So here goes am I the only that doesn't hand sharpen their hooks ?

And even worse than that cast them back out after catching a fish on them again with out sharpening them

Would it honestly catch me more fish in the last 12 months I'd say I've bumped 2 carp

In reply to Post #1
Nope,I don't sharpen my hooks.I do check them each time I bring them in or after a fish though

In reply to Post #2
Same as

Thank god for that thought I was the only one

I'm sure I read somewhere hand sharpening hooks actually make them weaker as the steel has been heat treated and could snap and also the finer the point is the easier it is to blunt and burr over because the point has been elongated where it shouldn't

ive been thinking about this as well. couple of people i know swear by it and tell me the jag set is the best purchase ever... still trying to make my mind up on it... will it really convert more takes to fish on the bank and why not just buy a pack of kamakuras or jason wotsit hand sharpened jobbies from JR ?

Same here toying with the idea of sharpening listening to everyone but as I said I've dropped 2 fish in 12 months it's not take ratios I'm worried over it's wether it would produce more takes
On them blank days would I have had a take or not that's my thought process

I very sharp hook will produce more takes. If they're really sharp they're more likely to ***** the skin and penetrate deeper.

A hook that's set deeper and quicker is less likely to be ejected on the shake of a head. Put a sharp hook in the tip of your finger and an out the packet hook. You should be able to wiggle your finger without the sharp hook falling off.

DP

In reply to Post #1
Common sense tells you the sharper the better, same as the heavier the lead the better.
I've been using either jprecision or Jason Haywoods for ages and find them both excellent.
I need to use barbless on my current pit though so I've ended up with the ESP trig hammers and have to say they really do look and feel the part. Seriously sharp but don't have the long thin point like the hand sharpened hooks. I can't see them costing me any fish.

In reply to Post #9
The trig hammer are good hooks but do turn over quite easily

any recommendations for hand sharpened complete ronnies inc the shrink tube and swivels? IBhooks ?

In reply to Post #1
Lots of small percentages add up to big percentages.

It's no coincidence that most of the best anglers out there are fastidious about small details, including hook sharpening.

On its own, sharpening might get you 5% more bites(as an example) , but combine it with rigs, bait, location, timing, observation, effort, and all the other small percentages and you start to see a big difference.

In reply to Post #1
It's not really about how many carp you've lost...
It's more about how many pickups that are ejected could you have realistically converted to a hook hold fish that then became hooked fish.
Unless you are buying some of the new generation of super sharp hooks like ace, trigs, mugs, kama, etc then sharpening will give you an edge.
Touching up hooks that have been reeled in is a good starting point.

In reply to Post #11
J precision I believe sell them through another company, I think it's called Terminal Tackle? Or I think the other one I see him post about 1st choice rigs

In reply to Post #14
thanks mate

Looks like I'm going to have to buy a couple of packs and give them a try for the rest of the year and way up how they perform

In reply to Post #1
I go through a new packet of hooks, use the sharpest ones, wait until they go abit dull and I then resharpen them after. Some times by doing this I feel I can 20 hooks for the price of 10 😂

I do sharpen when using popups but not bottom baits, more so when using chods etc where you're more reliant on the hook to penetrate

I use a Hook Box and keep the sharpest ones from the packet untouched and the rest I sharpen. That way I have a mixed approach to suit the presentation needed.

In reply to Post #13
Agree with this - as well as getting better vfm from a packet of hooks a quick touch up can make a massive difference in terms of edge %

I'm not great at totally re-honing a pattern but find I'm usually touching up every hook after 12hrs of a fresh one being submerged . . .irrespective of whether I've caught or not

I check and sharpen my hook on every cast if needed, I bought a nice cheap 1500 grit diamond file which is steel one side and diamond dust the other from Aliexpress for a few bucks (I'm in Canada so its all dollars but it will cost you a couple of quid) and its amazing for quickly and efficiently sharpening hooks. I figure for the sake of 30 seconds why wouldn't you make the hook as sharp as it can be?

I've been sharpening a while now, and whilst unsure it has caught me any more it certainly doesn't hurt. I also do all mine at home and use the gom on the bank or change if needed.

I use no sizes over an 8 and 90% of the time barbless as believe these to be far sharper, so my question is anyone found decent hooks in 8s and 10s that are thin wire but sharpen well?
Give. The size of hook I use, I never suffer opening up so wire gauge is not needed for strength. Currently use old stock Korda wide gapes as found these OK but have heard quite a lot of noise and good things regards Nash pin points - any feedback appreciated?

I don't do it myself (lazy and don't fish much) but I'm always surprised when someone criticises the act of hook sharpening in a podcast etc. The microscope "before and after" images seem very stark and the difference very obvious (if you know what you're doing). It's not as if no has time to do it.

So although I don't do it myself I don't think it's risky or a waste of time

In reply to Post #22
I find that the Nash pinpoint hooks are not as sharp as the original but still okay out of the packet, however, and it's probably just me, I find them awful to try and touch up.

In reply to Post #24
Interesting can I ask why. I had some long shank ridge monkey and they (for me) are in sharpanable! Thick and brittle wire.

In reply to Post #24
Remember I only touch up hooks, I do not take a lot of steel away. The Nash hooks are great for one fish but trying to get them sharp again is a nightmare I think it might be that they are made from very hard steel but if that was the case why don't they retain there sharpness.

if I sharpen a hook it's only to land me one fish if it does I'm happy and throw it away. £3 odd a pack I'd happily pay 30p a fish

In reply to Post #6
After moving house which had me not fishing for nearly 4 years
I started going again in 2019. I already had the JAG set but hadn't really used it.

I made some other changes so it's not possible to be completely sure that it's down to
Sharpening. However I have never caught so consistently in my life
Since coming back to fishing. I touch up my hooks every cast now.

In reply to Post #28
You know what Paul, I've been on my syndicate for 3 years ago, really struggled with dropping fish (was buying sharpened hooks) moved to a shop bought hook - Gardner CVR size 4, and am now landing almost all my fish. Same rig. Bizarre isn't it.

In reply to Post #29
thats really strange,I'm not doubting you one bit..most would go from out the packet to hand sharpened to see results improve...womder why it happend,have other experienced the same ??

In reply to Post #29
What shop bought are you using. Many of the top end ones are well sharp enough.

Are you still getting the same number of pick ups as you were with the hand sharpened.
That's the real test... you may land all your runs, but I do wonder how often the fish might get away with it on "normal" hooks

In reply to Post #30
Think it comes back to what baitman said perfectly.... it not about how many you loose, more how many potential takes you miss.

I generally buy hand sharpened now a days and always give it a check and coat in Vaseline before casting. And will touch up on recasts if needed, generally use the gardner rubber blocks for that.

However some of the more recent hooks i have used out of the packet - namely trigg hammers and fox wide gape long shanks

In reply to Post #31
Yeah you could be right, obviously there's a lot of variables, but I am happier landing the fish I hook, rather than hokking more but losing them. plus changing hook virtually every cast due to them being so fragile was a pain.

Gardner CVR I am using, size 4. Really love them.

One thing I also want to add is that I hand sharpen my hooks at work and check them under the microscope and there is a huge difference between out of the packet vs the ones I have sharpened. Something to note though is that if you do hand sharped to a super sharp point it really is worth checking the hook on every cast as I have found that the very tip can be so fine that it is easily bent over on stones etc. I will sharpen on every cast if it needs it but as soon as I see that very point bent I'll change the hook for another that I have sharpened at work. I also use foam nuggets on the hook to protect it from any pellets in the PVA bag if I'm bagging or from anything on the bottom during the cast.

In reply to Post #29
I'd NEVER fish an over sharpened hook with a Bottom Bait on gravel, firm, hard bottoms.
Absolute madness.

In reply to Post #35
"Over sharpened" is there such thing?

In reply to Post #36
Yup fair point, strange wording.
A sharp hook that's been sharpened even further \ as far as possible?
To the extent a Roach Fart could turn the point over.

When it comes to hook sharpening I'm a bit of a Penning fan boy. Just watch his vid on the subject and decide for yourself. On the right water fishing for big fish I think youd be a fool not to do it. On a runs water , fishing for doubles I wouldn't bother. From experience I always touch up a sharpened hook with a Gardner point doctor after a night in the lake.