Hi guys,
was wondering how you guys check your hook sharpness. Read on google that you use your nail to test the sharpness but why would you want to do that and risk the possibility of nicking and damaging your nails. Does anyone has a better approach? Also do you sharpen your hooks or just change your hook when it is no longer sharp?
Yes thumbnail, i pull downward if it carches and stops its good!
I need to add I only sharpen the big mustads we use for trolling, most other smaller hooks, eagle claws etc come plenty sharp out of the package. I sharpen with a stone, and use a triangle pattern on the mustads.
Tip a my finger. Is it "sticky"? Yeah, after a nice manicure and painting wouldn't wanna scratch my nails... Kiddin, really wouldn't wanna dull the point on somethin like my nails, especially right after a sharpening.
Gfish
Fingernails grow back but you don't want to gouge them too bad, just see if the hook catches or slips.
Also after I sharpen i usually use a black sharpie over and around the sharpened point to help lessen corrosion. Also the sharpie is a good reminder and lets you know which have and have not been sharpened. Say out of a box. I dont put out or allow baits in the water without being sharpened first!
I never sharpen Owner or Gami hooks.
Truth ^^^^
Quote from: Keta on January 28, 2018, 02:58:43 PM
I never sharpen Owner or Gami hooks.
Yes , I agree ,the sharpening pattern is often too complicated ,you just make it worse trying to improve those "modern" hooks .
When a hook is touted as 'chemically sharpened" is further sharpening not advised?
Steve
Quote from: swill88 on January 28, 2018, 03:21:32 PM
When a hook is touted as 'chemically sharpened" is further sharpening not advised?
Steve
Yes.
Most quality modern hooks are sharp out of the packet - if thay are dull I bin them. The type of hooks that Daron uses are too expensive to chuck ;)
I agree with not sharping the new brand of hook, but I still check my hooks with my thumb nail just to make sure.
They have very fine files to sharpen hooks if need be.
Joe
I usually just run the tip of the hook across the pad of my finger, it's easy to tell if it's sharp. Yes, most hooks are sharp enough already.
on the water, the "nail thing" is a quick convenience, to see if a hook should be REPLACED -- I do my sharpening at home... some Japanese high-carbon can be salvaged, but most can't be restored anywhere near the original chemically sharpened point (esp. not smaller hooks)... NO! I don't use my nail, when I'm working on several dozen hooks, at home.
to save your nails, get some PORCUPINE QUILLS (African-BEST, Asian-OK, American - too small):
- made of keratin & smooth, hard surface -- same as human nails
- EXCELLENT finesse UL float by itself, or stem for a bigger float -- just add cork/foam of desired size/shape
- EXCELLENT non-metal pick
https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2047675.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.H0.Xporcupine+quills+-american+.TRS0&_nkw=porcupine+quills+-american+&_sacat=0 (https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2047675.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.H0.Xporcupine+quills+-american+.TRS0&_nkw=porcupine+quills+-american+&_sacat=0)
I sharpen the hooks on my irons and trolling lures. I've never sharpened a live bait hook.
I've just sharpened two 5/0 trebles I used today. I've never given it too much thought. Often the points bend a bit or when they feel or look blunt I sharpen them with a normal file or diamond file.
At the price of hooks these days I can't afford to just toss them away because they have been used a day or two.
Quote from: Cor on January 28, 2018, 06:17:55 PM
At the price of hooks these days I can't afford to just toss them away because they have been used a day or two.
I presume you are using large game stainless hooks for your hooks to be so expensive
Quote from: Keta on January 28, 2018, 03:34:05 PM
Quote from: swill88 on January 28, 2018, 03:21:32 PM
When a hook is touted as 'chemically sharpened" is further sharpening not advised?
Steve
Yes.
Why is it not advisable to sharpen chemically sharpened hooks?
Quote from: Reel Beaker on February 04, 2018, 10:46:46 AM
Quote from: Cor on January 28, 2018, 06:17:55 PM
At the price of hooks these days I can't afford to just toss them away because they have been used a day or two.
I presume you are using large game stainless hooks for your hooks to be so expensive
No not Stainless or even very expensive hooks. Usually VMC but I fish often enough that it all adds up and am retired so need to look after the cents!
I also see no reason why not to sharpen them, they work well enough like that for fast retrieve lure fishing.
I also flatten the barbs, as I try to tag and release the bulk of the fish I catch.
Quote from: MarkT on January 28, 2018, 06:06:22 PM
I sharpen the hooks on my irons and trolling lures. I've never sharpened a live bait hook.
I only fish Irons and surface plugs. Hook size matters, and whether you use treble or singles makes a difference to your hookup ratio but ive never had reason to think that a hook that I sharpened does not work as well as a new one.
Last Thursday I had a large Yellowtail close his mouth around my hooks at full speed and let it go again without me even feeling him, new 5/0 treble and it was no more then 10 yds from where I was standing. This is not unusual at all!
Hi,
how does treble/singles affect your hook up ratio? Just last week, i had a very puzzling encounter. I was fishing at a jetty, and i attached a bell to my medium-heavy rod. Suddenly, my bell rang and my rod tip started twitching up and down. When i reeled in, my live sardine was still alive and well. But i dont believe that an ordinary sardine could bend a medium-heavy rod like that. Very puzzled to what actually happened? Dont think a large fish would spit out a live sardine when it has one in his mouth.
Quote from: Miles Offshore on January 28, 2018, 02:54:11 PM
Also after I sharpen i usually use a black sharpie over and around the sharpened point to help lessen corrosion. Also the sharpie is a good reminder and lets you know which have and have not been sharpened. Say out of a box. I dont put out or allow baits in the water without being sharpened first!
Great idea with the sharpie! Indeed I geta lota corrosion on the point a hooks I've already sharpened.
Gfish
Quote from: Reel Beaker on February 04, 2018, 10:48:14 AM
Quote from: Keta on January 28, 2018, 03:34:05 PM
Quote from: swill88 on January 28, 2018, 03:21:32 PM
When a hook is touted as 'chemically sharpened" is further sharpening not advised?
Steve
Yes.
Why is it not advisable to sharpen chemically sharpened hooks?
With out specialized equipment it's hard to duplicate a factory chemically sharpened hook by mechanically sharpening it. I dont toss them either when they become dull but do my best to put the sharp on them... Jeff
I very rarely sharpen hooks if ever. My live bait hooks get tossed after fishing them, even if they only touch salt water a couple of times they get chucked. Sure I will use the same hook several days in a row but I will never take off a bait hook that has hit the salt and put it back in my tackle box. This can only bring saltwater into my box where I keep the rest of my hooks and start the new ones in there rusting or corroding. Maybe if you rinsed the hooks in freshwater and let dry before putting them with the other hooks that could be fine. All my hooks are in their own Plano box so I don't get salt transfer from one box to another.
On my iron, both surface and yoyo, with J or trebles hooks, I fish these often enough that I loose a jig due snags and stuff faster than the hooks need to be sharpened. Some I'm able to keep for a few years and when I lose the ones with all the paint eaten off with the rusted hooks that almost always seems to work then others don't it is a sad for sure. Maybe I could drag a file on their hooks but I never want to change their mojo, so I don't. They seen to hook fish just fine for me. Of course these are kept in their own Plano box as well.
Now on my trolling rigs where I buy stainless hooks for my feather or skirted lures, these always get a rinse with freshwater after use and allowed to dry before putting them away. Just like my hooks and iron my trolling lures have their own Plano box and most of them show very little sign of rust, if any. These are most of the expensive hooks I use so I do trry to take care of them better, along with the lures and rigging. If I felt these hooks needed some sharpening they would be about the only ones I would do it to.
I Sharpen all my Hooks with a Diamond File to a razor point.
Dragging them across the ocean floor with a 1lb weight dulls them pretty quick.
I try to remember to put a cork on the tip when kayaking baits out, but it usually gets forgotten in the excitement.
That file is in my bag if I'm on the beach.
if you want to do quick check on hook being sharp hold hook so point is pointed towards you in bright light. if you see a shiny spot at point its dull.
Quote from: SoCalAngler on February 07, 2018, 09:16:47 AM
On my iron, both surface and yoyo, with J or trebles hooks, I fish these often enough that I loose a jig due snags and stuff faster than the hooks need to be sharpened.
thats the story of my fishing life ;D
maybe on trolling lures but instead of sharpen them I change hooks for some new ones, live bait or bottom fishing I rarelly save those hooks, the bottom of the sea on this zone is really rocky and sticky, you lose many jigs, irons and bottom fishing rigs that you rarelly have "old" hooks or lures on your tacklebox
Quote from: SoCalAngler on February 07, 2018, 09:16:47 AM
My live bait hooks get tossed after fishing them, even if they only touch salt water a couple of times they get chucked. Sure I will use the same hook several days in a row but I will never take off a bait hook that has hit the salt and put it back in my tackle box. This can only bring saltwater into my box where I keep the rest of my hooks and start the new ones in there rusting or corroding.
SoCal, this great advice. Something some one like myself coming from fresh to salt would not have practiced. Thanks for this... Jeff
Quote from: Shark Hunter on February 07, 2018, 06:37:02 PM
I Sharpen all my Hooks with a Diamond File to a razor point.
Dragging them across the ocean floor with a 1lb weight dulls them pretty quick.
I try to remember to put a cork on the tip when kayaking baits out, but it usually gets forgotten in the excitement.
That file is in my bag if I'm on the beach.
cant help but notice that there are some carbon steel circle hooks in your pic. Do you sharpen those as well?
Yes,
Especially those.
I use a Donmar hook sharpener for larger hooks. It's basically two round chainsaw files side-by-side with a plastic handle. You can create the same thing by getting a couple small chain saw sharpeners and taping them together.
Alright guys, I have a mustard demon circle hook which i feel is not satisfactory sharp any more. Do you think i should try to sharpen it or just trash it? Mustard demon circle hooks are chemically sharpened i believe. And does anybody here uses the demon circle? What do you feel about it?
i use mustad 94151br 9/0 j hooks for most salt adventures for anything under 20 lbs Occasionally one from the box is dull.
so they all get sharpened during the winter, washed and dried and back in box. use a fine file to create a pyramid point. for the monster fish its 5 or 6 buck owners in 20/0 or 26/0 and they only get 8 hours duty a trip so i keep the old but next trip i use new. the old get sharpened with diamond file and used for top hook on double hook rigs with 2 lb squid bait. the top hook is nothing but a way to properly position the bottom hook in the baiy.
i guess to sharpen or not is a personal thing but EVERY hook should be checked before going in water
Quote from: Reel Beaker on March 28, 2018, 03:40:10 AM
Alright guys, I have a mustard demon circle hook which i feel is not satisfactory sharp any more. Do you think i should try to sharpen it or just trash it? Mustard demon circle hooks are chemically sharpened i believe. And does anybody here uses the demon circle? What do you feel about it?
depends on what size...
got a bunch of 1/0 25-packs really, really cheap -- definitely CHECK & CHUCK
if I paid full price for a small pack of 7/0,
I'd definitely try to give 'em second life w/ small jeweler's files