Sharpening hooks

[WV Sawmiller]

   I put some catfish lines out Father's Day and it seemed like some of my bush hooks (Droplines, limblines, or whatever you call them) did not seem as sharp as they should be so I decided to check and sharpen any that needed it.

   I bought a Rapala brand hook sharpener then found because of the shape of the circle hooks I am using that I could not sharpen them. I tried a small whetstone but could not get it to work. The hooks bend in a circle then the last 1/4" or so has another kink in it that makes it hard to reach the very point.

   I found an old round file with a slot in it I had bought years ago as a hook sharpened and was able to manipulate it around and sharpened about 10 of my hooks last night. Today I was out and stopped by a local outfitter shopping for some cork bugs to use for bluegills with my flyrod.

   As I was getting ready to leave (no rubber legged cork bugs in this town) I spotted a couple of boxes of chain saw files and got to wondering how they would work. When I got home I got my lines and got out my chainsaw tools and took out my little 12V Dremel type tool, plugged it in on my 4 Wheeler and sat there and sharpened my hooks with the little stone on the sharpener. That worked pretty well and is the system I will continue to use until I come up with a better solution.

    The eyes of the hooks are small compared to the size of the nylon cord (#24 or there-abouts) and I have to melt and shape the tip of the line into a point to get it in the eye of the hook and usually manage a few 2nd degree burns to my thumb and finger tips in the process. I said all that to say it is not as easy as just putting on a new hook (Plus them things ain't cheap no more).

    Do any of you guys sharpen your hooks and if so do you use and sharpen circle hooks? If so how do you do it? 

    FWI - My hooks mostly are in the 6/0-8/0 range and not those shark hook sizes you saltwater guys may be using.

[Onthesauk]

I use to use a small stone for circle hooks, tougher to do then most hooks.  Harbor Freight sells a cheap set of very small files, only place I've been able to find them.  Also use them on cleaning up S&W clips, they tend to jam until you smooth them out. 

[TroyC]

Might think about a Dremel with small grinding wheel on the circle hooks.

[WV Sawmiller]

Troy,

  That is basically what I did only 12V Oregon sharpener for my chainsaw and use the sharpening stones.

OTS,

  I have a set of those HD files and tried them today but had let them get rusted and no good. I'll pick up another set and take better care of them and see if they are easier than the chainsaw sharpener.

[YellowHammer]

Sure, all the time.  It's not unusual to dull a hook after just three or four fish, so I reach into the tackle tray and sharpen them up, because it's generally faster than tying on a new hook.  

Of course the ease and sharpness depends on the quality of the hook steel, and can't sharpen soft steel very well, to hypodermic sharp.   I use 5/0 to to 8/0 Owner circle hooks 90% of the time, the size is basically a match of the hook gap vs the thickness of the upper lip of the fish jaw.

I use a narrow flat polishing hone, or a very fine grit flat file.  Most hook sharpening stones in stores are way too coarse.  You can't sharpen a razor blade on a piece of concrete and you can't get a circle hook needle sharp unless the grit of the file or hone will let you.  Some of the saltwater diamond files are good, I've never used a freshwater sharpener that was worth using.  

Diamond files work fine, ceramics also.  Flat.   I'm not sure how to sharpen a hook with a round file.  

It normally only takes a few light strokes, the point should be sharpened Trokar style, into a three sided pyramid.  The left side, the right side and then a light stroke on the beak, toward the shank.  Nothing on the inside.  The tip should have three cutting edges, and if you look real close at an Eagle Claw Trokar hook, you will see the three flats and cutting edges.  

Even straight hooks on lures are sharpened this way, and it's real important because the hooks of the $30 lures will dull just from saltwater, overnight.  

Fine grit, light strokes, and you can sharpen a hook that will stick in an arm hair.  

[YellowHammer]

I found this video, and it is on a big circle hook, but it shows the process I use for them, whatever the size.

 

[WV Sawmiller]

Robert,

    Those are much bigger hooks than I am currently using but I see the technique and will get another pack of those small HF files and see if the same technique works for me.

  With the stone and Dremel type chain saw sharpener I mostly sharpened the point on the inside. My thoughts are if it has a a sharp point it will get the hook started and finish hooking them. My hooks were sharp when I finished yesterday but  I am looking for something I do on the water instead of depending on a 12V system on my vehicle or ATV. I guess I could hook it to my boat battery but that is one more tool to take along and a small file set will be much easier.

  I want my hooks so sharp if he swims by and looks at that little bluegill or sunfish I have for bait that he is hooked!.

    I am going to try that fillet technique we discussed in the sister thread for bluegills next time.

[TroyC]

Well, you learn something new every day. Maybe if I sharpen my hooks I'll finally catch a fish. Still trying!  

Any hoo, lobster season starts here (Florida) in a couple of weeks. I go to the Keys every year. Got my spot staked out, boats are ready. I mainly bullynet at night, getting too old to dive much. 

[YellowHammer]

I've used all kinds of sharpeners, even the one that I put the tip in and sharpened the hook like a pencil.  They are ok, but they produced a point with too wide or fat a taper, and they would dig in but not pierce.

In contrast, the three sided spear "Trokar" tip is like a broadhead on an arrow.  A sharp hook has a good spear tip and three cutting edges to penetrate and pass through to the barb. 

I'm not sure about catfish hooks, but sometimes the barb really sticks way out on bass and saltwater hooks, and impedes penetration, so I will file just a nudge off it, and make the barb more streamlined.

Also, as I mentioned, the file must have a fine grit, or it will never get razor sharp, just sharp.

A funny story, during our last saltwater trip, my BIL was having 🪝 issues with the fish.  After way too long, he said "I think my hook is dull" and so put on a sharp one and his day got real good, real fast.

Troy, ain't no way I'd get in the water with all those sharks around.  Now that everybody has stopped catching them, at least in the Gulf, they are getting to the point about every time we stopped the boat and got to fishing they would be under the boat, ready for an easy meal.   

 

[WV Sawmiller]

   I don't know if these are actually listed as catfish hooks. If they are they were intended for use on a rod with monofilament line as the eyes are not big enough to get a sizeable nylon cord through the eye like I used to find on traditional J hooks sold as catfish hooks.

   BTW - I have started using #4 circle hooks for catching little bream for bait. I may not hook as many as when I used #10 long shank cricket hooks but the fish don't swallow them as often and a dead fish is of no use to me as a live bait. The circle hooks hook the fish in the jaw and the fish basically sets the hook on himself.