Maybe I'm out of stuff to worry about, but I got to thinking about something I saw regarding shark fishing.
Apparently sharks have an ability to sense magnetic stimulation.
Someone came up with the idea of wrapping black electrical take up the hook, all the way up to the barb.
I don't know if this has been scientifically verified to increase % of succesfull hook ups, but a lot of die hard shark fishermen do this.
I googled this topic and came up with something that might interest some.

H. R. Brown1, G. N. Andrianov1 and A. Mamadaliev1

(1) Pavlov Institute of Physiology, Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Nab. Makarova 6, 199164 Leningrad, (USSR)


Summary The Turkistan catfish,Glyptosternum reticulatum, has highly sensitive electroreceptors (threshold voltage gradient 1 V/cm) that detect a voltage drop across the skin. These electroreceptors were found to be sensitive to magnetic stimulation.
Key words Catfish - electroreceptors - skin - magnetic stimulation - siluriform fishes - lateral line organ

you watched river monsters last night didnt ya

No, I missed 3 hookups in the past week, and it's starting to piss me off.

thats funny if you DID'NT watch river monsters last nite are you a writer for animal planet ???? they showed the exact same thing on there last nite ??? that funny rite there i dont care who you are.....did i hear that on larry the cable guy or am i about to get rich when he wants to buy that line from me ???? HA HA HA

I can't believe I'm reading this. Most nights I am fishing. But last night I was watching the season finale of 24, which was a 2 hour show.
What was the topic of the show.
I will check to see if it's on later in the week.
What was it they said, that relates to my question?

just about everything to a 'T' guess thats why u mite b a mind reader or something.....mite b on again tonite mayb late tho...on the animal planet...its the one where he catches a giant stingray that has babies when they get it to shore....anyway u mite better run and pic you some lottery numbers or something......

We'll miss more bites than that in less than 30 minutes. Don't worry about magnetism. Just be sure your hooks are sharp and your bait is fresh. How many fish did you actually catch?

Catfish are the most sensitive of all the freshwater and have the highest memory learning ability than any other fish. But with a J-hook I miss more hook-ups than with a circle.
Tight Lines.

Are women sensitive like that as well. Because I have been to a bar on many occasions and have missed a bunch of hook ups. Maybe I need to wrap up my hook before I try to get a hook up at the bar.

I think you would want to wrap your hook in order to NOT catch anything in this particular situation.

im with Bobby on that one ...better wrap it twice...dont want anything that even ajax n sandpaper cant get off...

You need to sharpen your hooks EVERY time you throw out... I am meticulous about this because it really makes a difference... Even a brand new "razor sharp" hook is DULL compared to what I can do to it.

As far as the fish detecting the magnetism and using electrical tape to stop it.. .HOGWASH.

First of all your hook aren't or SHOULDN'T be magnetized. Secondly.. NOTHING truly blocks a magnetic field... If there was a material that could I could build a perpetual energy machine and live the high life for the rest of my days... So if you somehow find electrical tape that block a magnetic field please let me know.

I'm a little curious regarding your knowledge of magnetism. Do you have professional expertise in this area? I'm not trying to be patronizing, I'm genuinely interested.

I must admit that I'm probably not the best at hook sharpening, though I do make the effort.
I have 2 hook sharpeners. One is a file, specifically designed as a hook sharpener. It is flat on both sides.
Then I have what appears to be a very fine stone, not fine enough to be an arkansas oil stone, but close to it. It is about 4 inches long, and has 3 sides. 1 side has a groove running the length of the sharpener.
You have to be carefull with the file, it takes a lot of metal with it on 3-4 strokes.
I can file a J hook so that it will catch on your thumbnail.
They say that is pretty sharp.
A circle hook is more difficult b/c of it's shape.

There are 2 types of fishing I do, 1 is or regular size channel cats and bluecats.
The other is for large yellow cats.
For regular size cats, I use threadfin shad, I hook them through the eye, then thread the hook through the body, to that the point comes out near the tail. I put a bell on the rod tip.
Lately, I'll hear the bell ring lightly a couple of times, then nothing. When I reel it in, I'll find that whatever it was managed to bite the head off the shad, but did not touch the body. How the fish managed to do this mystifies me.
For large yellow cats, I use a relatively small circle hook, dont' remember the size #.
I spread the hook out a little, but not much. And I do sharpen the hook.
I have been using live perch, hook through back, just below the dorsal fin. On the 3 occasions mentioned at the start of the thread, the rod bent over just about double, but no hook up, just a gone perch.
Night before last, I said we'll see about this. I threaded the circle hook through the eye, through the body, end of the hook coming out near the tail., then I cut the tail off.
Did not get any takers. I could possibly attribute that to not being able to stay out late, had to be in by 11pm. So that was bait was out probably no more than an hr and a half.

I get the sense fish are somehow able to detect the presense of the hook, and are able finesse their way around it.
Shark fishermen swear by the black tape.
I'm gonna try it just to see what happens, probably tonight.
I'll post on whatever comes of it, good or bad.

I have used electrical tape to tape the weight to the cable when shark fishing or shrink wrap on leaders and hooks!

Have found part of a car bumper in a Bull Shark stomach before
I guess a little Iron deficient problem

If your obsessed with magnetized leaders, hooks from packaged hooks or from hook sharpening ? Buy a demagnetizer! $30 and up

Gamagatzu hooks if you want out of the package razor sharp! For other hooks use a four way board to sharpen to a razor point you can buy them at Sally�s $2 have not found a better hook sharpner for the price or ask your wife to get a used one from her nail tech free��..