BogaGrip/Rapella

[mdrew9]

Anyone use these? Rapella also makes their version I think their 60lb is $74 BogaGrip 60lb is $240. Does anyone have any experience with these? I know the BogaGrip is IGFA certified but thats not a big deal for me, I just want to know about what my fish weights and an easy grip on them. Any advice would help.
Mike

[saltyric]

I have a rapalla "gripper". It definately is not of the same quality of the Boga, but it works great. I left it on the boat all last year and had no issues with corrosion. I definately found the Boga easier to use in terms of lipping the fish, but the rapalla is fine for my needs. I found it at Galyans for around $50.00.

[Roop]

Don't forget to attach a float!

[Bob Parsons]

I picked up a rapela gripper last year, do not like it, I find the size of the opening too small to easily grip fish and release them. I understand they now have another version designed for larger fish.

[Punchshot]

Roop - it's funny you should mention the float. Last year fishing around Newport in a freinds boat, catching 10 lb+ blues, had one on the Boga, fish shook his head, and Boga and fish ended up at the bottom of the Naragansett --124-3 though a float my not have helped in that situation (#$119)

[saltyric]

Punchshot - That's better than putting it on the grass next to your car while getting out of your wading gear, then driving off with out!

[Pauper Piscator]

But yes, the lanyard is on there for a reason. Worth the extra $$....dunno. Got is as a wedding gift from my college room mate - bless his heart. The Raps and other knock -offs look pretty good.

On a related topic, anyone use one of those steel hook extractor doo-dads.

[mansfieldsign]

I was just telling a buddy that I was going to pick-up a grip. He said to me that they cause jaw damage to released fish, acually increasing the mortality rate. Has anyone ever heard that ? That was news to me. :confused:

[fmw]

The thing that surprises me about the Boga grip, is how popular they are, even though they are very expensive . . . around $120. The manufacturer must be laughing all the way to the bank. What a successful product! Should be a business school case study.

They didn't exist 10 or 15 years ago, but now are basically a "must have." I'll admit, I've got one.

If you step back a second though, folks are paying through the nose for what is basically a scale that is very difficult to read and not very accurate, given that it doesn't give a measurement down to the tenth or hundreth of a pound.

In the end, for my purposes, the Boga most succeeds as a device to help one take photos of things like big, toothy bluefish . . . its great as a way to get the fish in the hands of girlfriends, novices, etc. who might otherwise be reluctant to pose with a 10 lb. chopper. Its also pretty handy when trying to unhook those big blues.

As for landing fish, I still prefer to use a plain ol' net. While this is really a whole other topic, I have never really understood why some fly fishers seem to disdain landing nets. It seems like not having a net is a merely recipe for losing flys and/or a nice fish at the boat. Yet it seems like at Montauk, none of the fly guides would be caught dead with a net. I use one that breaks in half and I stow it so as not to interfere with fly casting.

[scruffy_fish]

For all my catch and release I use pliers. Grip the hook and twist out the barb less hook. I try not to even touch the fish as any breaking of the natural slim will allow bacteria to enter the skin. If I want a table fish then all is fair.
M2Cs.

[captshiner]

Thanks FMW, ya just explained why I got strange looks from the guides when I pulled out my net! Funny cause I grew up drifting eels in the rips and every fish was netted. Now that I toss flies mostly I don't see many guys net fish anymore. That article on bogas hurting fish was in a recent saltwater sportsman. It basically says you're supporting a fish's weight by a tiny hinge joint that wasn't designed to support weight, it's only designed to rotate. The muscles around the jaw make up a small portion of a fish's weight and can't support it's body when held vertically. Also on larger fish you can tear the connective tissue that holds organs in place when you hold a fish vertically. Makes sense. FWIW we never had a boga in my boat and my life depends on using my hands.

[stevec]

i believe the Boga can be certified..not sure it comes that way.
I have the 30 and it comes in real handy when subdueing psychotic bluefish.
Never thought to attach a float to it, thanks for the idea

[mdrew9]

In regards to the Boga not being accurate


BogaGrip comes in 15-pound and 30-pound models. Each BogaGrip scale is calibrated to ensure accuracy within one increment. You can send your BogaGrip to the IGFA (954-927-2628) to have it certified for world-record catches.
That's from www.bogagrips.com (http://www.bogagrips.com)
I appreciate all the responses, I am leaning towards the Rapella. Bob mentioned the opening was too small. Blaine from ct-outfitters mentioned to me yesterday that he also had the same problem with the 30 lb grip, in that some of the large fish (30 lbs +) the opening wasn't big enough for the lip. I would think that larger lb grips would be sized accordingly.
This season with all the problems of mycrobacteriosis, mentioned in OTW, I will be trying to handle the fish as little as possible. They are also very convienent with those bluefish that want to take my arm off.
Mike

[fmw]

My comment about the accuracy on the Boga wasn't to suggest that it gives the wrong weight readings, only that: 1. the numbers are hard to read and 2. the increments are, at best a pound and maybe even on the 30 lb Boga, every other pound. In other words, its not like you are going to get a reading that you've caught a 28.65 or 28.5 lb. striper.

The Boga is great for handling nasty blues and for taking pictures.

My post was meant to be more in the nature of a gentle ribbing at the enormous popularity of a product that is very expensive (especially when you consider its limited function) rather than serious criticism of the product.

In short, I would have never believed that I would pay a $120 for a little do-dad fish scale and fish holder. But I did.

[iwilder]

As an alternative check out Berkley. They have several grippers. One has a digital scale. Haven't used them but have been comparing with the others for a possible purchase.

I'm not too sure about the problem of damage to fish via lipping. Certainly bass fisherman have been doing it for years. Florida fisherman have used hand gaffs for years as well. Be careful of big fish and a lanyard. A good hand gaff will be made with a large swivel attaching the lanyard to the gaff. These lippers should have similar protection for the fisherman.

Ike

[joe e.]

I was just telling a buddy that I was going to pick-up a grip. He said to me that they cause jaw damage to released fish, acually increasing the mortality rate. Has anyone ever heard that ? That was news to me. :confused:
Heard the same thing and also read it in a thread on www.tidalfish.com, It seems to constrict jaw making the fish unable to eat or swallow, slow miserable way to go.

[vineyard fisher]

$120 just seems like an awful lot of money to spend on a product that doesn't even help you catch fish. Moreover, common sense will tell you that supporting a fish by its jaws will damage it. We owe too much to the stripers NOT to cradle them (or use a net). It has always been the right way to do it.

[ikan besar]

A similar article mentioned that suspending a fish by its tail also did harm to internal organs (the manner in which many snatch an albie out of the water or hold a large jack or tuna up by its tail). :confused:

[Bonefish Jim]

I was just telling a buddy that I was going to pick-up a grip. He said to me that they cause jaw damage to released fish, acually increasing the mortality rate. Has anyone ever heard that ? That was news to me. :confused:

Anyone who is a true "catch'nreleaser" will never use a boga grip, except for holding a dangerous fish while taking the hook out.
Fish are not designed to be hung by the lower jaw and yes, if held that way they will die after some time! There are two reasons for this: 1) all the muscles and tendons around the jaws will be over stretched, making it almost impossible for the fish to eat. 2) A fish hung vertically will have its entrails sagging towards the anus, again causing over-stretching of inner tissue and lining.
The only way to properly hold a fish (for a picture) is to have one hand under the cartilage of the pectoral/ventral fins and one hand by the tail. You can possibly use a boga grip in the jaws, but you have to support the fish on the other end as well. By the way, can we please find another way to hold stripers? I hate to pictures of guys holding stripers by the lower jaw!
I never used a boga grip and never felt I needed one.
Bonefish Jim

[Ray]

I use the Rapalle grip for handling Bluefish. I only use to allow me to remove the hook then and release the fish. I tether it to myself when on a boat or to my kayak. I don't use the tool when wading (just one more thing to carry).

As I have mentioned many times, I can't get myself to buy a product, like a Boga Grip, that is priced many times about the production cost. The only expensive part in the whole thing is the calibrated spring. And in that case the ones that don't pass the spec in production can be sold as standard springs.

For me the $30 Rapalla does the job just fine, but to each his own.