It may sound like the most obvious thing in the world, but if you’re hooks are blunt you’re not going to catch many carp. Which begs the question why so many do fish with blunt hooks week in week out!?
Hooks can be blunted in any number of ways. Sometimes, they may come out of the pack with imperfections, sometimes they’ll be blunted on unseen or unfelt items on the lake bed, and sometimes it may actually be the capture of a fish that blunts the point.
The question is, what do you do about it? Well, many anglers do very little – they assume every hook out of the pack is as sharp as can be, and when fishing they rarely (if ever) check the sharpness of their hooks as the session unfolds.
When tying up rigs, I always check how sharp the hook is out of the pack. You’d be surprised how often you get one that’s not just as sticky sharp as the rest, and if you tied that up and used it as is, there’s a real possibility it could make the difference between a fish lost and a fish banked.
Likewise, I always check the sharpness of my hooks every time I pull them in. Again, you’d be amazed at how often the point has been dulled or even blunted completely, and often you’ll have absolutely no idea why and you’ve not knowingly come into contact with anything.
There are various devices out there for sharpening hooks, from everyday files to specialist hook sharpening tools, but you have to be careful as, in many cases, you could end up doing more harm than good and end up turning the point over, so practice is key in the short term.
For me, ease of use is a critical factor and I much prefer something you can keep in amongst your tackle and reach for without really thinking about it. A very handy little implement in this regard is the new Point Doctor. It’s like a firm eraser, but made with abrasive material. It measures just 5cm x 2cm x 1cm, so it’s about the same size as a pencil eraser too.
It’s a piece of cake to use, you just hold your hook by the shank, and then just rub the Point Doctor in swift movements from the base up to the point of your hook. Being nice and bendy it’s virtually impossible to overdo it and turn the point, so with just a few rubs on each side of your hook you’re left with a sticky sharp hook ready for use.
It literally takes twenty seconds and can be done just as easily on the bank as in the home, so to be honest, it’s a complete no brainer. Mine will go with me everywhere, and I find myself using it more and more – confidence assured.
RRP is £4.99, though we found it on eBay for £4.95 with free postage. CLICK HERE.
Julian Grattidge
March 2013
