TexasKayakFisherman.com

I posted in an early post with no response, kinda off of the title subject.

I have noticed a lot of Boga Grip knockoffs on ebay, and was wondering if anybody has or had one of the knockoffs? $100+ for a real Boga really isn't in my budget. Also if there are any Berkley Lip Grip owners out there I'd like to hear from you, too. Thanks.

Here is a partly constructed page concerning the Boga. Also here are some comments ffrom another post further down.

The biggest problem is letting the client know how it operates (I forget sometimes) and then letting the client gain some confidence using it while holding the fish for a picture. Flounder has not been a problem, but as a whole the smaller the fish the more they thrash trying to get loose. I have had my sunglasses and cameras splashed on by more smaller fish than any big fish.

The other brands of similar tools have had problems according to some friends who own them. The have told me that jaws toque allowing the fish to escap prematurely. Just another "you get what you paid for" scenario. Luckily I got mine for a birthday present from my wife rather than paying for it by myself (It still came out of the same bank account, but it is the thought that counted).

http://www.leftyray.com/tools.htm

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Daniel,

I have a Berkley knock-off of the Boga Grip. Indeed the Berkley jaws will torque open slightly if twisted clockwise while holding the fish. Just make sure to twist counterclockwise, or to the left, and they cant open. All in all, the Boga is definitely a superior tool, as the price would indicate.

M-D

I have a Berkley model; much cheaper. Used it one weekend and it worked fine for me, caught 15 or so slot reds and four or five trout without an issue.

I have the Berkley and the Rapala Lock and Weigh. I used the Berkley and it works OK but I ended up wanting something better. I was going to get a Boga. I went to Oshman's and they had a Boga and the Rapala. If anything, the Rapala seemed better constructed than the Boga and it was on sale for $50. I think the one I got is about $59 now at Oshman's.

I prefer a landing net.

I use contact cement to attach a phone clip from Radio Shack on it and clip it to my wade belt. I also attach the lanyard at the base of the handle to my belt to make certain I can drop it in the water after I land a fish. When not in use it's clipped to my belt and it's not in the way.

They also sell landing nets at Academy that have an elastic cord that comes out of the handle. Cord is plenty long and has a clip on the end of it that can be attached to a wading belt. When not being used the cord retracts back into the handle.

I think the advantage of the Boga though is the net is a pain to have with you all time time when wading, and when fishing topwaters its the hooks always get caught in the net.


Hey Chasin - I'll bet Joe wishes he had a boga (or his net) when he hooked that giant flounder. I looked at the CCA Star board and he'd probably be leading right now if he'd gotten it in.

I originally got my Berkley because of all the small trout I killed. It is great for catch and release. I've even used it on over 30" reds. The Rapala works much better than the Berkley though, plus, you can weigh your catch. I usually use a net on fish I plan to put in the cooler. On my yak I just carry the Rapalla Lock n Weigh and channel lock pliers for Tourist Trout. (Did you know that Tourist Trout will hit an artificial occasionally)

Blindcasting,

Those were my exact words about Joe's flounder, except i looked last night and an 11lb flounder was leading the division, but he definitely would have been a top 5 runner-up.