Rock On!

I have found that adding a bucktail or saddle hackle to the trailing hook on my plugs and jigs greatly increases my hookup ratio for striped bass and bluefish. However, I frequently fish around rocky shorelines, which tends to dull hooks. Constant sharpening can quickly reduce a sharp point to a stump.
 
For a while, I wasted time wrapping new hooks with hair and feathers only to have them dull after a few uses. So I changed strategy: I cut off half the shank of an old or discarded hook, using a Dremel or similar tool. I wrap the remaining hook eye and shank as a trailer. I attach the trailer to the rear split ring of the lure next to the actual hook. When the bare hook dulls, I can replace it and leave the feathered trailer.
 
Craig Rogers
Wynnewood, Pennsylvania