# Doper Anglers - What is the purpose of a "priest"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 15, 2007, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-anglers-what-is-the-purpose-of-a-priest/422854 "2007-10-15T23:50:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2007, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-anglers-what-is-the-purpose-of-a-priest/422854/1 "2007-10-15T23:50:41Z")
Reading the marrow spoon thread, I became aware of the fact that I’d never seen such a thing as a marrow spoon and went Google imaging. In the course of this, I saw something called a “priest”, which is apparently used by anglers for the purpose of administering a coup de grace to the fish. I don’t quite understand how this is done, however, since the only Google entries that come up want to sell me one, not explain how to use it. Is it just a heavy club thing that you use to bludgeon the fish to death? Is is some sort of punch thing that you hole it in the brain with or something? The bludgeon thing made sense to me when I thought it could possibly be the size of an actual mace or something (none of the shopping pages I got to showed it in scale with anything), but then I noticed marrow spoon/priest combos and realized it couldn’t be that big. And if it’s only the basic size of a marrow spoon, then how does it pack enough wallop to kill a fish in one blow? Anyone help on this one? ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2007, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-anglers-what-is-the-purpose-of-a-priest/422854/2 "2007-10-15T23:56:48Z")
The article on [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Priest_%28tool%29) [del]strongly[/del] suggests bludgeoning. Edit: Upon second reading, I didn’t feel “strongly” was warranted. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2007, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-anglers-what-is-the-purpose-of-a-priest/422854/3 "2007-10-16T00:01:06Z")
Fish have pretty thin skulls, usually. And some of them have big teeth and get angry when caught. Even a large fish without teeth to mention can be very distracting (and dangerous) when jumping about in the boat after being landed. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2007, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-anglers-what-is-the-purpose-of-a-priest/422854/4 "2007-10-16T00:23:21Z")
I wouldn’t bring a Channel Cat or a Northern Pike into the boat without one. Getting horned / bitten once was enough for a lifetime. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2007, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-anglers-what-is-the-purpose-of-a-priest/422854/5 "2007-10-16T01:17:56Z")
[QUOTE=KneadToKnow] The article on [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Priest_%28tool%29) [del]strongly[/del] suggests bludgeoning. Edit: Upon second reading, I didn’t feel “strongly” was warranted. [/QUOTE] Huh. I never though to check Wikipedia… ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2007, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-anglers-what-is-the-purpose-of-a-priest/422854/6 "2007-10-16T01:23:21Z")
As mentioned, a “priest” is a club. The name also has a resonance with the historical idea that clergy weren’t supposed to shed blood, so they carried a mace or club into battle instead of a sword. BTW, these only work up to a certain size fish. If I was halibut fishing, I’d carry a .38. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2007, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-anglers-what-is-the-purpose-of-a-priest/422854/7 "2007-10-16T01:47:33Z")
[QUOTE=silenus] I’d carry a .38. [/QUOTE] a.k.a. “The Monsignor” ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2007, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-anglers-what-is-the-purpose-of-a-priest/422854/8 "2007-10-16T04:11:52Z")
[QUOTE=silenus] As mentioned, a “priest” is a club. The name also has a resonance with the historical idea that clergy weren’t supposed to shed blood, so they carried a mace or club into battle instead of a sword. [/QUOTE] I’d heard they were called what they are because they “administered the last rites”. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2007, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-anglers-what-is-the-purpose-of-a-priest/422854/9 "2007-10-16T05:02:07Z")
[QUOTE=silenus] BTW, these only work up to a certain size fish. If I was halibut fishing, I’d carry a .38. [/QUOTE] Hmm. Just make sure you shoot it _before_ you get the fish in the boat 😛 ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2007, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-anglers-what-is-the-purpose-of-a-priest/422854/10 "2007-10-16T05:21:23Z")
I have a really interesting fishing knife that fits this category. It has a big heavy knob on one end, to kill a feisty fishy. It’s a folder, and it has several notches in the back of the blade, marked with weights. If you hang it by the lanyard in the handle, the knob acts as a counterweight. You can wrap fishing line from a fresh-caught fish around one of the notches to weigh the fish. It’s made by Puma. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2007, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-anglers-what-is-the-purpose-of-a-priest/422854/11 "2007-10-16T15:23:10Z")
[QUOTE=KneadToKnow] a.k.a. “The Monsignor” [/QUOTE] So Quint’s M1 Garand in _Jaws_ would be “The Archbishop”? ---
**Author:** ![solkoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/919ad9/32.png) [@solkoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solkoe)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2007, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-anglers-what-is-the-purpose-of-a-priest/422854/12 "2007-10-16T15:33:12Z")
I doesn’t have to be a fancy club. We used a stick to bash the skulls of trout so they wouldn’t flop around in the boat and to save them from suffering. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2007, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-anglers-what-is-the-purpose-of-a-priest/422854/13 "2007-10-16T15:56:12Z")
Where exactly do you club a fish to incapacitate it? Whenever I catch walleye/pickerel, I have a heck of a time killing them short of cutting off their head. I’ve tried clubbing the top of their head, but it’s covered by a thick plate and they don’t seem to be bothered. It’s very unnerving to be in the middle of filleting a fish and have him suddenly thrash under the knife. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2007, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-anglers-what-is-the-purpose-of-a-priest/422854/14 "2007-10-16T16:00:04Z")
[QUOTE=Phase42] Hmm. Just make sure you shoot it _before_ you get the fish in the boat 😛 [/QUOTE] That’s the best way. Otherwise you can use the cork from your lunch to patch the hole in the bottom of the boat. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2007, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-anglers-what-is-the-purpose-of-a-priest/422854/15 "2007-10-16T17:30:33Z")
[QUOTE=muldoonthief] So Quint’s M1 Garand in _Jaws_ would be “The Archbishop”? [/QUOTE] I just can’t resist a hijack now to mention a mondegreen of mine: I recently purchased Katy Lied by Steely Dan, which has a song called Black Monday on it, which contains these lyrics: > [@](#): > > Gonna let the world pass by me, > the archbishop will sanctify me I heard it as > [@](#): > > Gonna let the world pass by me, > the ice fishin’ will sanctify me So perhaps you use an archbishop while ice fishin’!