In our last blog installment, we reviewed and explained how to use our ReelSonar Digital Scale. This week we’re finishing our two-part series and giving our newly released ReelSonar Multi-Tool Pliers the royal treatment. If you’ve been looking for the latest must-have handy fishing gadget for your tackle box, keep on reading.

First Impressions

The Multi-Tool Pliers come neatly packaged with a clip-on lanyard and nylon belt sheath, and the packaging itself contains plenty of information about the tools built into the pliers and how to use them.

The lanyard is, quite simply, a stroke of genius. As long as you are wearing the belt sheath, you can keep the pliers within easy reach and connected to your body without accidentally dropping them overboard from your boat or kayak.

For such an affordable tool, these pliers feel anything but “cheap.” The stainless steel has a good, solid weight in the hand without feeling bulky or unwieldy. The ReelSonar Multi-Tool Pliers are longer than a standard Swiss Army Knife or Leatherman but still easy to handle one-handed. Also, as a lefty living in a right-handed world, I greatly appreciate that these pliers are ambidextrous and that the belt sheath can be worn on either hip.

Everything You Need, Nothing You Don’t

The reason these pliers are so lightweight is because they only contain five tools, but each tool was specifically chosen and built tough to meet the most common needs of anglers. Let’s look at each one in turn:

4” Jaw Needle Nose Pliers
The pliers are the ReelSonar Multi-Tool’s namesake tool and as such constitute most of the tool’s size and weight. The spring-loaded pliers are smooth and easy to use, even for smaller female hands, and can easily reach into a fish’s mouth to extract even a deeply embedded hook. The next two tools are actually built into the pliers to keep weight and bulk to a minimum:

Leader Crimper
Need to reinforce connections between your fishing line and leaders? The pliers’ built-in leader crimper works with most standard tackle so you won’t have to worry about losing your leader and favorite fishing lures.

Braided Line Cutter
Anglers love braided line for its smooth casting and durability, but that toughness can be a double-edged sword if you need to cut your line to replace a leader or cut yourself free of a submerged log or weeds. Or perhaps you have a small set of line nippers in your tackle box or use fingernail clippers in a pinch, and you hate constantly going through your tackle box to find the small tool every time you need to cut line – or worse, dropping them overboard. The braided line cutters at the base of the pliers can smoothly cut through your line without fraying it, so you can quickly switch out your leaders or lures and get back to fishing.

File Tool
Few things in life are more heart-breaking than finding that perfect fishing spot, picking the right lure, executing a flawless cast and presentation, and then missing the hookup due to a dull hook. If you find yourself in the middle of the lake with dull hooks on your favorite lures, the ReelSonar Multi-Tool Pliers have a file tool built directly into the handle. Once again, you won’t need to dig around in your tackle box for that old file that you may have misplaced last season or dropped overboard, because you’ll already have one attached to your belt.

Serrated Knife
Last but not least, the other handle of the pliers contains a serrated knife. If your trusty pocket knife just won’t cut it, the serrated edge on this knife can handle anything from nasty line tangles to small ropes. At the end of the day, anglers will use pocket knives more than we might realize, so having a good, sharp one is an absolutely indispensable addition to the tackle box.

The Verdict

I can’t wait to go fishing just so I have an excuse to use these pliers. Since I fish primarily out of my kayak – and soon with a dog on board – keeping my gear streamlined and within easy reach is an absolute necessity. I’m also one of those types that keeps individual tools, such as line nippers and hemostats, in the tackle box lest I risk dropping them overboard, and it’s a hassle having to rummage around in my kayak for one small tool and then re-organize everything before resuming fishing. The ReelSonar Multi-Tool Pliers solves those organization issues by keeping the most commonly needed tools within easy reach and, more importantly, attached to my body. I plan to wear these pliers every time I go paddling, even on days where I’m not fishing, because you just never know when you’ll need a set of pliers outside.

Head over to Our Products to view the ReelSonar Multi-Tool Pliers for sale, and consider adding one to your tackle box for this year's fishing season!