Sharp Hooks
for BC Salmon and Pacific Halibut
No matter what your skill level is, beginner, intermediate or advanced tournament
angler, ultimately your final connection to a fish is by a hook. The hook is
what brings a striking fish into the boat and this fact makes sharp hook knowledge
one of the most important considerations you can make every time you cast or
troll. Sharp hooks are extremely important on lures like crankbaits and topwaters
where impact force between the mouth of the fish and the lure hooks is very low.
On
crankbaits and topwaters, a fish may inhale them when they have zero forward
speed, are floating upwards, traveling slowly forward, or are at great depths
on light line. This means low impact to drive the points home and crankbait strikes
are totally unlike worms or jig and pork combos where the angler can use a stiff
rod to generate high rod tip speed on heavier line to slam a hook point past
the barb.
Pointer About Hook Points
In the 1990s, hook manufacturers, both U.S. and foreign, have finally addressed
the need for sharper hook point designs and there are a number of specialty hooks
on the market. Here are some of the hook points designs and comments about them.
Traditional Cutting Edge with Inside Barb
(Most common and readily available design) Excellent design, but usually needs
a touch-up with a file (this sheet shows how!). This point style can be made
lethally sharp only with a file and contains large "burrs" around the
barb which reduce penetration, or very high barbs that need trimming. The big
advantage is that this style of hook can be purchased economically and is available
with the ideal short-shank, wide-gap treble hook configuration.
Traditional Cutting Edge with Conical Mechanical Sahrpening - 'Cone
Cut'
Sharper at point but the traditional point can match it with a just couple of
file strokes. More expensive to achieve.
Conicla Point with Flat, Wedge Blade
A good hook for plastic worms. Resists bending on impact and is easily sharpened.
Relies on high rod tip speed to penetrate. Not available for crankbaits.
Conicla Point with Transition to Wedge Sides, 'The Ice Pick Style'
Good worm hook for big fish. Does not bend easily and is easy to touch up. Poor
on crankbaits.
Turned-in Barb & Point - Traditional Cutting
Edge & Angles Throat Area to Hold Fish
Good angle of penetration but will need standard sharp point and small barb to
be efficient. More expensive. Good on crankbaits. note: Forging alters metal
grain but achieves more tensile strength in hook metal.
Multiple Barbs
Unnecessary on crankbait hooks. Harder to penetrate and more damage to released
fish.
'Beaked' or Curved PointsEAKED" OR CURVED
POINTS
Usable but inefficient on a crankbait. Hard to sharpen and often collapses on
impact. Poorest of all crankbait hooks!
Multiple Cutting Edge - 'Owner Style'
Good on worm- and jig-style hooks. Also available on trebles. Uses ideas on cutting
edges from items such as surgical needles which require low pressure to penetrate.
Expensive on a per-hook basis.
What Really Counts on Hooks?
Invariably, and ultimately, it is point and barb design that penetrate the fish's
mouth parts and hold it. Regardless of shank, gap and throat style, you will
need a sharp point, any available cutting edges and a de-burred barb. Following
are some problem areas to keep alert for!
Receding Point Length
A great part of successful hook point design comes from the correct length of
the point to barb area. If this tapered wedge becomes too short, it will be difficult
to get good penetration. Look out for short, poorly-formed points struck in factory
dies. These are hard to sharpen and do not penetrate well. Replace individual
hooks with this defect. Over-sharpening also causes this condition.
Bent Point
A bent point will cause immediate fish losses and your first sign of trouble
is a fish that jumps and throws the lure. This is most common on worm and crankbait
hooks and needs immediate correction. The causes of bent points are, in order
of occurrence probability: over-sharpened "hair thin" points, poor
point design, impact with hard mouth bones of fish and shake-off from snags,
especially rocks. Bent points can be instantly detected by sliding fingertips
from area outside barb down to the point. Correct immediately with a file or
replace lure or hook if fishing time allows the delay. You may also set the lure
aside to replace the hook at home.
'Burrs' on Barb
A high, prominent barb with a burr elevated by the forming dies can easily stop
penetration past the barb. This area is quickly reduced and sharpened using a
Luhr Jensen #9130 Sharp Hook File.
Sharp Hook File
A Luhr
Jensen Sharp Hook File
Available in 4 1/4" and 5 1/2" lengths.
Remember, a file only cuts on the forward stroke! Store them in a WD-40-soaked
plastic filesaver pouch right near you in the boat as you fish. That way you
can quickly touch-up hooks as needed in seconds. Luhr Jensen was the first to
offer this great file and only a file will form the desired cutting edges. Use
the 4 1/4" model for hooks up to size 4 and the 5 1/2" file for those
larger than size 4.
With practice, you can get a hook as sharp as many specialty
hooks or even do a more refined "tournament-style" sharpening that
is lethal on crankbaits. Remember, sharp hooks are dangerous, so to avoid injury,
treat thrashing fish with great caution and handle all lures with care.
Frequently Asked Questions
What About Tests For Hook Sharpness?
Only a file can put cutting edges and angles on a hook. "Finger nail" penetration
tests are meaningless on a crankbait-style hook. Fish do not have "fingernails" and
all you want to do is cut your way in and through the skin, cartilage or gristle
over bony areas.
Will a Cutting-Edge Point Cut Its Way Out Again?
There
is little evidence of this, especially when the hook penetrates past the barb.
On crankbaits you must play fish according to the fact you can loop around a
bone with the hook gap and bend, but rarely penetrate, bone. You will be attached
to fish only by skin and cartilage areas, so play them accordingly.
Do I Need Specialty Hooks on My Crankbaits?
You will seldom need expensive and hard to find specialty hooks if you learn
to sharpen your standard straight-point, round-bend V.M.C. 9650 hooks! Most specialty
hooks offer a sharp point that will soon need sharpening after impact and their
point sharpness can easily be matched by the sharpening sequences shown here.
A case for stronger hooks or one size larger hooks exists if you must stop large
fish from making a run in timber or brush. In this case, forged gap or 3X strength-rated
hooks can help.
Teflon¨-coated hooks have quick penetration as long as they have a good point
design, but their effectiveness is reduced as soon as they need sharpening and
expense is still a factor.
How Do I Sharpen Specialty Hooks?
Just follow the blade cutting edges and point angles already on the hook and
restore them with a file. Luhr Jensen #9130.
Barkley Adventure Station thanks Luhr Jensen for this great fishing article.
Please note that viewpoints express in this article are the author's.
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