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Posts: 165
| Overall it was a decent year for my first year. Got out at least 2 to 4 times each month (Not nearly enough I know) from June to October. Saw and moved a lot of muskies this year and if anyone remembers from a previous post watched my son land a 31 incher. I ended up hooking into 12 muskie and not one of them got inside my boat. Had several other hits as well where the hooks didn't even penetrate.
I have never sharpened my hooks and am curious on what and how everyone goes about sharpening. If anyone has a video to post that would be great or even a detailed description on what kind of sharpener to buy and how to properly use it would be just as good. I'm convinced that if I had taken most of your guys' advice and the advice of many magazine articles and sharpened my dang hooks this year I would have landed multiple muskie's this year.
I realize I can Google all of this and find videos on Youtube. However, I love hearing advice from people on this site and prefer that technique first and engaging in conversation during these long winter months of no fishing in a boat.
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Posts: 134
| When i was first was taught to sharpen hooks i was told "use this file everything else sucks". The file i swear by is the one that "sucks" Do yourself a favor and try a few different files and use what works for YOU. |
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Posts: 1126
Location: Minnesota. | I like the dbl. sided hook sharpener..
http://www.muskyshop.com/modules/cart/navigate.php/nav_id/8
Always been good for me.
Use Google to find sharpening vids. Don't stroke into the point, away from it. Hooks always need to be "sticky" sharp!!
Ref. this...
http://muskie.outdoorsfirst.com/board/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=67...
And on some baits I have been given some great advice by more than one VERY experienced fisherman here....toss away the stock hooks and sub with Gamakatsu's.
Superb hooks but you'll have to decide.
Don't be cheap, it's where the rubber meets the road! You'll do fine, you stuck more than I did this year...but I got lazy!
Jeremy.
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Posts: 1316
Location: Lebanon,Mo | I have always sharpened hooks going into the point...just like a knife, you sharpen into the point or edge. I think i have some of the sharpest hooks and when the hook passes through the entire mouth and stick out the other side...they did there job. Whatever your comfortable with, but this has always worked for me over the years. I dont lose many fish i hook. |
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Posts: 427
Location: Planet Meltdown | 10" Nicolson Bastard-Cut file from Home Depot, slap a wooden handle on it and you will have yourself a nice file that will last a long time as long as you keep it rust free. Will cost you $10 and IMO they perform much better than the $20 6-8" files sold in tackle shops. |
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Posts: 299
| The Rapala double sided hook sharpener works great. It files hooked like a "trocar" point. You want a 3-sided point for easier penetration and sharpen from the bottom of hook up to the point. One common mistake is seeing guys over sharpen hooks. This will cause the very tip to burr or bend a bit and as casting goes on the tip dulls. It can become hard to penetrate. One of the hardest mouths to stick a hook in is a Tarpon. Most of their mouths are like cement. I've learned the smaller diameter thickness of hook the better penetration and a sharpen the inside and both sides of the hook. If done correctly running the back of hook along your fingernail you should be able to run smooth along your nail but the very tip catch. Then you'll be amazed at how sharp your hooks are! You'll admire them and then be totally stunned, puzzled and mind f**ked when a fish smashes your lure, holds on a for second and manages to get away without getting hooked! |
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Posts: 688
Location: Northern IL | I thought about placing this in a new thread because I didn't want it taken that I'm some how slamming the original author, I've been there too. I sharpened hooks for a while, a couple... and I haven't. To catch a fish something must stick into the fish but what I've also seen is a lot of the time it has nothing to do with a hook being sharp as a razor or dull as a rock but the fishes activity level at the time. The fact must be excepted that we're just not gonna catch every fish that takes a whack at a lure.
If the fish are extremely active they will attack or strike a lure or bait at sometimes incredible speeds. Then there's times when it takes dead bait just to get him to open his mouth. The more important thing is to focus ones efforts at placing a lure or bait at the right depth, moving it at the right speed and doing so at the right time on productive bottom features.
Let me also say if it makes one feel better about it by all means sharpen away but while your sharpening I won't be, "they were sharp when I bought em". If a fishermen gets better at the interpretation of bottom features all the other things will fall right in line. |
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Posts: 8717
| I never used to sharpen my hooks either. Lost a lot of fish. I can blame dull hooks, but I suspect that poor hooksets, hooksets in the wrong direction, and not fighting the fish well all contributed to that. Bottom line for me is that you've got nothing to lose and everything to gain by having sharp hooks.
I carry the yellow handled deal with me for touch ups, like when you hit a rock. The rest of the time I use two halves of a chainsaw file that I put together with some JB weld, electrical tape, and part of a busted broom handle. It ain't pretty but it gets the job done. Quite nicely, in fact... Just don't ask me how I managed to bust a chainsaw file. |
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Posts: 994
Location: Minnesota: where it's tough to be a sportsfan! | My two cents on this is buy your files at a hardware store. I feel that many of the "Fishing" files are too coarse of a file. It would be OK if you were doing a series of files down to ultra fine, but who wants to do that right? I use a Med Fine or Fine, it may take a few more strokes but the finish is smoother. Also when I do files I do 5 at a time. I keep one in my lure tote, one in the boat, one at the desk at the cabin, one on the workbench, and one in the travel bag. Same as my split ring pliers. |
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Posts: 216
| Yup I take 2 small chainsaw files and jam them in a empty 30-06 shell casing and use them. Sharpen from the bend to the point pushing the hook away from you. Always touch up new hooks, they aren't always great from the factory.you can improve your hooking percentage. Saw it happen this year, my Buddy bought a new twin 10 bucktail, hooked and lost like ten fish on it in 3 days time. I ask are the hooks sharp?,he says it's brand new! So what I said,I took it and touched em up in about 2 min. Bang! The next 2 fish he sticks and lands that night. |
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Posts: 574
Location: Elk Grove Village, IL & Phillips, WI | Always sharpen the hooks a on all new lures. I was guilty myself, but now sharpen, sharpen, and sharpen some more. The stupidest thing I ever did was throw on a brand-new bucktail and proceeded to lose 3 fish in a row. I finally picked up the tail and looked at the hooks and realized that there were hook guards over all the barbs!
Can you say stupid? |
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Posts: 4080
Location: Elko - Lake Vermilion | Never underestimate a SHARP hook.
It's bad advice to tell a bunch of muskie guys that A sharp hook isn't a big deal, and
new hooks don't need sharpened.
since I've started sharpening hooks Religiously, I've boated more fish while Casting.
Trolling may be a different story....The fish nearly hooks themselves. |
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Posts: 8717
| KenK - 11/21/2014 2:18 PM
Always sharpen the hooks a on all new lures. I was guilty myself, but now sharpen, sharpen, and sharpen some more. The stupidest thing I ever did was throw on a brand-new bucktail and proceeded to lose 3 fish in a row. I finally picked up the tail and looked at the hooks and realized that there were hook guards over all the barbs!
Can you say stupid?
Done it.
Luckily for me I noticed after pulling weeds off the lure and before a fish actually tried to eat it. And even more lucky was the fact that nobody else in the boat saw what I was doing! |
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Posts: 284
Location: Eagan, MN | I think the yellow handled Luhr Jensen hook files are good, but also use a Donnmar CP100 hook sharpener as a supplement to the Luhr Jenson, especially when fishing at night or in the cold or both. After your lure hits a rock or you catch a fish, that Donnmar cleans up a point quickly and easily when your hands are so cold or wet that you would otherwise opt to forgo a touch up, or your aging eyes can't see well enough to sit down and give the little extra time and finesse that the Luhr Jensen requires.
BTW, I pre-sharpen all hooks out of the package with both the Luhr Jensen and Donnmar tool, usually in the winter when sitting in front of the TV with my wife while she watches reality television. Hooks of various sizes are kept in a hook box that stays in the boat and called to duty often when I can't get a needle point on a hook that is in service due to multiple sharpenings. Others use a dremmel tool for this same purpose. There is a YouTube vid of Bob Mehsikomer doing this that you might find helpful.
How you use the file is important too. I sharpen with the Luhr Jensen file in a position nearly perpendicular to the hook point, going round the hook in a similar fashion to the dremmel, and not using strokes that run north and south onto the hook point. Man, does this technique get them sharp and seems to take off less material than a more conventional stroke; for me at least.
BrianF.
Edited by BrianF. 11/21/2014 2:47 PM
(Donnmar Hooksharper.jpg)
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 Donnmar Hooksharper.jpg (22KB - 458 downloads)
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Posts: 216
| Hook guards,hate em.Guiltily of this myself. Pulled a new dominatrix goldenboy out of the package and snapped it on,early this September.3rd cast,right in front of the boat launch, I do a figure 8 at boat side and my buddy turns and says oh man that lure looks nice.so I do a double figure 8 and take another look at it while saying yup looks like it'll work. Bam!! A fat boy 48" comes from the depths under the boat and slams the lure.After a short,vicious fight and in the net she goes.lure pops out as soon as she hits the net. I slap a high five and grab the lure outa the net and say "OMG, I left the hook covers on!!"those dominatrix come with little rubber tube on the hooks. Wow lucky!! beauty of a fish to. Never happen again |
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Posts: 4266
| Don't know what they are called, but the side by side chain saw files are great for an initially sharpening to sort of take off any burrs and rust, but I like to sharpen mine with a steel like you use for sharpening knives. I also make it a point to take the hook off of the lure before I sharpen it. I prefer to hold it in my favorite hook removal tool, a needle nose Vice Grips. If you make the point too needle-like you will roll it over or dull it much easily. Just like with a knife or an axe, if you can make the point stick or "catch" on your finger nail, it's sharp enough. Smoothness is what you are looking for. You aren't trying to cut anything with a hook, you want penetration. So I use a rounded file and go from point to barb making smooth strokes alternating sides. If the hook will catch your fingernail and if it's smooth you will get penetration to the barb and past which should be enough to "hook" a fish, holding it is up to you. |
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Posts: 63
| I might be the only one that uses one of these, but my favorite is the small round rod with a groove, diamond coated. J
I put a sharp enough point on my hooks with it to stick my fingernails. I touch them up as needed, and check them after any hits to structure/ rocks. I seldom have issues setting the hook, or losing the fish if I keep presure. In my opinion you have to focus on the set. Sharp hooks are the best insurance to sink them and keep the fish on the end of your line. Some of my closest fishing buddies still neglect their hooks, then are sadly disappointed when they lose tge fish. Pick a sharpener you can operate well, and learn it well. Then get two extras and put them in with your tackle. |
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Posts: 165
| Great advice guys. Thanks for all the help. I am definitely going to spend my winter getting all of my hooks sharp. I even opened up the Musky Hunter mag today and it had two and half pages dedicated to the same topic. Again, thanks a lot for all the advice. |
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Posts: 1023
| Everything on here is good stuff.
I didn't learn "the hard way", but my dad did. Lost a giant fish 53+ because he didn't sharpen hooks on a new lure.
I started sharpening baits with the double round file. And I'll tell you what, pick one up. It is easy and gets the hooks sharp.
Then once you are good at sharpening with that, pick up a flat file and start sharpening with those. Start by just touching up the tips with the flat file after you sharpen with the double round file. Then ultimately, get used to sharpening the whole hook with the flat file.
I was fortunate enough to share some time in the boat with jdsplasher this year. He has a way of sharpening hooks with a flat file that is down right dangerous because they get so sharp! Sharper than I had been able to get hooks. Point being, it always pays to fish with someone else and see what they do. You can always learn from each other. |
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Posts: 1199
Location: Walker, MN | I use cordless dremel tools, just like Bob
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMY1rTrQSHc
Edited by Masqui-ninja 11/26/2014 10:31 AM
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Posts: 909
| Beaver - 11/23/2014 5:24 PM
Don't know what they are called, but the side by side chain saw files are great for an initially sharpening to sort of take off any burrs and rust, but I like to sharpen mine with a steel like you use for sharpening knives. I also make it a point to take the hook off of the lure before I sharpen it. I prefer to hold it in my favorite hook removal tool, a needle nose Vice Grips. If you make the point too needle-like you will roll it over or dull it much easily. Just like with a knife or an axe, if you can make the point stick or "catch" on your finger nail, it's sharp enough. Smoothness is what you are looking for. You aren't trying to cut anything with a hook, you want penetration. So I use a rounded file and go from point to barb making smooth strokes alternating sides. If the hook will catch your fingernail and if it's smooth you will get penetration to the barb and past which should be enough to "hook" a fish, holding it is up to you.
Yep Yep, Well Said!!!  You can over sharpen them! |
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Posts: 1416
Location: oconomowoc, wi |
same here! hooks are sharper than dental tools..  |
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