The bite was on and everyone in the boat was hooking and landing fish. I had just changed my lure to a chartreuse Smile Blade Super Slow Death Rig, the same one that I had great success with in the past. We trolled another 50 yards when my rod starting loading up with tell tale signs of a walleye at the other end. I grab the rod, slowly fed a little line back until I felt a solid bite, and I set the hook. I missed! These techniques had worked for me hundreds of times before, but maybe I was a little anxious. The hook was threaded with another worm, the back of the Smile Blade smeared with Pro Cure Trophy Walleye Super Gel, and the rig was reset on the bottom of the reservoir. Surely no walleye could resist. Five minutes passed and the rod tip started bouncing again. Patience, patience…set the hook! I missed again, what the heck is going on here?! And then it dawned on me, I hadn’t checked the hook before I started using this lure.

Walleye have sharp teeth and tough scales which requires a very sharp hook to ensure a good hook set. Additionally, these fish are mostly found on rocky lake or river bottoms that can dull hook tips with repeated use. Clearly the last time I used my favorite lure, I had dulled the hook to the point where I was missing the hook set on this trip. My suspicion was correct as quickly checked the sharpness of the Slow Death hook and found it “dull as a post!” A quick way to check the sharpness is to place the hook tip onto your fingernail and try slide the hook across your nail with slight down pressure. My hook slid across my nail easily, which meant it was definitely not sharp enough to hook and hold a walleye.

Usually I reach for my Guide Field Sharpener to quickly sharpen my hook, but on this trip, I wanted to try my new Pivot Knife Sharpener. This new sharpener is extremely lightweight and fits in the palm of your hand. The medium grit diamond plate has a groove for sharpening hooks. After about 7 or 8 passes of the hook tip through the groove and my hook was sticking to my thumbnail like it was right out of the package. I quickly reset my gear into the walleye zone and soon I was easily hooking fish.

Obviously, a sharp hook makes a big difference in ensuring a proper hookset. However, it might be easy to think you missed that fish due to impatience when in fact it was really a dull hook. I make it a habit of checking my hooks right out of the box, but in the excitement of the hot walleye bite I took a shortcut and paid for it in missed fish. Once my hook was again laser sharp, I neve missed a fish and we had an amazing day on the water!

Written by Lead Brand Ambassador, Richy Harrod