Berkeley Big Game Lip Grip...

I've had a Berkly lip grip for years. Never tried usein it on anything bigger than 20#. It works just fine for the channels I catch. Now I don't use it to get the fish outa the water. However there is a member here on the board that uses the kind with the scale in it to haul some pretty big fish outa the water. I'm talkin fish in the 30 to 50# weight class. Me personaly I'm gonna use a net to get em up in the boat.But thats just me. He swears by it and it works for him. Me,I ain't trustin it. LOL! I only use mine for holdin the bigger channels to get a pic. All other cats I feel ya can control by a hand in the mouth and supportin the body. In my opinion them channels got the worst attitude of all the cats. LOL!

Thanks. It was actually your avatar that got me interested in them.

I, too, wouldn't trust such a device for actually hauling the beast out of the water. I'd not only worry about it slipping, but hurting the fish, as well. I'd mainly use it as you do in your avatar - just to control the head - I'd support the mass of the body.

My real question is wether it will hold up to a large fish, should it be camera shy and decide to start thrashing around.

Steve

Yep, it will do it. I believe you can make out mine in my profile pic. I've handled 4 over 50 lbs this year with it. Like has been said though, I don't take them from the water with it. I net the fish, get him in the boat, then use the lipper on him. It's also very handy in releasing fish. Just make sure you put your hand through the safety cord, or he'll spin and you'll lose it :crying:

I've had a couple fish bend the prongs a little. I've had to take some pliers and bend them back but it hasn't negatively affected it's ability at all. A very handy device indeed!!

Excellent. Just the info that I was looking for. Sounds like it'd be a worthwhile investment.

BTW, do the Berkeley work like the Boga in that the more weight is put on them, the tighter they get?

Steve

A friend and I each got one and both broke the first time they were used on large fish. I returned them to Berkley and they sent new ones. So far, mine is still working, but I'm very careful as to how I use it and haven't used it on anything over 35 lbs.

If I lost mine would I buy another? I doubt it.

When I grab their lip, I make sure I push the part down that cinches it tighter. After I do that, I don't usually have any trouble. When I first got it, it would occassionally come loose but I would just grab their lip and start lifting. Since I ensure a tight cinch initially, it hasn't given me any trouble.

I can't say how it compares to the Boga. The Boga certainly looks better but it should be for the price I got mine on clearance at Wal-mart for $15 a couple years back. A great investment as far as I'm concerned!