Just last week I was once again out on one of my local rivers when I hooked a small pike; if you have ever dealt with pike or any toothy creature then you know and can understand how important it is to have a utensil to safely remove the hook and to not get ‘hooked’ or cut yourself by one of their sharp teeth. As I went to clamp onto the hook, my pair of DR. SLICK, 5 inch, curved Hemostats (aka Forceps) broke and left me in a lurch. I also carried a 9 inch pair of hemostats and retrieved those from my bag and used them to remove the hook … however, it was very awkward using the longer 9 inch version.
Eventually I removed the fly and saved both the fly and the pike by using the longer hemostats; but not having the shorter 5 inch pair was problematic. When I returned home I went to the DR. SLICK website and found their contact info. I emailed them a short note on how and what had happened to my pair of 5 inch hemostats. The same day I received a follow up email from Steve at DR. SLICK; he asked me to send him a photo and I quickly used my phone and sent one along. Later that same day I received a reply asking for my address. That was 2 days ago … my new hemostats arrived this afternoon and are already back on my lanyard where they will once again assist me in removing hooks and saving my own skin!
I have always loved the feel of anything I owned and used from DR. SLICK and, more so, now knowing that they are an American company based in Montana that backs what it sells, period. Had I somehow put undue pressure or abused the hemostats I would have moved on, but knowing I was using them as intended caused me to send the follow up email. Good on Steve and the company for backing what they sell. I am going to go to their web site today and place an order for a new pair of Cyclone nippers; having a pair of heavy duty nippers that will cut through heavy mono or even light wire and having them handy while on the water is a big help and time saver.
You might want to visit their website yourself and see some of their new products … it is always better to have the right tool and not need it before needing it and not having it!
If you have had any dealings with less than reputable companies you will acknowledge that paying just a bit more for quality and the expertise to back up the product is well worth a few more dollars. DR. SLICK is just such a company.
Share This Post with Your Friends ...
Low Water, Upstream Wind And A 20 Inch Smallmouth Bass
Greetings and welcome back to another fly fishing adventure. Today’s video will give some insight into how to handle low, clear water … in addition to an upstream wind that made navigating my float boat pretty tough. It took me about a half hour to find a pattern that worked and as you will see […]
Streamers In June for Big Bronzebacks
Greetings and welcome to another video here on Fly Fishing With Jeff. In today’s video, I travel down 4-5 miles of the St Croix river in search of big bronzebacks …. smallies! While I catch a few on a popper, the real magic comes when I tie on one of my own reversed tied bucktail […]
Four Species of Big Fish On The Fly
Let me start off by telling you that within this video is the best 30 minute section of fly fishing that I have ever experienced in my 45 plus year career. On that note I will apologize for the video going so long but it was difficult and almost impossible for me to cut too […]
NW Wisconsin’s Big Smallmouth On The Fly
Welcome back folks to another video on Fly Fishing with Jeff as me and my buddy Duane drift about 4 miles of a beautiful river here in NW Wisconsin. My goal on the day was to catch any and everything I could on the fly … as it turns out, it was indeed a great […]