Sometimes all you need is a positive attitude and a sharp knife.
Want to impress hundreds of your fishing buddies and neighbors with your fancy new electric knife? Just toss a big 70-pound tuna up on an ice block and let Bubba filet it.
In this case, however, Bubba isn’t someone’s brother or a really close friend. Bubba is the brand name for one of the hottest new electric fishing knives on the market. It’s produced by Bubba Blades, which is owned by American Outdoor Brands.
That 70-pound tuna was the showpiece of the launch of the new knife at last summer’s International Convention of Allied Sportfishing Trades (ICAST) show where the 110V Electric Filet Knife won the Best In Show award for cutlery.
The electric knife is on the market and is becoming a popular choice for fishermen. It’s available in sporting good stores and online for around $100.
Bubba’s Josh Neville pointed out that the knife’s best features start with the feel: a soft, thermoplastic polymer handle wrapped with a special synthetic rubber plastic that has non-slip features that are apparent when you pick one up. It doesn’t slip, even when wet. On the inside, a fan keeps the knife cool enough to operate for long periods of time.
“That’s really important when you have big fish or need to clean a lot of fish,” Neville said “The ventilation system is also the best on the market, made to maximize motor transmission output and give you an incredible amount of torque.”
That became evident as they took on the big tuna.
“This knife will have you stacking filets until you’re out of fish,” Neville said.
Other features include an 8-foot cord — important when an electric outlet isn’t close by. If there is no outlet, the knife also comes in a rechargeable Lithium battery.
There’s a trigger guard for safety and a molded carrying case that’s needed because the knife comes with four different blade styles, including one 7-inch, two 9-inch and one 12-inch tapered carbon stainless steel blades coated with titanium nitride to fight corrosion.
Bubba Blade got into the outdoor knife market with similar fixed-blade knifes, using the same handle and super sharp Teflon-coated blades that slide right through fish.
“We got started because, as our ads say, as fishermen we were sick and tired of our fillet knives going dull, rusting, pitting, slipping out of our hand and not being able to hold up in a harsh saltwater environment,” Neville said. “We wanted a knife that could handle a rigorous life at sea. After searching for this perfect knife, we found that one did not exist anywhere, for any price. That’s when we set out to make the best fillet knife possible.”
The straight-blade Bubba products are also highly popular. They have a full tang, which means the blade is actually part of the handle. The handle is also big and easy to grip, and the blade is super sharp. It works well for any type of freshwater fish and smaller saltwater species. And you can even take on a tuna, if you’ve got the time.
There’s an old saying that “Sometimes all you need is a positive attitude and a sharp knife”. The Bubba Blade electric knife seems to fit both those bills.