If you grew up fishing mono like I did, you probably used nail clippers or your teeth to cut line and trim tag ends. And aside from a few chipped teeth and rusty clippers, you got the job done just fine.
But the high-strength braided fishing lines common in bass fishing and in the salt won’t surrender to a nail clipper, and if you want a hefty dentist bill, you can try to bite off braid the next time you hit the water.
Instead, you really need a pair of fishing scissors specifically designed to cut braid and stay sharp. Below, you’ll find reviews of some of our favorites, as well as a complete buying guide to get you up to speed quickly.
Quick glance at the best fishing scissors:
- Gerber Neat Freak - Best Fishing Scissors
- Black Anchor Line Scissors
- Owner Super Cut Braid Scissors
- Cuda 3-Inch Titanium-Bonded Micro Fishing Scissors
- Cuda 8-Inch Titanium-Bonded Snip Fishing Scissors
- KastKing Fishing Line Scissors
Table of Contents (clickable)
Related:
Best Fishing Scissors Reviewed
Gerber Gear Neat Freak - Best Fishing Scissors
Gerber’s Neat Freak fishing scissors are among the very best you’ll find at any price.
While other brands may break over time, dull quickly, or prove unwieldy, the Neat Freak will keep cutting stubborn braid for years and look pretty much as good as new.
Designed to be compact while providing plenty of cutting power, these scissors sport a lanyard hole, allowing them to be worn around your neck for easy access when the pressure’s on.
They’re made from stainless steel and resist saltwater corrosion if you give them a quick rinse with fresh water at the end of the day. Bass anglers and other freshwater sportsmen should have no trouble at all keeping these in tip-top shape.
The cutting edge is micro-serrated and backed by unusually thick stock. That makes those sharp cutting edges meet perfectly, ensuring awesome cutting power that you can rely on year after year, season after season. The thinner stock common to competitors can allow the edges to wander, leading to off-cuts and pinches.
And the carefully designed grips provide lots of leverage for cutting tough braid, and those micro-serrated blades just sail through fishing line.
Gerber knows that anglers demand multi-purpose tools whenever possible, so they’ve built in a split-shot crimper and a bottle opener, providing function beyond simple line and bait cutting.
Whether you’re trimming the skirt on a lure, shortening a worm to the perfect length, or cutting 40-pound braid, you’ll be impressed with the performance of the Gerber Neat Freaks.
Pros:
- Light and easy to wear around your neck
- Outstanding cutting power
- Micro-serrated, thick blades make short work of braided line
- Offers multiple tools
Cons:
- Can rust if left exposed to saltwater
Black Anchor Line Scissors
Black Anchor’s Line Scissors are a good product at a reasonable price, and you can count on this compact tool to cut heavy braided lines without trouble.
Black Anchor manufactures these line scissors from tough, durable 420-series stainless steel. That’s an awesome choice for harsh environments, because when properly heat treated and sharpened, the micro-serrations on the blades cut well and resist corrosion like a champ.
They’re intentionally compact and light, offering a lanyard hole that allows you to wear them around your neck, keeping them right where you want them.
The padded grip provides plenty of cutting power to the blades, and they slice through tough braid like it’s not there.
However, the “micro”-serrations are more like true serrations, and unfortunately, that comes at a price. You can cut larger braided lines cleanly, but small diameter braid - say, under 15-pounds - can pinch between the blades..
Those big serrations are also known to leave ragged, fuzzy ends rather than truly clean cuts with light braid, too.
But for anglers who want an affordable pair of scissors to cut heavy braid, you can do a lot worse than these Black Anchors.
Pros:
- Light and easy to wear around your neck
- OK cutting power
- Micro-serrated blades work fine on thicker braided line
- Good corrosion resistance
Cons:
- Won’t cut light braids cleanly
- Can leave ragged edges
Owner Super Cut Braid Scissors
At first glance, Owner’s Super Cut Braid Scissors look a lot like cheap shears, but don’t judge this book by its cover.
Yes, the “sheath” leaves a lot to be desired, and no, they don’t offer multiple tools or even a lanyard hole.
What they do, however, is cleanly cut braid of all test strengths, making clean, precise cuts in everything from 10-pound braid to the heaviest weights you can buy.
No more frayed ends, pinching, or half cuts: these Owners just get the job done.
The blades are crafted from stainless steel, and even minimal care in the salt will keep the scissors looking like new.
Ditch the flimsy “sheath” and tie a lanyard to the handles. They’ll serve you well.
Pros:
- Light and easy to wear around your neck
- Excellent cutting power
- Sharp blades cut braid cleanly
- Excellent corrosion resistance
Cons:
- Cheap “sheath” should go straight in the trash
- No lanyard hole or extra tools
Cuda 3-Inch Titanium-Bonded Micro Fishing Scissors
Cuda’s 3-Inch Titanium-Bonded Micro Fishing Scissors have their fans and detractors, but they’re well worth a try.
Sized for easy storage in a pocket or secured by a lanyard around your neck, these tiny scissors cut like crazy. There’s no need to pull braid tight to get a clean cut: just snip and tie!
Manufactured from stainless steel with a titanium coating, this tool is very corrosion resistant. Just a quick rinse in freshwater at the end of the day, and you should have no problems.
The handles are grippy and comfortable, and they allow you to apply plenty of power to the cut.
The issue is that the central pivot can loosen and fail, causing the scissors to separate. This isn’t common, but when it happens, it’s game over.
I’d love to see an enhanced pivot and a lanyard hole on these micro-scissors; they’d be just about perfect.
Pros:
- Light and easy to wear around your neck
- Awesome cutting power
- Sharp blades cut braid cleanly even without pulling your line tight
- Excellent corrosion resistance
Cons:
- No lanyard hole or extra tools
- The pivot has been known to fail
Cuda 8-Inch Titanium-Bonded Snip Fishing Scissors
Cuda’s full-sized Titanium-Bonded Snip Fishing Scissors are pretty amazing, offering sharp blades that are easy to use one handed.
Cuda manufactures these scissors from the same stainless/titanium combination that makes their smaller scissors so popular in the salt, and there’s little to worry about when it comes to corrosion.
The blades themselves are long and very sharp, offering clean cuts on all braided lines.
The handles are spring-loaded, and they’re kept closed by a loop closure at the heel. They also sport a lanyard hole, but this feature is better used for keeping these scissors from going overboard than wearing them around your neck.
Excellent grips and a full-hand handle provide exceptional cutting power and control.
But as with the smaller Cudas, quality control can be an issue. Users have had problems with the spring breaking and the closure tearing, though neither issue stops these scissors from cutting.
Pros:
- Powerful, full-size scissors
- Awesome cutting power
- Sharp blades cut braid cleanly even without pulling your line tight
- Excellent corrosion resistance
Cons:
- Durability can be an issue
KastKing Fishing Line Scissors
KastKing is no stranger to the water, and they’re products are typically reliable, inexpensive, and effective.
That’s certainly true of their line scissors, though some improvements could be made.
KastKing manufactures these scissors from 3CR13 stainless steel. This is an alloy that’s known for good corrosion resistance, but not excellent edge holding.
Right out of the box, these scissors are razor sharp, and they need to be used with some care as a result. And while they remain sharp, they’ll cleanly cut braid or pretty much anything else..
The handles are the typical KastKing orange and black, making them hard to misplace and easy to find, and the included lanyard hole allows you to keep them around your neck without risking the integrity of the included lanyard.
Unfortunately, 3CR13 isn’t great for staying sharp, and you’ll need to touch these scissors up if you do a lot of cutting with them. The good news is that this is relatively easy, as 3CR13 sharpens up in a jiffy.
KastKing’s line scissors are bargain priced and very effective for cutting braided line. Do yourself a favor and pick up a pair.
Pros:
- Great size for wearing around your neck
- Awesome cutting power
- Sharp blades cut braid cleanly
- Excellent corrosion resistance
Cons:
- Blades dull relatively quickly
Buying Guide: What To Look for When You Purchase Fishing Scissors
Why buy fishing scissors?
I hate buying unnecessary gadgets as much as the next fisherman, but cutting braid is no easy task.
Nail clippers, multi-tools, and cheap scissors can cut mono and fluorocarbon with ease, leaving clean ends that you can feed through the eye of a hook or lure.
20-pound Seaguar InvizX cuts cleanly with nail clippers.
But try them on braid, and you’ll be surprised by just how bad a job they do.
My clipper, multitool, and scissors failed to cut 20-pound Sufix 832.
For cutting braid, you either need a sharp knife or a pair of fishing scissors - full stop. And I definitely know which one I’d rather use on a pitching deck!
Sharpness, micro-serrations, and cutting power
First and foremost, you want your scissors to be sharp.
That’s up to several factors.
First, fishing scissors need to be made from steel that can hold a sharp edge.
Typically, that means that cheap alloys like 3CR13 won’t get the job done.
They simply can’t be hardened to a level that maintains edge integrity for prolonged use, and slightly more expensive alloys that can be hardened to relatively high RC numbers perform better.
Second, the blades need to remain aligned, keeping those sharp cutting edges in perfect contact throughout the cut.
Thicker blade stock, which also increases price, creates greater rigidity, helping to keep the edges aligned.
And finally, true micro-serrations help cut stubborn braid.
But when the serrations get too big, they can trap line in a hollow, encouraging a pinch rather than a cut.
On all fronts, fishing scissors like the Gerber Neat Freak outperform the Black Anchor and KastKings.
Handles
Comfortable, no-pinch handles with plenty of grip are critical on fishing scissors, especially when your hands are wet, bloody, or coated in fish slime.
Size
Large scissors provide greater grip and are easier to use but harder to keep ready to hand.
Smaller scissors can be tricker to use and require careful thought as to their design, but they can also be worn on a lanyard around your neck, keeping them ready to go.
Corrosion resistance
Freshwater anglers should have little to no trouble with any of the fishing scissors on our shortlist, but if you regularly ply the salt for fish, you may need to take a bit more care with your tools.
Always rinse your scissors in freshwater at the end of the day, dry them carefully, and hit them with a spray of water-displacing WD-40. That’ll keep them in excellent shape.
Quality
Cheaper isn’t always worse, and expensive isn’t always better - but you typically get what you pay for.
More expensive alloys, better serrations, and thicker blade stock will increase the cost to the manufacturer, raising the price you pay. Maybe that’s worth it to you; maybe it isn’t.
If you want trouble-free durability, it’s hard to beat the Gerber Neat Freak.
Our Pick: The Gerber Neat Freak
Gerber has a long history making blades of all kinds, and that know-how really pays off with these fishing scissors.
They’re made from a grade of stainless steel that combines excellent corrosion resistance with high hardenability. That combination provides ruggedness as well as lasting sharpness, and the addition of true micro-serrations to thick blade stock makes these the best cutting scissors on our shortlist.
Add to that the comfortable handles, lanyard hole, bottle opener, and split-shot crimper, and you’ve got an absolutely winning combination.
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