I just received an order of 500 red #6 treble hooks from China thru eBay. I like a good deal. I paid 25 bucks including shipping . I always run my hook sharpener on my hooks and plan to continue this. I fish with a few folks and I seem to snag a few fish each trip and reel in fish hooked other places than the mouth. None of my other catfish friends sharpen their hooks. What is your opinion on sharpening the hooks. I personally believe sharpening puts more fish in the boat with my Stubbys cheese.

Let me know how th e y work out.

I sharpen ever single hook that I use including brand new ones.

Most hooks are made in China, just as rods, reels, and line.

hahah so true... nowadays, this is the business model. produce cheap stuffs, and sell it cheap. when it breaks, buy same cheap stuff but newer model with same cheap price.
And repeat again.

Believe it or not, most of business throughout the world follow the same business model. It's ice age story when quality and service used to set the tone for business reputation.

big company does it also.. my wife's samsung and lg phone broke in two years... but people don't mind because they gonna want the new model for affordable price anyway and business knows that.

that's how they play with warranty. there's reason why warranty expires certain time and no coinsdance your stuff breaks in the following year...

I get a lot of stuff imported from china through my sister in law I have personly beed to the complext / city they call for making most the fishing stuff sent here to the states you guys are correct 90% of all the stuff you buy is made in the same factory using same parts they might change the casting a little but is the same reel same gears and bearings you can buy the chines ryobe or you can by a pen reel. same with cats nets eagle claw south bend supper spreader are all made in the same shop using the same machines and material I bout about 1000 treble hook and some reals while i was there a few years ago there reel held up till a kid through it on the deck of the boat and pushed the bait smooth long casting reel i love it. the thing you need to do the the hooks is to see how brittle they are. you can do this with a pair of pliers good looks will bed a little some of the chinees stuff with just break they tend to be brittel when i go back next supple i am going to have my sister in law get me some cast nets and inflatable life jackets with some reels. there not bad for channel but i would not try them on anything bigger then say 10b with your drag set a tad loose.

I sharpen mine too, I also bend the barb down on my treble hooks. Makes for easy quick removal. Especially when I got kids in the boat.

I sharpen all my hooks, at least a few passes over the little stone I use.

This goes for when I am bass fishing or when I am out there trying to learn about catfishing.

Dumb question, but how do y'all sharpen your hooks? I haven't been able to master the art of sharpening circle hooks. I managed to lose my sharpener so I need a new one. Any suggestions?

I use Gamakatsu octopus and circle hooks, made in China of course. Those hooks are chemically "sharpen", stay sharp no need to sharpen. I used the same hooks for weeks sometimes months, I fish once or twice a week.

I'm not so sure about that. Those very fine points can dull. Why wouldn't they? I started having hookup problems with a Gama that had seen about 20 fish about a week ago. I changed the hook and things improved. Could have been any number of factors, but I think a fresh hook helped.

Put on a new hook.

Rocks most likely, the point often got bent because it is small and sharp, and you have to pull very hard against rock for that to happen. I always run my fingers along the sides of tip, if not smooth I'll replace the hook.

I have a small hook sharpener that I lightly run from the tip of the hook back towards the barb several times on all the sides. Hold the hook at a 45* angle to your finger nail and drag it across. A factory hook will usually slide across you nail. A sharpened hook will dig right into your finger nail.

I buy Gamakatsu and never have to sharpen them. I loose them before they get dull.