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Posts: 8
| I bought a small stone and recently a diamond hook file but I don't like either one. It seems difficult to sharpen the hooks. |
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Posts: 245
| Diamond hook files are too "smooth" for big hooks, get a musky hook file. I have a Smity Hook File and i love it!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dmhf-E0nAeI |
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Posts: 1711
Location: Mt. Zion, IL | Luhr Jensen hook file. File the barb side of the hook to a V and flat on the outside until the points hang in a fingernail. I sharpen every hook on every bait in the box in the offseason in front of the tv. New or used baits get the same treatment. Check hooks after every snag and sharpen as needed. |
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Posts: 572
Location: Maplewood, MN | I sharpen my hooks multiple times daily. Ever since I lost my first musky at the boat, I've been a freak about checking hooks for sharpness. Honestly, I use an old steel file. Why? Because it was around the house and free. It gets the job done. I tend to sharpen towards the point. I will sharpen parallel with the hook and 45 degrees on the upper and lower third of the hook point if that makes sense. I always test the sharpness on my thumb too, it it grabs skin by barely touching my thumb, its good to go! Hope this helps. |
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Posts: 322
| I sharpen every lure before i use it and periodically throughout the day. If you sharpen your hooks ofter your muskie in the boat ratio will go up a lot!! |
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Posts: 2894
Location: Yahara River Chain | If you sharpen them throughout the day, do you just do this or its because they got actually got dull? Not sure why you need to resharpen them unless you hit a rock or a stump/tree. So those guys who sharpen throughout the day, how often do you replace the hooks, once you sharpen them to nubs?? Those thick nubs may be sharp, but they wont penetrate like a thin needle point will.
I knew a couple of guys in the club that would carry their hook file in their back pocket and would sharpen them when they pull the bait out of the box and several times while using them. They learned that when they just did this, they took too much metal off after a while and had to replace the hooks when they filed them to nubs. You only need to sharpen when they are new and when they get dull.
I sharpen mine with a Luhr Jensen hook file and like what was said earlier barb side only then a couple of light strokes over the top to remove the burr from filing underneath. Always go from the bend out to the point. When i get into a bunch of them to do, I use a small needle-nose vise grip to hook the while sharpen. Keeps the finger out of the way. |
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Posts: 572
Location: Maplewood, MN | I should clarity something. When I sharpen, I don't hack away at the hook until I have a pile of steel burrs on the boat carpet; I mostly just 'touch up' the hooks with a strokes. |
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Posts: 300
Location: Minocqua, WI | Dremel tool. If you've got it, you've gotta try it. |
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Posts: 1360
Location: Lake "y" cause lake"x" got over fished | Something that I noticed when I first started out. When I was sharpening hook I would press the file pretty hard against the hook. In doing so I actually over did it and would dull the hooks more often than sharpening them. I just use a regular hook file. Make sure when you sharpen that you run the file away from the hook, usually at a 45 degree angle (roughly) and do it lightly. You will notice that in doing so, you let the file do all of the work instead of trying to force it.
Another thing I did, I bought two different hook files. One with a rougher surface to start with and one with a finer surface to finish. That way after you use the rough one to start you can finish with the finer one for extreme sharpness. Believe me when I say the hooks will easily punch through there intended target in a fishes mouth, or flesh and bone like my pinky and middle fingers this year. Trust me, they're SHARP!
Hope this helps |
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| I use two round chain saw files epoxied together at the tips, with the other ends fastened in a wooden file handle. You get a perfect angle every time and it will accommodate nearly any size hook. |
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Posts: 68
| Yes, sharpen them hooks! Im no expert on it but every hook gets a touch-up right out of the package for me. You can tell the difference just by lightly pricking them on your fingers. Plus, its a long cold winter so what else is there to do other than go through your equipment and get everything up to snuff. |
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Posts: 1405
Location: Detroit River | I use the Luhr Jensen hook file on used hooks & a medium foam/sponge sanding block on new hooks. 
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Posts: 8
| Thanks, most of my baits are just large bas baits but I have some Muskie Baits coming from the Buy, Sell & Trade forum. I have four or five actual Muskie size baits and that will double when the package gets here. |
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Posts: 1416
Location: oconomowoc, wi | AndrewR - 12/30/2012 11:17 PM
Dremel tool. If you've got it, you've gotta try it.
absolutely! i have the nice rechargeable one. full charge lasts for days. menards sells all the different stones for them. they make one specifically for sharpening hooks. about $1.89. usually go thru about 3 stones a year. |
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