[lefty]

How much effort do y'all usually put into preparing your hooks?

In the book I'm reading now (http://www.ncangler.com/reviewpost/showproduct.php?product=38), the author recommends "If you don't take time to check the sharpness of every hook you use, you're wasting fishing time." He explains that what the industry refers to as "chemical sharpening" is really more of a deburring -- valuable, but still not enough to result in an adequately sharp point.

Another thing he recommends is offsetting the points of the hooks -- basically giving the throat of the hook a twist so that the point is exposed off one side of the throat.

What do y'all think? Are these things worth doing while it's cold? Anything else that's worth doing to your hooks ahead of time?

Lefty

 

[zooker]

i sharpen mine after every use. that is if i use it..

zooker

 

[basilwilliam]

I sharpen my hooks. I don’t think I would go so far as to say your wasting your time if you do not, but I think it definitely helps.

 

[sinker man]

For some fish it is a waste of time in my opinion. If you are fishing for Crappie I would suggest that you leave them alone as their mouths are soft and they are typically near wood which really sharp hooks will hook. for species such as largemouth and other related basses you see an improvement if you use chemically sharpened hooks. Personally I don't believe many people can sharpen them any sharper than they come out of the package unless they are made of heavy wire. Once they come in contact with a few rocks and stumps they will benefit from careful sharpening. If your eyes are bad, your hands unsteady or arthritic donate them to a younger fisherman and tie on a new one. As far as offset points go it depends on the application. Not something you would do to a fly or Jerk bait. Take Zooker's advise if you are serious about bass fishing: dull hooks are usually used hooks these days. Factory hooks are usually hard to beat if you buy the better ones. Serious catfishermen usually keep their hooks sharpened and put up with the losses but most of them are using heavy wire hooks to begin with and they expect to loose plenty of hooks and sinkers. Many lures come with substandard hooks and I make a point to change them out if they aren't up to par. A lot of plugs will work better with a larger treble on the back hook and a shorter shank hook or smaller hook on the front. For most saltwater spoons I use singles instead of trebles on most spoons because you are ususally fishing schooling fish with them and minutes spent unhooking fish are better spent hooking another. AL