The question, “Will fish bite rusty hooks” is one I’ve been asking myself a bit lately. As you might have guessed, the reason I’m asking this question is because I’ve had quite a few fishing hooks rust this year! I guess I didn’t dry my gear off well enough and now I’m paying the price. So, the first question is if a fish will bite a rusty hook. If not, the next question becomes if I should try and clean my rusty fishing hooks or simply throw them away.
Will Fish Bite a Rusty Hook?
I see absolutely no reason why a fish wouldn’t bite a rusty hook. The mere fact that they’re biting any hook is enough to convince me of this. Fish are clearly not as bright as we sometimes pretend they are. Further, many different tactics out there (such as power fishing) rely on fish making a “reaction strike.” This means the fish is simply smacking the lure without really putting much thought into it.
If you’re fishing any kind of lure that is moving fast, chances are fish will have no time to notice the hook is rusty. They’ll simply bite the rusty hook just like any other. On the other hand, if you’re fishing something particularly slow, I suppose the fish will have a chance to size things up. Are they particularly likely to care? I doubt it, but I suppose you never know.
What Are Some Problems If a Fish Bites a Rusty Hook?
There are some legitimate concerns about fish biting rusty hooks. First and foremost, has the hook’s strength been compromised? Rusty metal is often less strong than when it is pristine. Indeed, if the rust has gotten very deep, the hook could be considerably weaker. Many fish hooks (especially the smaller ones on crankbaits and drop shots) aren’t that strong to begin with. Anything that compromises the strength even further risks the loss of the fish.
A second issue to consider is whether that rust has dulled the hook’s point. On any given day, not that many fish are going to bite your hook. When one does, do you want to have the best chance of hooking them, or not? Considering all the time and energy serious anglers put into sharpening their hooks for the perfect hookset, it makes very little sense to cast out gear you don’t have confidence in.
Are Rusty Hooks Dangerous?
I’ll bet right now you’re thinking about tetanus, aren’t you? I certainly was when I was mapping out this article and researching it. Low and behold, I guess that rust itself doesn’t actually give you tetanus. Nonetheless, the bacteria that does cause tetanus could be on your dirty, rusty hooks, and they, like nails, are the perfect delivery system to inject that bacteria deep into your body with an errant cast.
How Do You Get Rust Off a Hook?
If you’re going to attempt to clean rusty fishing hooks you’ll need to use some sort of abrasive. A small rotary tool like a Dremel would work quite well, or you could just use some medium grit sandpaper and small block of wood. You’ll need to scrape and brush away the rust until your hooks are shiny.
If this isn’t working, you can use an acidic of some sort. Apple cider vinegar or lemon juice can help you loosen up the rust. The common feature is the acidic. I’ve also seen some folks recommend simply placing hooks in vinegar overnight and then wiping them off (source). I think I’d probably shy away from commercial rust removers meant for home improvement projects. I don’t know that fish would like their scent.
Is It Worth Cleaning Rusty Hooks?
In all honesty, unless you catch the rusting process so early that it wipes off easily with some of the methods described, you should probably just throw the hooks out and start over. The amount of time it would take to clean something that may already be compromised simply isn’t worth it. Chalk it up as a cost of going fishing and buy some new, sharp hooks.
When you think about all the time we spend trying to keep our fishing equipment in tip-top shape, the idea of using a structurally-weakened fishing hook is a bit ridiculous, frankly.
How Can You Keep Fishing Hooks From Rusting in the First Place?
Well, the best way not to have your hooks start rusting is to not let them get wet, but that’s not very practical for fishing gear. However, rust forms after metal has been exposed to water or moisture for an extended period. Let me tell you – the typical tackle box is an outstanding place for this to happen.
To help prevent rust, do the best you can to dry your gear off before you put it in the tackle box. The best option would be to leave it out a bit so it can dry before you plop it in. If this isn’t an option, at least leave the lid open so the lure can breath and hopefully dry out a bit while you continue to fish.
There are also some products that are designed to minimize rust. For example, Plano’s Rustrictor Stowaway tackle boxes are designed to help prevent rust from forming. You can read all about how they work on Plano’s website. There are other products that also can help. For example, some Flambeau tackle boxes come with “Zerust dividers” that are meant to help prevent rust from forming too. Here’s a description from Zerust’s website describing their anti-corrosion process.
Are Any Fishing Hooks Rust Proof?
I don’t know that I’d go so far as to claim that any fishing hook is truly “rust proof,” but there are certainly some brands that have taken steps to make their products more “corrosion resistant.” For example, many Mustad hooks are made from stainless steel, which is much more rust-resistant than many other metals. Likewise, some VMC coastal hooks are designed to be corrosion-resistant as well.
Preventing Hooks From Rusting From Salt Water
Salt water especially is going to cause your hooks to rust quickly. While I don’t do a ton of saltwater fishing, when I was researching my article about WD-40 it became clear that many people use this product to keep their gear in good shape.
Here’s a useful YouTube video that gives some advice. In short, the author suggests rinsing your lures in freshwater as quickly as you can, and then drying them. Further, you need to keep moisture from forming.
How to Safely Throw Away Rusted Fishing Hooks
It’s not fun to get jabbed by any fishing hook, much less a rusted one. Be considerate of everyone who might encounter your garbage and do what you can to avoid injuring them. Good advice would be to keep your rusty old fish hooks in one place until you have a few of them, and them popping them in a coffee can before tossing them. You might be able to put them in an aluminum can and throw it into recycling, but I’d check with your local waste management centers to ensure this won’t cause trouble.
If you want to throw out fish hooks without using some sort of container, you still have a duty to ensure they’re safe. The best way to do this is by cutting them up a bit with some wire cutters so they aren’t likely to jab someone. This is especially important for treble hooks that can easily injure onlookers as they “stand up” rather than lying flat as a single hook will. If you’re going through the trouble of cutting them up, you might as well snip off the barb as well. Just make sure you wear safety glasses while doing this as the last thing you need is a rusty little hook point flying into your eye.
Conclusions
Try as we might, we will all, at one point or another, have some fishing tackle that rusts out on us. As far as I can tell, a fish probably won’t be afraid to bite a rusty hook, but if the hook is too far gone, it might snap instantly. If you catch the rusting quick enough (and don’t have tournament money on the line) you can always see if you can clean them up. Personally, I wouldn’t bother. I’d toss the rusty hooks out and go buy some fresh ones. You should be changing out your hooks every so often, anyway, and having a few rust out might just be the excuse you need to do this.
Have a great day for fishing,
John Paxton
