Yeah I know all about pulling that kind of weight off a 200 to 400 foot bottom. I have done a fair share of ocean fishing for fish like grouper in Florida and ground fish commonly caught off the North Atlantic coast and yes it always makes your arms and back ache. Had a good trip 1 1/2 year ago on a pollock slam. It was 2 at a time in 180 ft and they averaged 10 pounds and ran up to 30 some odd.
Getting 2 jumbos on at once gave the kind of fight you are talking about. We did catch a few Atlantic Halibut but the biggest was 90 pounds. I brought home 200 pounds of fillets from that trip. Still eating it.

Sharpening knives
 

Well it's always good to review the old way you do things. I find things are alright in the sharpening department. But then it became a hobby and you know hobbies.
Of course, you get solidified. I'm still doing it the old way with Arkansas stone. Got a great kit of tri-hones and the price was reduced as the supplier had an enormous case of over buying.

Got them over twenty years ago for the steal of some eight dollars, which got gobbled up by a good buy and inflation. Reviews now get hardened by inflation, it seems. Hard to fight off a price of eight dollars against a new one of some 70 dollars. Reminds me of a good buy I got twenty years ago.

I've got many Ark stones Valentine. And a few tri kits of both Ark and Diam. The problem I was having was holding a consistent angle anymore. Just can't do it as well as I used to. Makes for a wavy edge and not a very stable one.

CI, I'm running into some difficulty with my longer Filet and Chefs knives. They keep moving in the clamp. I can hold the handle when doing one side but when I flip it I either have to switch to left handed to do the stone and hold the handle or it moves in the clamp. And yeah it's tight! Just can't seem to get it tight enough to hold the blade stable. When I get out closer to the tip it pushes the blade. Maybe Flags or Rock will chime in with a solution to this little problem with a solve? Any tighter and I'll break the tension screw!

Deer should work fine on a board with a compound. Probably won't work very good as a straight leather strop though.

I think you would be happy with a couple pieces of deer hide on each side of a block with a green compound on one side and white on the other. Maybe keep an eye out for a good piece of cow leather for a straight leather finish if you want to go that far but you will probably be plenty good with just the deer and compound. That should get your knives to the next level after the lansky and make them stay sharp a little longer.

I try to keep mine sharp enough that the strop brings them back pretty easily.

Here is one ive been working on......camera flash sucks but you can see its taking a pretty good polish.


Edit: Sorry I just read your last post. Its pretty much a pain with longer knives or even more so with knives that taper and the clamp only tightens at the fatter side of the taper. Try this


Alright, don't make fun of me but i'm gonna tell you about something else I use quite a little bit.

Its this


I know how to sharpen knives the old fashion way about as well as anybody but the bottom line is I don't have time to do that all the time. That little thing WILL make your knife very sharp very quickly,it cost about $5, it will fit in your pocket, and your wife can sharpen a knife with it as well. The edge sucks...its coarse but it is very sharp. I don't have time to sit down and sharpen a knife "the right way" after fish #50 with 50 more left on the table. It ain't perfect but if you want a sharp knife and want it sharp right now this thing WILL make that happen.

I also use it much like I use the lansky, If a knife has lost its edge I'll use that little thing to put a sharp wire edge on then I use the leather/compound and turn the wire edge into a razor edge.