| -- End Ad Box ---> | | | | type hooks convert many more bites into landed |
| How often do we hook big fish and never ever | | | | fish when very finely and skilfully sharpened. The |
| realise it? This happens all the time and is | | | | greatest test is when using barbless hooks which |
| especially a problem where big wary fish are | | | | so many fisheries demand these days; lost fish |
| concerned and is a problem every angler needs to | | | | due to a non-maximised hooks are completely |
| become aware of and focus on solving. | | | | unnecessary. In the odd extremely rare |
| Yesterday I visited a small water with a large | | | | occurrence that I have lost a big fish due to a |
| stock of small fish and only a few big carp; within | | | | hook point breaking or bending over I know the |
| hours I hooked and landed one of the biggest; an | | | | chances are I would never had achieved a take |
| upper-thirty pound mirror carp. But how did I do | | | | from the fish in the first place had the hook not |
| it? Read on to find out! | | | | been so skilfully honed! |
| In so many big carp waters today you have fish | | | | Very much comes down to the thickness of the |
| cleaning up on free baits and avoiding the vast | | | | hook wire used in the region of the first 4 to 5 |
| majority of hook baits, very frequently by | | | | millimetres from the end of the point. The next |
| actually ridding themselves of your hook without | | | | incredibly important point is the thickness of the |
| running or often without giving you even a single | | | | point. When I sharpen my hooks I hone them |
| bleep on your alarm. In fact if we truly | | | | using a diamond hook sharpener and aim to get |
| appreciated how frequently this happens we | | | | the first 4 5 millimetres thinner than needles and |
| would be more than alarmed — very | | | | thickening out more only as the bend is |
| shocked is more like it! Just because you hook | | | | approached. |
| fish and you see lots of big carp caught in the | | | | Such hooks are supreme in performance to such |
| angling weeklies and monthlies does not mean you | | | | a degree that without such hooks I know I will be |
| cannot improve drastically upon your own catch | | | | missing out on at least 2 thirds of fish picking up |
| results compared to your fellow anglers and some | | | | baits (as they can simply mouth baits and slip the |
| edges will treble or quadruple your catches if only | | | | hook with ease and this is no exaggeration |
| you truly appreciated their true power! | | | | because I have measured this over 10 years of |
| Over the years I’ve tried all kinds of ways | | | | testing ultra sharp hooks beside chemically |
| of converting more bleeps on the alarm to landed | | | | sharpened hooks straight from the packet!) |
| carp and it really does come down to refining | | | | At the start of my many years of testing I did |
| every aspect of your fishing in many ways so | | | | not use ordinary Cyprinus Carpio carp to test |
| you are able to maximise every opportunity at a | | | | hooks - but crucian carp. These are very well |
| take you can create. I can categorically state that | | | | known to be even more notorious for playing |
| non of the hooks I have used straight from the | | | | with baits and for being especially good at not |
| packet have converted as many carp bait bites | | | | getting hooked; even hitting fish mouthing baits |
| into fish for me as my own extreme-sharpened | | | | when float fishing is a highly developed skill |
| hooks. Of course you might think this sounds like | | | | requiring endless hours of practice! |
| I have not used the sharpest chemically | | | | My testing originally involved ground baiting a |
| sharpened hooks in all their patterns, but in my | | | | shallow slope in the waters edge with bread paste. |
| case I have used probably all the leading brands | | | | A series of 4 feet long lengths of line were tied |
| and patterns over the years and deliberately | | | | down to bank sticks out of the water and small |
| tested them. | | | | hooks of various patterns were attached and |
| (Please note I have not tested the new circle | | | | baited with bread paste and soft pellets. The |
| style carp hooks recently introduced by a British | | | | crucian carp would come along feed on the |
| carp tackle company; the reports of bite | | | | ground bait and take the baited hooks and guess |
| conversions on these sound fantastic.) | | | | what? They could get off 9 out of 10 hooks of |
| For a number of decades I lived in Essex time | | | | different patterns tried - every time! Any hooked |
| and often combined sea fishing from the beach | | | | fish were immediately returned as I was |
| alongside my carp fishing and catfish fishing | | | | observing and making notes of all that was |
| activities. Fresh eels from the sea are very good | | | | happening. |
| eating and a great saving on supermarket bills! (I | | | | The results were so surprising and the implications |
| happen to have a great taste for eels especially | | | | were so shocking that it lead me to a big re-think |
| when fried; they are like chicken to me, but I | | | | about hooks completely. I discovered that just |
| detest jelled eels!) Between 20 and 30 years ago | | | | because a hook has what appears to have a |
| I used to catch a number of eels from the shore | | | | sharp point it most certainly does not mean a |
| during the warmer months often while carp fishing | | | | carp cannot slip off the hook very easily and |
| ponds and lakes near the sea side. Often eels | | | | often so fast it is as if they were not actually |
| really seemed to be a pest — that is until I | | | | initially hooked and often the sharper the hook the |
| tried frying and barbequing them! | | | | more easily it came off because the hook pattern |
| Since then I have determined to eat every legal | | | | simply did not do anything but allow this to happen |
| size fish within the limit (and within acceptable | | | | — which rather defeats the point of it! |
| reason) that I catch from the sea, and this has | | | | Bent hooks have obviously one solution but |
| included bass, sole, dabs, eels, mullet, codling, | | | | various hook patterns used like this are well |
| whiting, (and even a lobster) among others. I | | | | known to have caused carp damage and as such |
| have also been lucky enough to sample fresh sea | | | | are unethical and banned on pretty much all UK |
| trout and also wild brown trout and rainbow trout | | | | carp waters. The more flexible fish-friendly |
| that I caught from Scottish rivers during a period | | | | approach came in the form of line-aligner rigs, but |
| I lived in Scotland. (I even hook a twenty-plus | | | | these certainly do not do not work as great as |
| pound salmon in a spate river (the river Girvan.) | | | | anglers think and just because a hook turns due |
| The idea for purposely testing hooks abilities to | | | | to the angle created it certainly does do mean |
| avoid hook shedding and converting bites into | | | | the hook holds achieved are ideal even where a |
| landed fish came from an unusual experiment in | | | | rig designed to penetrate the flesh of the bottom |
| itself. So I gradually increased the number of | | | | or scissors is used! |
| hooks on more paternoster booms of various | | | | Even today thousands of carp are still lost on |
| lengths in theory to improve the number of fish | | | | line-aligner rigs and anglers still keep suffering the |
| hooked on a single cast when left out for longer. | | | | either lack of bite indication due to fish instantly |
| Please note that in more recent years eel | | | | slipping the hook or get single and double bleeps |
| numbers in our rivers have been very significantly | | | | on alarms where carp still shed the hooks anyway |
| declining and these days conservation is vitally | | | | due to years of practice 24 hours a day in |
| important; the illegal poaching of elvers has been a | | | | avoiding hooks! No-one I know claims a 99 |
| big reason for this as well as over-exploitative | | | | percent conversion rate even with special (ethical) |
| commercial fishing and barriers to spawning | | | | stiff rigs and stiff Withy Pool type rigs and so on.) |
| stretches of rivers and pollution of the sea and | | | | Even so-called high profile anglers are still assuming |
| rivers. | | | | chemically-sharpened hooks straight from the |
| I the tests what happened was the eels simply | | | | packet perform well enough compared to hooks |
| shed the hooks. I recall waiting while a series of | | | | skilfully honed to perfection by diamond sharpener |
| bites indicated another eel taking the worm baits | | | | in both in advance and before every single cast! |
| on a 10 hook rig casts. Guess what happened? | | | | I hope this all makes you think! If you doubt the |
| Just 1 or 2 eels were landed upon reeling in. The | | | | veracity of my testing why not get highly skilled |
| hooks of the rest of the rigs had all been twisted | | | | with a diamond hook sharpener and do your own |
| and the hooks had been shed leaving a bare hook | | | | very strict tests fishing unsharpened hooks |
| and no fish! Now you might say this was no big | | | | against the very thinnest finest of hand-sharpened |
| deal as eels are slippery customers and can ties | | | | hook points (sharpened at least for 5 millimetres) |
| themselves up in knots to get off the hook | | | | and the difference in your big fish results will |
| literally tying themselves up in knots in the line and | | | | become very well proven to you too! |
| pulling themselves off. | | | | You can design the best carp bait in the world but |
| But I noticed some hook were massively more | | | | if the carp can get off your hook is all wasted, |
| consistent at preventing eels getting off the hook | | | | but an incredibly sharp hook in the correct pattern |
| and there were the sharpest hooks of the | | | | combined with a truly great unique bait is proven |
| sharpest patterns that I had specially sharpened. | | | | to catch more big fish. This is the explanation to |
| Over all the faster and deeper a hook penetrates | | | | why when I visited that small fish water |
| the harder it is to shake free. I found that the | | | | yesterday I was able to hook that that rare |
| hooks with the longer thinner points were the | | | | upper thirty within hours. For more information on |
| most successful. (This I have applied with | | | | the sharpest big fish edges that can double or |
| indisputably better measurable results in carp | | | | treble your catches, why not take a look at my |
| fishing.) But there are very few hooks suitable | | | | uniquely researched and big fish catches-proven |
| with ideal characteristics and even these need | | | | bait secrets bibles on line at my Baitbigfish site |
| specially sharpening!) | | | | right now; see my biography or Google for much |
| For example even the short and long shank Nailer | | | | more! |