Fishing Knives | Match The Fillet Knife to the Fish You Catch

Selecting a “Fishing Knife”!

Fishing is a hobby that is a lot of fun. The best part about it is eating a delicious meal as a reward for success. It is important to not ruin the fish fillet by using a dull fishing knife. A filet knife should be very sharp in order to obtain a quality cut. The following is a guide to selecting fishing knives.

Fishing knives generally are between 6 to 9 inches long. There are many different kinds of handles for a fillet knife. The best type of handle for a fillet knife is a rubber handle, it offers the best grip when your hands are wet and slimly. Rubber is the most durable and easiest-to-clean handle material for knives.

It is important to select a fixed blade fishing knife. A fixed blade on a fillet knife is much sturdier and more reliable, which will ensure a quality cut of the fillet. The most common material for a filet knife is stainless steel. Stainless steel is durable and resistant to weathering, which is important for a outdoor fishing knife.

What is the Right Size Knife for the Job?

Most people do not select a large knife for their fish fillet knife. They select a 6 inch fixed blade. This is the most versatile size to choose. It will handle almost all kinds of freshwater fish with ease, and can even be used on larger saltwater fish if you don’t have the appropriate size knife, It will just take longer to get the job done. The 6 inch size is perfect for trout, bass, crappie and perch. For fishermen that don’t want to carry around more than one filet knife, a 6 inch knife will be the best option to handle almost any fileting task.

For those that head out to the ocean and like to hook into larger fish, they need to select a large knife like a 9 inch fixed blade. A 9 inch fillet knife blade will handle all of those bigger fish like salmon, tuna and swordfish. The 9 inch blade is too big to use on smaller freshwater fish, as it will mangle the fillet badly.

Don’t Compromise, Buy Both Size Fillet Knives!

For those that want to be prepared for everything, they can get both 6 and 9 inch fillet knives to handle any kind of fish that is hooked.

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Knife Sharpening | Electric or Hand Operated Blade Sharpener

Electric Knife Sharpener

When using a knife, a sharp blade is very important. There are many methods available to sharpen a knife blade including hand held blade sharpeners and electric knife sharpener. Depending on where you are using the knife, sometimes hand held sharpeners like a whet stone are needed. An electric knife sharpener is useful in a household setting. Some people like to use a diamond steel sharpener while others prefer a sharpening stone.

Sharpening stones for knives come in many different styles. There is the long and narrow blade sharpener with a handle to hold on to or the whet stone which is used with water and has no handle. An electric knife sharpener may have a diamond steel wheel or a diamond sharpener or a standard steel sharpening wheel. Which ever type of knife sharpener you choose, it is important to understand the blade type as well in order to get a good clean edge to the knife.

Hand Operated Blade Sharpener

Some knife manufacturers recommend the type of knife sharpener to use for their particular knife while others may recommend several different types of sharpening stones for knives. A diamond sharpener is usually used for precision blades such as for filet knives while a whet stone can be used for general purpose knives. A sharpening stone is used for a variety of knives as well. A blade sharpener can be made from diamond steel as well as many other types of material.

A knife sharpener can be very small and carried in one’s pocket into the field when hunting to ensure a good, sharp blade. Other types of a sharpening stone is used only in a household setting because they may be very large and difficult to handle in an outdoor setting. The electric knife sharpener obviously is intended for indoor use. The diamond sharpener or diamond steel is used mostly for electric sharpeners to create a very precise edge.

Sharpening Stones for Knives

Sharpening stones for knives or any type of blade sharpener can provide a good, clean knife edge when used properly. Use the stones with care and your blade provide good clean cuts when it is needed.

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Deer Hunting | Missouri Deer Season

Missouri Deer Season Opens With Archery

Deer season opens in Missouri using archery equipment in the middle of September. It is usually unseasonably warm when early season archery hunting. I personally do not spend much time in the tree this part of the season unless I have a big buck patterned very well, which is tough to do after they shed their velvet. Most of my time is spent scouting and hanging stands for prime time “The Rut”. As the rut gets closer time is spent studying sign left by bucks and the paths in which they are following to get to and from their sanctuary. We start hunting the last 2 weeks of October hoping to catch a big buck cruising from bedding are to bedding area checking for the first receptive doe.

Hunting the Rut In Missouri

When November finally arrives we spend as much time in a tree as we can stand always keeping the wind in our favor, no exceptions. This part of the season you will see bucks that you have never seen before and may never see again. Past history has proven the most buck movement in Missouri deer season is the first part of November and the higher than any other time of the year. After spend many hours bow hunting the first 2 weeks of November the archery tackle gets set to the side and high power rifles are the preferred weapon to use for the 11 day Missouri gun season. Between 1/2 and 2/3rds of the states total deer harvest takes place during this period.

Muzzleloader Hunting Late Season

As the hunting season grows on I can’t wait to hunt the late Missouri Muzzleloader season. All summer long my sons and I watch nice bucks roam their summer range but when their antlers harden and the competition for dominance starts the bigger whitetail bucks become hard to find. So I patiently wait for the late season. It is holding true for us again this year as one of the boys check the camera cards and find the 12 point that we watched most of the summer is back in the area. We are all excited to start putting together the pieces to try and harvest this dandy buck.

We are still hunting this impressive Missouri Buck!!

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Bow Hunting News | Youth Bowhunter Shoots Cow

What “Hunting Ethics” are Parents Teaching Their kids

I heard some inside news about a youth bow hunter that shot a deer with his bow and went to school bragging he did so, “BUT” to the wrong person. This youth bow hunter (14 years old) went bow hunting on some common ground surrounding a beautiful residential lake development in eastern Missouri and shot a deer. This would be a normal occurance but he had not purchaced a deer tag to put on the deer. The next day this kid went to school bragging to his friends in class about killing this deer the day before. Little did he know that his teacher was the wife of a conservation agent in the county where the violation took place.

The teacher informed her husband of the violation and the conservation agent started to follow up by checking the name of the youth involved. The agent discovered the youth purchased a deer tag the same day he bragged to his classmates about killing the deer the day before. The agent also found that the youth tele-checked his deer 15 minutes after the tag was purchased. That is backward from the way I was brought up!

Conservation Agents are very Persistent!

The Conservation agent went to the youths house and started questioning the youth asking to see his bow hunting equipment. The youth showed the agent his bow and quiver full of arrows. The agent compared the arrows to an arrow he had from another case, they were an identical match to an arrow that was pulled from a cow on the neighboring property from a year old case that had just been uncovered and solved. The agent started questioning the youth about shooting the cow, he finally admitted shooting the cow. When the agent asked why he did it, the kid said he was bored and tired of looking at it, so he shot it. Thankfully the cow did survive with the help from the local veterinary.

Parents, Your kids learn from your actions!

Kids will learn what you teach them! If you follow the rules and drill the game rules and regulations in their minds they will do as you do. The parent to this youth is not a role model hunter for his kids to learn from I do know this parent and he is not an ethical hunter. He has been in trouble with the conservation department before.

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