Gorge Fly Shop Blog: Hatch Tempest Pliers

I guess the real question is whether or not you spend much time fishing for toothy fish. Do you? Do you want to? If your answer is yes then you might consider a nice pair of pliers.

Hatch Tempest Pliers resemble the same level of quality as their line of fly reels…That is: stout and streamlined construction functioning at the highest level of performance. Hatch has exploded to the top of the high end market. It seems that anglers are willing to pay for goods and services that are grown right here in America and that are worthy of their price tag.

First, the bad news: These pliers do not come with a lanyard, but they do have a hole at the end of one of the handle arms to affix one. The sheath is a durable cordura material, but there is no hole here to attach a lanyard. Lanyards are a good idea, after all, pliers will be of little use to you while laying on the ocean floor! I would suggest buying one separate (or building one) and then fastening it to the belt loop on the sheath.

The rest is gravy. You just know when something feels good in hand- you don’t want to put them down or stop fiddling with them. You want to look at them, feel the movement and put them to use. These pliers will capture your attention. Like their reels, their look is more crisp than flashy. They are available in clear/red or grey nickel.

Hatch Tempest Pliers

They are fairly long. At 7 ½ inches they provide enough distance to keep those fingers from becoming a snack. Also, with this added length, anglers can get more leverage when removing hook from jaw.

The specs are as follows:

-Weight: 5.6 oz

-The I-beam arms are crafted from 6061T6 aluminum and protected with Type II Anodize.

-The jaws and cutting blades are made from stainless steel and plated with electroless nickel for corrosion resistance.

-Both the jaws and blades are replaceable at the factory.

The most innovative detail about these pliers is the fact that they have two cutters – one on each side. This makes the act of clipping mono, braid or wire much more efficient. Furthermore, if one of the clippers has an issue, then you have another for back up. The blades they use are ultra sharp and instead of coming together to crimp for the cut, the blades actually pass by one another in a shearing motion. The result is a clean cut! So far the word is that they hold up for quite a while, but if the teeth get damaged it is no problem to simply have them replaced.