that the size and "beefiness" of a hook is not a guarantee of a successful Muskie boating. The attribute of a hook that is most conducive to fishing success is its sharpness. A hook that is sharp has a better chance at penetrating the bone of a Muskie’s jaw during the hooks set. There isn’t a hook made that is sharp enough for the Muskie angler without some sharpening activity on the part of the angler. If you take a close look at a virgin hook, you will notice that, although it is "sharp", it is not honed down to a fine "pin sharp" point. That "pin sharp" point is the goal of any hook sharpening activity. The sharpening of one of the hooks used by today’s Muskie angler is typically accomplished using a file. The battery operated sharpeners don’t usually give the Muskie angler the sharpness that he needs for a good hook set. There are plenty of files on the market and I have, for the purpose of this article, chosen two types. The single sided flat file is a standard in bait shops all over America. They are effective and inexpensive and should be in every Muskie angler's tackle box. The double file uses two rounded files set side by side and secured with a high impact plactic hand grip. The file will quickly hone a hook to a reasonably sharp point.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy ODA4MA==