protects the knives’ razor edges from clacking together or rubbing on other items inside the case. That could damage the sharp edges.

I’ve learned that keeping a knife sharp is simple. Rather than using (abusing) the knife until it’s dull, simply “steel” the knife, after every fish or two and it will never get dull. I include a honing steel in the fish cleaning kits that I put together. The steel doesn’t have to be large, it has to be used.

When I’m cleaning walleye, I always wear a glove with a tough, rubber palm on my left hand. (I’m right-handed.) The fins on walleye have sharp spines, the gill plates are razor sharp and even the scales on a walleye are abrasive. So there’s a glove for my left hand in my kit.

The only downside to this is when I’m skinning the fillet, the glove makes it tough to grip the end of the fillet when I’m skinning the fillet. That’s why I always have a homemade pick in the kit I take on walleye fishing trips to pin the tail of the fillet in place with my gloved, left hand. 

When I saw the Tidewater Tool Kit from EGO, I noticed it had all the tools I consider to be essential – and more! Included in the kit is a folding cutting board measuring 8 ¾”X12 ¾” and a pair of scissors. The cutting board is a bit small, but better than nothing. I don’t often use scissors to clean the fish I catch, but they’d be handy for catfish anglers to cut off the spines. I have been known to pop the top off a longneck when I’m cleaning a fish and there is a bottle opener on the end of the scissors.

There’s also a fish scaler. I actually do scale some of the fish I clean because skin-on fillets have a depth of flavor missing on skinned fillets. The fish scaler easily takes the place of the pick I use to hold the fillet in place when I’m skinning it.

The coolest extra feature is the sheaths for both the seven and nine-inch knives have a locking tab on them so once the knife is sheathed, it stays sheathed. I’ve never seen that on any knife sheath I’ve owned. All this in a convenient carrying case and an extra right-hand glove you can offer to a left-handed fishing partner giving him one less excuse for not helping you to clean the fish. The EGO Tidewater Tool Kit is sold exclusively online at: http://www.egofishing.com. 

TRUE TI POCKET MULTI TOOL

Reviewed by: CAPT. MIKE SCHOONVELD

The first “multi-tool” I ever owned was a Boy Scout Pocketknife I got to fulfill the Boy Scout motto, “Be Prepared.” Besides the knife blade that folded open, it included a flat screwdriver/bottle opener blade, both of which worked pretty well. I needed the bottle opener since twist-off caps were yet to be invented. It had a can opener which did a poor job of opening metal cans and a poker tool which was seldom used.

I carried it through high-school and college and the most memorable use I recall was when I was far away from a wilderness camp with a reluctant 9.9 Mercury outboard on the back of a 14-foot rowboat. I don’t remember exactly what was wrong with the Merc, but I do remember that without the Boy Scout knife, the repair would have been impossible.

It was years later before I saw the first non-pocketknife multi-tool. I bought a few, had a few mini-versions given to me as “bling” with some company’s name stenciled on the handle and was handed many others that unfolded to reveal a pair of pliers, wire cutters, flat and Phillips screwdrivers. Most had a knife blade, several had a tiny saw blade and a variety of can openers, poking tools, bottle openers all that would cleverly fold into a compact unit.

I’ve never had or used one that worked as well as a “real” screwdriver or pliers or any of the other included tools. I don’t fault that, the variety of tools does make the multi-tool handy in “emergency” use or for small jobs that would take less time to complete with the multi-tool than it would take to dig a screwdriver out of a tool box.

What I do fault is how many of them, marketed as stainless steel, end up being rusting to some extent. I fault the ones built so tight, I need to use a regular tool to open or close the blades. Almost as bad are the ones so flimsy the individual blades or tools open on their own or with screwdrivers that are so flimsy that they bend with moderate torque. I’m talking “name brand” models, not just cheap-China knock-offs of name brand models.

I’ve used several models of knives from True, one of AGC Brands product lines. All have proven to be well designed and well built so when they came out with the TI Pocket Multi-Tool, I got one to see if it was one worth having and relying on. I’ve had it on my boat for several months, purposely stowed in a convenient TackleWeb pocket where it is handy where the work is being done and is exposed to the weather, spray and road/dust when the boat is being trailers. I wanted to see how it “ages.” I’ve often purposely used it instead of the “single” use tools I keep on my boat, just to see how it measured up.

I’ve used it to unhook dozens of salmon, walleye and lake trout. The pliers work well and thought a lot of the pressure of hook removal is twisting, the pliers are still tight. I don’t fillet fish with the knife blade, but I’ve cut fishing line, dock ropes and cut several chunks of summer sausage. I’ve used the screwdrivers (both Phillips and flat blades to unscrew various screws including adjusting Dipsey Divers. I’ve yet to use or need the saw blade or open a tin can with the can opener.

Though I haven’t (and probably won’t) carry it in my pocket, it wouldn’t be cumbersome to carry in your jean pockets if your everyday duties occasionally require using small hand tools. I can easily see how having it as standard equipment on my boat and/or in my pick-up’s glove compartment.

Widely available in stores, both online and retail, at Amazon or check them out and other AGC brands at: https://acgbrands.com/.