Buyer’s Guide to the Best Fish Grippers 2021

Fish grippers are the perfect tool to handle medium-large fish.

Largemouth bass are safer to handle by hand than species like pike and muskie. However, fish like muskie, pike and saltwater favourites like bluefish, barracuda and barracuda have sharp teeth so a fish graspper is essential for safe handling.

A gripper is a great tool for handling fish larger than 10 pounds. Grippers are useful for handling all sizes of fish, from striped bass to large catfish, when used correctly.

We’d love to help you if this sounds appealing. Below are reviews on some of our favourite lip grippers as well as a buying guide that explains what to look out for when choosing a lip gloss.

A quick look at the top fish graspers:

  • Boga Grip 260 –Best Premium Fish Gripper With Integral Scale
  • Entsport Fish Lip Gripper
  • Rapala 9″ Floating Fish Gripper –Best Lightweight Fish Grpper
  • Berkley Big Game Lip Grip –The strongest fish gripper

Best Fish Grippers – Reviewed

Boga Grip 260Best Premium Fish Gripper With Integral Scale

Boga Grip 130 30lb Scale

Material Stainless steel

Capacity 60 lbs.

Length N/A

Bog Grip is the best fish gripper brand if you want the highest quality, durability and capacity. Boga is a highly-rated product that will cost you more, but it’s a favorite among anglers.

Boga’s big boy, the 260, is 60-pound-capable and features an internal spring scale measuring in 1/2-pound increments.

The working end will have a stainless-steel clamp and a super-high quality, durable spring. As you would expect, both are resistant to corrosion. The usual ring on your shaft opens the clamp.

The grip is made of durable EVA foam and has excellent ergonomics.

The shaft uses an internal spring scale to measure weights. This means that there are no batteries to change, delicate electronics to break or screens to fog–just daily accuracy.

The Boga’s price can seem a little high, but it is a great investment that will last for decades and not fail when you are most in need.

Pros

Cons

  • It’s expensive!

Entsport Fish Lip Gripper

Entsport Fish Lip Gripper Fish Scales Professional Fish Holder Stainless Steel Fish Lip Grabber 40 Pound Fish Lip Grip Tool with Weight Scale

Material Stainless steel

Capacity33 lbs/15kg

Length9.6″

Entsport’s Fish Lip Gripper, while a very close copy of the Boga, is much more affordable. Entsport does not offer a Boga 260-capable model.

These grippers are durable and capable and can be used for a variety of tasks. They also cost a fraction of the price of their more famous counterparts.

The Boga also features an EVA foam handle and stainless components. A strong, secure clamp is located at the working end. The Entsport has a simple spring scale, which can weigh up to 15 kg. It is also marked in metric.

This may seem like a deal-breaker for some, but it is not for everyone. Thousands of anglers will pay 2.2 to increase their catch.

So where is the Entsport failing in comparison?

Although the measuring spring doesn’t measure accurately, your experience might be different. This can be a problem for tournament anglers. If you are fishing for money, the Boga is the best option.

Entsport is a good deal at around 10% of its price.

Pros

  • High quality materials are used throughout
  • Excellent capacity
  • Comfortable grip
  • Very durable
  • The internal spring scale can weigh up to 15kg

Cons

  • Scales can be extremely inaccurate

Rapala 9″ Floating Fish GripperBest Lightweight Fish Grpper

Rapala 9' Floating Fish Gripper 9'

Material plastic

Capacity N/A

Length 9

Rapala’s 9-inch Floating Fish Gripper makes a great tool. Don’t let the name “plastic” fool your eyes; this is a durable, tough, and no-nonsense option.

The Rapala’s ergonomics are somewhat similar to channel-locking, or pliers. They have a ridged handle with “stops” at either end that help keep your grip. These grippers work well and anglers have reported catching fish up to 30 pounds with them.

They are also extremely light and can be stored in your pants or PFD pocket.

These grippers can be used in conjunction with a fish scale, but they do not have a scale. This is a good thing, since you don’t have to worry about accuracy with an inexpensive tool that will see many hard knocks.

These grippers are extremely durable. These grippers can take a beating as proven by numerous tests on the water.

The Rapala is a durable, lightweight gripper that will not let you down.

Pros

  • Simple design provides durability and strength
  • Excellent capacity
  • Comfortable grip
  • Very light

Cons

  • ?? ??

Berkley Big Game Lip GripThe strongest fish gripper

Berkley Big Game Lip Grip

Material Stainless steel

Capacity Lift as much as you can!

Length 11

Berkeley is a master of fishing and the Big Game Lip Grip has design features that make a real difference.

Berkley has rethought the shaft-style gripper, unlike the many Boga copies. I believe the handle is made of a flexible, textured rubber, which provides a better grip than EVA foam. The actuating ring is slightly wider to give your fingers more leverage when opening the clamp.

Berkley built the entire structure from stainless steel inside and out. He decided to go with a simple shaft design and skip the scale. This result gives you maximum strength and bomb-proof durability.

The clamp will hold any fish that you can lift with your two arms. It’s that easy.

The Berkley Big Game Lip Grip makes it easy to catch big fish and do no-nonsense angling.

Pros

  • Simple design provides durability and strength
  • Amazing capacity
  • Comfortable handle

Cons

  • ???? ??

Important Points to Consider when Buying a Fish Gripper

Why are there only four products?

We have tried to avoid duplicates on our list by choosing the most talented Boga imitators, and skipping the legions no-name copies. There are many good ones, but how many do we really need? We voted Entsport the best, and we stand by it.

You’ll also notice that all of our grippers, with the exceptions of the Rapala and the pistol grip models, are shaft-style.

Why not?

There are some design problems with the pistol grip style that have made them less popular. They’re now very difficult to find. The BassPro model is no more available online, and Berkley has also discontinued it.

We know that the weak junction between the handle and load-bearing shaft makes it difficult to properly reinforce. They are therefore a poor design choice for their intended purpose, as they can break under heavy loads.

Ergonomics

Although a straight shaft is not the most comfortable for lifting heavy fish, it is extremely strong and can withstand huge loads.

It’s all about product. But what about your hand?

We are looking for grip-enhancing features or grippy foam. Many grippers have an EVA foam. Others, such as the Berkley, have a textured rubber.

No matter what gripper you choose, make sure to inspect the handle and determine if it will chew up your hand with a large fish on the end.

Also, be sure to inspect the ring that activates the clamp. Is it difficult to use wet hands?

These are just a few of the reasons the Rapala is so popular. It provides great grip and allows you to use your entire hand to move the heavy spring.

Durability

A company that offers uncompromising quality (we are nodding towards Boga) is unlikely to succeed if it has incorporated complexity such as a scale.

It is quite simple. Val Olinksi is a professional fisherman and expert in fish grippers. He explains that the cost of the spring is a major determinant of the quality of the gripper’s scale.

Scale spring quality will be reduced to keep the cost down, as you can see in the Entsport.

Bogas are expensive, but you can still get maximum durability by buying a Boga.

These grippers can last for decades.

Capacity

Large fish require strong grippers. Even the Boga 260 is not perfect.

Although plastic grippers such as the Rapala offer many advantages, their maximum capacity is not one of them. They are suitable for large fish, but they don’t have the same capabilities as the Rapala. I’d still choose the Berkleys to lift a 80-pound blue cat than the gunnels on my boat.

Be realistic about your needs and match the grippers with the size of the fish.

Last Thoughts

Although you will have to decide what gripper is best for you and your budget, we can guarantee that any product we review will be a great choice if the fish size it can handle is right.

We hope this article helped you choose your next fish grasper. If not, we would love to hear about it.

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