Joe:

I BELIEVE all or most hooks are chemically sharpened. I don't have much of a problem with hooks I do have to sharpen getting dull quick. Usually the only reason a hook gets dull in most fishing is due to snags and the like. That usually results in a bend or break of the tip of the hook point that you re-dress back to a point.

As far as chemically sharpened hooks being sharper than non-chemically sharpened hooks I really don't know but I find that all of the premium hooks out there are bloody sharp as heck right out of the box. On occasion I check a random hook or two while tying with the old reliable fingernail test but I can?t remember the last time I felt the need to sharpen a hook on the bench. If I found my preferred brand to be dull out of the box I?d choose another brand. It?s a step in the fly tying process I don?t feel should be necessary with today?s technology and hooks although I?m positive some would disagree.

I almost always check hook sharpness streamside and touch up my hooks accordingly especially when nymph fishing or if I lose a fish. It justifies carrying that EZ Lap Hook Hone that I always have with me. Fussing streamside gives me more time to think why the fly I?m tying on and sharpening is not the right choice for the rising fish in front of me .

All I can tell you about hooks is that I do a lot of fishing for largemouth bass with soft plastics which requires super sharp, tough hooks. ALL of the bass hooks out there made by the top manufacturers are super sharp, stay sharp, and are tough. I don?t believe the fly hooks they make would be that much different in quality.




[This message has been edited by Bamboozle (edited 06 September 2005).]