OT What is it ? < not woodworking ? >

The external teeth remind me of lamp chain pliers, but the size of those teeth seem very big in relation to the handles. e.g. the teeth look like they would work on some rugged chain *if* the handles provided enough pulling power. Yes, I know they are "reversed" compared to these spring-loaded light duty chain pliers.

Those look like they would be great for aiding in fish hook removal.

Bingo !

That's what I was thinking but the serrations on the back side of the jaw, only one jaw, stumped me.

Descaling the fish. It's a 2 in 1!

It doesn't look like it would work very well. Fish descalers are a lot more aggressive.

Why so heavily made? Marlin?

Agreed but I have never seen a fish descaler worth it's cost. I always immediately filleted when processing my catch.

Saltwater fish can be pretty heavy. You want a good grip when reaching in the mouth and removing the hook.

When our family went on vacation to the UP, my brothers and I would fish every morning from dawn to about 9:00. It wasn't unusual to come back with 40-50 10-12" bluegill (sunnys) in an hour or two. We'd descale and clean them as soon as we got back. My mother had a deal, we catch and clean 'em and she'd cook them. We ate little else for the week. ;-)

The place we rented had a cleaning shed, which was an open, screened in (flies) shed with a long table and running water. We'd set up an (dis)assembly line and be done in a half hour or so. As long as the fish were fresh, descaling wasn't a big deal.

Bluegill are one of the best tasting fish going and for their size put up a scrap.

Ever do salt water fishing? When I lived in Corpus Christi, many years ago, we would fish off of a spoil island over night. We would fill a 40 gallon trash can. And those fish were a minimum of 15" a few over 24". We caught larger but those tend to be wormy and we would release them. We brought the boat up on the beach and hung spot lights, powered by a generator, from the back of the boat out over the water.

No, I've never done salt water. We were Midwestern types. I didn't see an ocean until I was out of college. A few years, even, when I played hookie from a class I was taking in NH.

There are only a few saltwater fishes that I can eat. Cod is the only one I dare eat. It's got to be really white. I love shrimp but I'm not into pain and walking is good.

SWMBO made a delicious shrimp and rice dinner last night. She modified a Chinese recipe that called for the shrimp to be served over cucumbers and beam sprouts. Uh...no...that's a salad, not a meal.

She doubled up on the shrimp, made the 2 sauces that the dish called for (one for cooking the shrimp and one to serve over the "salad") and made a huge pot of rice flavored with some chopped onions.

There were no leftovers.

Cos must be a northern water SW fish. Down here our common are trout, speckled trout, croker, red, and flounder. Flounder being the treasured fish. Flounder is very white and delicate.

I'd rather eat the plate that the flounder was served on.