Best way to keep hooks sharp?

[glynnkent]

Hi There


Just wanting to find out whether anyone has any tips or a preferred method as to how best to keep one's hooks sharp when spinning?


I find that the hooks on my various plugs and spoons get blunt rather quickly whilst spinning from the beach. To keep the hooks sharp, i've just been using a normal rasp, but this hasn't been all that successful.


Can anyone advise as to what the best possible way to keep hooks sharp aside from going out to the shops to buy new ones after every outing.


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[Visenvryheid]

Get a hook file at your local tackle store, made of oil stone stuff..Mine lives in my fishing bag, I   just use a bit of spit to lube and make sharp when I need to but others have   probably got some tricks they want to share..

And swop out your hooks for good mustads ;) Their inlines and trebles have just been found to be the best to use for spinning by me, stay sharp, hookup easily and stick. The VMC trebles we have found problematic for staying stuck to fish in the larger size hooks, they wear holes too easily in the fish mouths and the smaller owner trebles used, which were supplied with lures and later swopped, had horrendous hook-up rates but once a fish was on it was on.

I can't fault the mustads, I spin over bricks and we retrieve our spoons and plugs over rocks a thousand times each session and being sharp enough has never really been an issue, landed my biggest pelagics on them and even if hooks were a bit small for the fish and half straightened the fish stayed stuck in each case. Others' points cannot penetrate nicely, when they do stick they wear/cut themselves loose in the fight, when eventually got to the big cityand got to the mustad agents and got the hooks I prefer and swopped them out on lures the issue of loosing fish from hooks pulling or not hooking up dissappeared and the rest of the season went well.Hmm. Seems to be the consensus amoungst my fishing mates, got enough hooks for the crew and we didn't have a hook pull or hook-up issue since.

Also if beach abrasion is doing it (plugs should be on the surface haha) then try use the "Kaiju" inlines, they are awesome and have been working for me from the get go. The point faces in slightly so the tip of the hook shouldn't get the sand? Use a size bigger hook than you think you need with the inline also..

[Visenvryheid]

Also hooks are consumables, expect them to die..Get enough backup supply in those that work for you to keep at home, buy in bulk it is cheaper. Keep a small plastic box of a few spare small ones and large ones in your fishing bag along with oval clips in the various sizes you need, and store your lures unrigged. The plug you are spinning for the session with gets rinsed when you rinse your rod and reel and you limit its' hook rusting like that and you basically have one working hook in each size at a time..your spares stay in a box far from the salt and wet lures. When the working hook gets tired/rusted swop it out, if it is blunt give it a quick sharpen. If you swop your plug or spoon, mini split ring plier and oval clips makes change of the hook take a second, clip lure off, clip lure on, plier off hook, push oval clip of hook on by hand in the bend between the two wires and clip on, fish.Simple. I just copy the old timers as I learn, works for them.

No need to visit the shop after every fish, It'd make me mad if visiting the shops weren't such a jol ;)

[baber101]

I use two small round files tied together - works like a charm

[Plugger]

Dragging the lure through the sand kills the point quickly. If you are fishing off the beach rather stand closer to the shore  break.

Ch

[John F]

Dragging the lure through the sand kills the point quickly. If you are fishing off the beach rather stand closer to the shore  break.

Ch

  (remember how round pieces of glass get after some time rolling up and down the surf)

[Grumpy]

Lose the trebles and replace with single hooks. Does less damage to fish and easier to unhook and release.( into the hatch too)
You may notice that many spoons plugs and lures are now sold with single hooks on anyway.

There is a myriad of sharpening devices available. Probably the best is a router bit sharpener. Expensive but no corrosion and lasts forever.

[Grumpy]

The other thing with singles is you don't get hooked or stuck in the rocks as much either

[Grumpy]

The red jobbi is the diamond router bit sharpener . smooth fine cut and puts an awesome point on a hook
the file is a 4 sided (not square) file you can use from any angle. File is hard to find, it is made by a fishing tackle co. Look in tackle shops.

[glynnkent]

Thanks for all the input and advice everyone; much appreciated!

[Steenie]

I do a lot of spinning of beaches in KZN. The lifespan of your hooks is directly proportional to the coarseness of the beach sand. It is inevitable that you will drag the lure for a few meters through the sand, because the shore break on the steep beaches is mostly to large to get close enough to the water to lift the lure before it gets in contact with the sand.

On a very coarse sand beaches like Durban View - Virginia - Beachwood - Umgeni North Bank hooks simply do not last long. On the other hand, of fine sand beaches like St Lucia hooks last much longer. And from rocks hooks last the longest. I do find that duratin hooks like the Mustad Tarpon Signature series hooks last much longer than others, and it is very easy to hone their points with a diamond file. But even they have a limited lifespan on coarse sand beaches.

Keeping lures in rice grains (that absorb moisture) also helps to extend the life of hooks. But it remains a consumable, so on a weekly bases I check and replace hooks when required. The price of the hook relative to the lure is cheap, and a blunt hook misses bites causing a poor return on investment on the lure!

My usual test involves pulling the hook point over my finger nails. If it slides of the nail its time to sharpen, or replace, especially if the hook point length has been reduced too much relative to that of a new hook. I normally hold the used hook next to a new hook. One is often surprised to see that, although the used hook may still be sharp, how much shorter the used hook's point is compared to a new one.

[colin]