That's My Story

POINTY THINGS – Published Nov. 05 – Western Outdoor News

I’m wrapping up after a long season and doing something every one of us just loves doing right now. Maybe it’s on a larger scale than you do at the end of your season, but it’s a chore nevertheless. I have to inventory all the gear… Figure out what went where and what got busted and who didn’t tell me about it.Who never brought back something that got borrowed. Find out what happened to the loaners and how did so many darned rod guides get busted off without anyone saying anything and for Pete’s sake…how did we go through so much line?

And then, I open up the tackle boxes, bags, clear plastic utility containers and just shake my head at the colossal mess. Man, where did the rust come from? How did all the bait rigs get so tangled no matter how carefully we wrapped them? And those treble hooks…it’s a Murphy’s law. If you have Rapalas or throwing iron, one treble hook will find another treble hook and mate with other treble hooks in the most-gawd-awful-SNAFU you can imagine. Am I right?

And then there’s all the “loose” hooks. Remember that at the beginning of the season you meticulously labeled and compartmentalized each and every one of those bronze, nickel, ringed, circle and long shanks into neat little containers/sections? You know what I’m talking about! They are now a total cluster. . Also, being the good little hook-hoarder that you are, you put all your used hooks into a neat little compartmens too…even if they were only used once. Only problem is that some of them were wet when you put them back and now that moisture rusted all your pretty designer label hooks too. You curse the fish Gods, but you know it also gives you a legitimate excuse to go visit your favorite tackle store ASAP.

Well, in my case, multiply it tenfold. Living in a place where sand and dust are a way of life…where salt permeates the air…where the gear gets used and abused, my hooks used to frustrate me as well. However, a few seasons ago, it dawned on me how much I was spending on hooks and realized that most Mexican captains I know don’t have any qualms about using old hooks as long as they are sharp. Heck…the guys have to make a living using these hooks and it’s not like there’s a handy Walmart nearby to get another bubble pack of 3/0 circles! They LOVE the hooks clients often leave for them. I’m not proud. If it saves me 5 bucks on a new pack of hooks, I’m all over it. If it’s good enough for a Mexican captain who relies on these hooks to put food on the table, then it’s good enough for me.

So, at the end of every season, I gather up all the stray hooks I can find. I search every little nook, cranny and corner of every single tray and utlity box. I love all those Gamakatsu, Owner, Eagle Claws, Sumos and other designer hooks that the guys think are no good once they have been used. They leave them all over the boat as if they are no more useful than all the empty Pacifico bottles and cans we also collect up at the end of the fishing day. They’ve outlived their usefulness! It makes quite a pile. I don’t care if they are rusty or not. I get some corrosion solution like Corrosion X or Salt X and dilute it some in a glass jar and dump all the hooks into it. And I let it sit. And sit. And it’s amazing how much junk just comes right off. Depending no how much gunk is on the hooks, it may take several days. The solution takes off the finishes and turns the hooks black. However, some of the best manufacturers sell their hooks “blackened” so this is totally muy bueno… no problema! After all the corrosion comes off, I let the hooks air dry then I give them a nice run in a handheld hook sharpener.

Afterwards, I’ll put them into as close a grouping as I can. Sometimes, I put them in those handy film canisters or even into little zip-lock style snack bags. Some kernels of rice are added to absorb any moisture (just like adding rice to a salt shaker to keep the salt from clotting) and I’m good to go. Bring on that dorado school or I”ll take on all those pesky bonito that are boiling because I’m not burning through packs of expensive hooks. When the bite’s wild, I’m not interrupting anyone’s fishing time by trying to dig out every hook from every fish in the box or getting paranoid because clients just ripped through (cha-ching!) 20 hooks in a single day. I just wish I didn’t wait until the end of the season to scrounge them all up. And, I’ll still find any excuse to go visit the nearest tackle store as soon as I’m north of the border!

That’s my story…
Jonathan