Michael Ike Iaconelli : Fishing Forum Posts

Great question! The good news is you don't need a ton of baitcasters for different applications. You can pretty much get by with 2 or 3 set ups. But for one ALL PURPOSE combo go with a 7'2 to 7'4" MH Casting Rod with a medium to fast retrieve speed low profile casting reel. Something in the 7.1-8.1 speed will work GREAT! Thanks!

Hi Phil,
GREAT question. Sharp hooks are SO important to keeping fish hooked and landing them! There are times a hook point is SO burred or bent over that it cant be sharpened properly. For these hooks you just have to tie another one on. But for hooks that are fixable, I use a stand hook file and hone the hook with short UPWARD strokes. I usually go up two or three times at 3 or 4 different angles working my way around the hook point. I continue to do this until the hook is sharp.
Hope this helps!

Ike