Reviewed by: CAPT. MIKE SCHOONVELD
Bubba Blade filet knives have become the choice of fish-cutter-uppers across the country since they were introduced about a decade ago. Since then ol’ Bubba has continued to innovate by offering a variety of styles and lengths – many of which have become winners at ICAST and other trade shows as well as in the fish cleaning kits of avid anglers.
One of this year’s entries is called properly, the Multi-Flex Interchangeable Set. One of the trademarks of Bubba Blades is the bright red, non-slip, easy grip handle. This set comes with one handle along with four different blades to snap securely into grip, depending on your need.
The shortest is a seven-inch fillet slicer perfect for general purpose use. It’s stiff enough to make short work of walleye ribs and still have the ideal flex for slicking the skin loose from the fillets.
The eight-inch, ultra flex is one of those skinny bladed fish cutters ideal for cohos and browns (and crappies, catfish and others). If you are one of the guys who fillet around the ribs instead of cutting through and then removing them, this will become your favorite in the set.
The nine-inch stiff blade worked great on wicked tuna and big ol’ red snappers on the Texas Gulf for me last February, but here on the Great Lakes, it’s my go-to kitchen knife when I’m cooking at fish camp. From chunking potatoes to dicing onions, it gives me Iron Chef performance.
The final blade in the four-blade set is a serrated edge nine-incher. I’m one of those guys who occasionally cuts my fish into steaks rather than fillets. The serrated blade is the way to go. Any knife will slice through the skin and meat easily, but when it gets to the spine the serrated blade saws right on through.
The kit comes with a functional and stylish Bubba-red case with a rugged insert to hold each blade and handle in place securely. Then it zips shut.
The kit is available online at http://www.bubbablade.com and other sources as well as in retail shops.
FISHING TOYS 