I caught one of these...



Tried to pick it up with this...



Then put it on this...



As you can see, the BPS grips broke and the last "string" on the stringer is bent so the fish escaped!

Feel free to add to this list, pics not necessary.

Fish grips and stinky pants stringers solves both issues.

+1 on this ^^^^. Glad you landed a nice Hybrid today but bummer the stinger failed.

Those fish grips are only good for holding your beer on a cold day!

Been there done that.

The chain stringer are absolutely useless if use on big/strong fish. I tried the stinky pants stringer, while they are nice, it is way too stiff IMHO. My goto stringer is still the Eagle Claw braided stringer. The cheaper 6ft nylon stringer works pretty well but over time the crimp will fail.

+1 on the fish grip. Works extremely well for catfish big or small.

For the stripes species I usually just lipped the fish or just grab onto the jig head and pull in the fish. However, if I have a lure with treble hooks, I will use my net.

You might also add one of these to the arsonal while your at it!
EGO landing net

That's a really nice fish though.

The fish that got away was caught on a rat-l-trap so I didn't want to lip it. I have a pair of green fish grips, you can see it near the 18 inch mark in the pic. I couldn't find them when trying to land the fish so I grabbed my backup (the BPS one). When that broke, I ended up just lipping the fish. When the metal stringer failed, I used my backup (the yellow nylon one).

I agree on fish grips = win. I forgot my pliers and was able to use the fish grips to pull hooks out of the fish.

If you need to keep fish get an insulated fish bag. They make large ones that will hold respectable kingfish and lash to the foredeck, or you can just buy a soft cooler. Doesn't attract sharks or gators, doesn't slow your yak down when you paddle (or pedal) it, and it keeps your fish in much better shape for the table in the summer. I've had one for several years now. One of these days I may actually put a fish in it, but I keep coming up with reasons to release them......

Let me preface by saying that if you are EVER unhappy with a BPS brand product, bring it back and we will square you away. Feel free to send me a PM or an email and I will do whatever I can to help.

I have used the yellow floating pliers and fish grips for several years now, and have been pretty happy with them. They really aren't well-suited for lifting an entire fish, especially a really nice fish like yours. Rather, they work well for lipping a fish and holding it to the side of your kayak while the fish is still in the water. From there, you can take your pliers, dig the hook out, then pick the fish up by hand. Works very well in hook removal assistance, not so well as a "pure" fish holder.

I typically approach the "unhooking" process in this manner anyway, as I want to keep the fish in the water as long as possible. Additionally, and more importantly, I don't want a fish in my kayak until the hook is gone, regardless of the fish grip. I own a Boga, and on more than one occasion, I have still ended up with a fish flopping around in my lap with a mouthful of treble hooks. Not a good place to be. As mentioned, if you want to really pick a big fish up entirely, you want something more like a fish grip or a boga style grip. Especially for hybrids, stripers, and cats.

Also, on a related note, the yellow floating pliers are not well-suited for heavy work either. They work great for hook removal, but if you want to bend a thick hook, they aren't the best option.