Quick project from a couple weeks ago: Turning a handle out of walnut for a hook remover.

Hook removers are great for quickly unhooking fish without touching them (which can harm their protective mucus layer.) You just hook them on your tippet, run them down and over the hook, and the hook usually slides right out (especially if you use barbless hooks, which you should.)

I found some with plastic handles and decided to turn my own handle out of a piece of walnut scrap I saved.

First I roughed it out.

Next, I shaped it, burnt in some lines with guitar string, and sanded it.

Last I bored a hole for the hook remover to fit in:

Done!

Here it is in action releasing a fallfish: