• You need to be a registered member of Barbel Fishing World to post on these forums. Some of the forums are hidden from non-members. Please refer to the instructions on the ‘Register’ page for details of how to join the new incarnation of BFW...

Sharp hooks

S

Simon Haggis

Senior Member & Supporter
I'm slightly OCD about my hooks and wondered if anyone else is?

Always replace the rig after a fish or session. Going on a 10 day trip out to a foreign venue I normally spend about 150 quid on hooks to take out a decent supply. German anglers seem to just use the same old massive and blunt shark hooks again and again but I just can't feel confident unless I've managed to do myself some harm on my finger testing the hook for sharpness every time.

Consistently sharpest hooks I've found have been ESP Raptor curve shanks, then Nash Twisters.
 
Hello Simon,

I am very conscious about hook sharpness too,I usually prefer to use Gardner covert talon tips,however I don't change my hooks much anymore if the tips do start to become dull and blunted.

Reason being over the last four seasons I have been using a Berkley hook sharpener,which has given me peace of mind in hook sharpness as well as saving some money. I think some of the other chaps on the forum are using the Jag sp hook sharpening stones.

A very worthwhile investment in my honest opinon.
 
Can you really get them as sharp as they were originally? I've given it a go but not managed very good results, think I bought a fox sharpening stone by everyone seems to rate the jag.
 
I found best way is to remove Teflon coating from point, then two strokes from bend toward eye (with point not against it) on back of point , then two strokes on each side of point. Fairly firm.

Also bear in mind that the angle you use between point and stone is critical - too big and you flatten the point, too small and the stone doesn't go near the point.

Hard to write! Needs a video really.
 
Unless you have serious skills and a jewellers loupe I would not bother.
This is all the rage in the carp world at the moment thanks to the skills of a guy called Jason Hayward, a jeweller by profession, who is sharpening hooks for all the big names at the moment. The fact they are not doing it themselves but paying a Jeweller to do it should tell you that this is something which requires allot of skill, experience and patience to do properly, especially on the smaller hooks we tend to use compared to the carp lads.
I worked for a while as a surgical instrument engineer and I don't think it's worth the hassle. With fuel at £1.50 a ltr 35p a hook seems like a paltry sum.
 
Adrian Williams said:
Unless you have serious skills and a jewellers loupe I would not bother.
This is all the rage in the carp world at the moment thanks to the skills of a guy called Jason Hayward, a jeweller by profession, who is sharpening hooks for all the big names at the moment. The fact they are not doing it themselves but paying a Jeweller to do it should tell you that this is something which requires allot of skill, experience and patience to do properly.
Click to expand...

Jason Hayward of the Mere's black common fame? If so then that guy know's all about patience!

I think you summed it up for me really, I usually found myself making the points worse after inspection with a magnifying glass. I gave it a good go but I can't get them as consistently sharp as the sharpest out the packet.
 
I'm anal about not using ESP hooks. I didn't have such a problem with them until recently when I noticed that points were turning at the merest provocation. I'm sticking to the various patterns of Nash Fang from now on. A hook type that has consistently failed to let me down, despite the cosmetic changes they've made to them over the years. I do check my hooks regularly and always err on the side of caution. I don't automatically presume that a Nash Fang is knackered after a full session let alone one cast. I wouldn't use an ESP for a second session. I don't even expect them to last through one.
 
Simon, interesting that you mention Germans using out-sized blunt hooks but I wonder how many more dropped runs they actually experience?
As a mate of mine has been swearing by the useage of size 1/0 and 2/0 heavy gauge sea patterns, though he doesn't ever re-sharpen them, he does state even new out of the packet, they are not anywhere near as sharp as carp hooks.

I should add his hook-up is unreal, "3 beeps and its on!" And that's using a running rig for carp...

The thing is very few of us (myself included) have any true understanding of the mechanics of fishes mouths, we all hazard guesses at what's going on but never really know.

James Harrison's article on here goes some way to explain my mate Pete's theory: http://www.freespoolcarpmag.com/issue3.html

All that said, I use pretty much the 'norm' hook sizes and sticky sharp!!
 
Last edited:
Colin Gordon said:
Simon, interesting that you mention Germans using out-sized blunt hooks but I wonder how many more dropped runs they actually experience?

James Harrison's article on here goes some way to explain my mate Pete's theory: http://www.freespoolcarpmag.com/issue3.html

All that said, I use pretty much the 'norm' hook sizes and sticky sharp!!
Click to expand...

Very interesting article thanks.

Out in Morocco on a big carp lake the owner recommends size 2/0, the Germans have caught most of the 70lb plus fish there.

I think I was using ESP in size 2's. I just can't really compute how blunt the 2/0 size hooks are but might have to give them a go next year.
 
The jag sharpeners are pretty good and with a bit of practice you can get hooks well sharper than out the packet. Personnally i find the modern teflon coated hooks seem less sharp to me than some of the old black nickle finish hooks i used in the past. In my carp fishing i have no worries about using size 2 and 1 hooks and size 2 raptors are the hook i use for meat fishing. Dont miss many runs and once they're in they dont often come out. I'm not a riggy person as in my eyes they suck it in and blow it out and sometimes we get lucky lol.
 
Jeremy Evans said:
The jag sharpeners are pretty good and with a bit of practice you can get hooks well sharper than out the packet. Personnally i find the modern teflon coated hooks seem less sharp to me than some of the old black nickle finish hooks i used in the past. In my carp fishing i have no worries about using size 2 and 1 hooks and size 2 raptors are the hook i use for meat fishing. Dont miss many runs and once they're in they dont often come out. I'm not a riggy person as in my eyes they suck it in and blow it out and sometimes we get lucky lol.
Click to expand...



Are we still talking fishing here Jeremy :p

Sorry mate, I have a bad, bad sense of humour :eek:

Back to the thread. You CAN catch fish on any hook, blunt or not....especially if the fish concerned are fairly naive and not too clued up on evasion tactics. However, in ANY circumstance you are far more likely to get a hook-up with a sticky sharp hook than a blunt one. Try dragging a hook across the palm off your hand by pulling the trace with your other hand. With a blunt hook, you will probably make it....with a sticky sharp hook chances are you will not, it's as simple as that.

Cheers, Dave.
 
Last edited:
Is there a trade-off with big hooks, you land more of the fish, convert more of the bites, but is that at the expense of fewer bites?

Or is that a myth?
 
Personally I never sharpen the hooks after it goes blunt after time or burred over from coming into contact withy rocks etc. One thing I do, do is if its slightly burred over a quick run over with something hard, suck as my reel fitting even my nail will suffice sometimes will do. Anything more than this and A new hook will be tied on, no question, because if I did lose another fish because of this there would only be myself to blame.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top