umpqua u series hooks

[flytire 0]

 

has umpqua joined in the hook business?

[gaeronf 0]

What's "alternative hook series"?

[flytire 0]

should have been just hook business. dont see where i said "series"

 

non major hook manufacturer brand

[gaeronf 0]

Oh, sorry. I must have mixed up my thoughts because I was researching it but still did not understand. I am not sure (pertaining to your orginal question) because the hook description looks like tiemco's. So, maybe it was a umpqua designed or distributed hook, although made by tiemco...All just ideas.

[Jaydub 0]

Umpqua has been the US distributer of Tiemco for a long time. That packaging looks just like the small qty Tiemco package except I don't see "Tiemco" on the label.

[NJFlyMAn 0]

Cool 50 pack..What's the going price for them?

[flytire 0]

i bought a 50 pack of umpqua u101 for $5.75 and u301 for $6.95

[John P. Newbury 0]

This hook model is not listed in my 2011 UFM dealer catalog. It appears that this is an UMPQUA brand hook and not a Tiemco hook. I wonder who is making these hooks for so many big box vendors such as Orvis, Cabellas etc,. They all have their own "house" brand of hook and this is just another one of those "house" brands that you can slap your own label on. I doubt this was made by Tiemco.

i bought a 50 pack of umpqua u101 for $5.75 and u301 for $6.95

[gaeronf 0]

How are the hooks? And how are they compared to say, Tiemco's equivalents?

 

Gaeron

[Silent_Light 0]

Got a pack today, crap quality - all 50 hooks were bent bad. Sent them back to Umpqua. Price is right, quality so far sucks. Cheap non-tempered hooks made overseas, just like Dai-Rikki. Note the "S" bend along the bend of the hook - these are not meant to be offset point either, just horrid quality.

 

 

 

 

[shoebop 0]

Now you have me thinking, (never a good thing). How do you tell the quality of a hook? I have had some hooks that are bent like the ones in the photos. I just thought that that was the style of the hook (being offset). What other things should we be looking for besides the sharpnes?

[kentuckytroutbum 0]

I have seen saltwater hooks in a Florida keys fly shop, and when I questioned the shop owner, he told me that they were made that way on purpose. He said that some

SW fly flingers like them because they seem to hook set better. I don't know if that is true or not, but I thought I would pass it on.

[Silent_Light 0]

ou ever tied on a hook this bent ? near impossible to use rotary functions as the hook is wobbling all over the place ! Also, on some hooks i couldnt even get a bead halfway up the bend.

 

Well first off, take a random selection of Tiemco, Gamakatsu, Skalka, etc. hooks, and compare them to the above pictures. 99% of hooks are straight, meaning the wire is inline with they eye all the way to the point. SOME barbless hooks do have an offset POINT, meaning just the point of the hook is kicked slightly to the side. Offset hooks are usually a lil more expensive, just as barbless hooks are ( the barb is a part of the bending process).

 

Anyhow, having a wave in the middle of the bend, and the point way off kilter is not normal - btw, about half the hooks in this particular pack were bent in all kinds of odd ways, they weren't all bent the same as they would be if this was by design.

 

To answer your question, a good hook is tempered ( hardened )so it is stronger by diameter than a non-tempered ( soft ) hook. Good hooks are actually straight Good hooks dont bend easily out of shape. Yes all hooks have some spring, but good hooks will retain their shape, bad hooks stay bent. When you put a good hook in the vise, bend it, and release it quickly, you'll hear a high pitched "dink" sound... a soft hook will either be bent or have a dull sounding boiing, or even no sound at all.

 

My beef with these new hooks doesn't undermine my faith in Umpqua products, i use a ton of them.... its just their need for better quality control and design, these seem very rushed to get to market and therefore have flaws.

[tidewaterfly 0]

There are types of hooks that have offset or reversed points. Most fly hooks are not made that way, but that doesn't mean they couldn't. It also doesn't mean that hooks not designated as a "fly" can't be used for tying. I do it all the time.

 

Quality is relative. The best small fly hooks I've ever used were made by Partridge, prior to Mustad's purchase of Partridge. They made all of their hooks by hand, and the folks who worked there cared a lot about what they did! The result was almost perfection. I never saw a single damaged hook from Partridge, at least not the pre- Mustad hooks. It's possible, but their quality control was that good.

 

For the price, the Umpqua hooks are usable, and certainly lower priced than Tiemco. I'm sure Umpqua was seeing a drop in hook sales due to other, less expensive hooks on the market, so they needed to offer a comparable hook.

 

The hooks that Silent-Light has pictured are very inconsistent, but I'm sure they still could be used to tie on. A bent pin can be used to tie a fly. For personal use, unless they bend or dull too easily, once the fly is tied, it would be difficult to tell the way those are bent, and if they catch fish, so what if they're bent. I've seen worse.

 

I'm not defending Umpqua, or the quality of those hooks, but if you really have that much concern over them, then invest in better hooks, for which you will pay a higher price.

 

How do you tell the quality of a hook? I have had some hooks that are bent like the ones in the photos. I just thought that that was the style of the hook (being offset). What other things should we be looking for besides the sharpnes?

 

To answer this, I would say they should be consistent, the shanks should be inline, if that's the way they are supposed to be, and the eye's should be well formed & completely closed. There's no way to tell by looking at a hook if the wire used is properly tempered, or sufficiently strong, but that would be another criteria. The only way to find out is to use them. They should also be sharp, provided that they're a chemically, or hand sharpened hook. I still use some older styles of hooks, particularly some of Mustad's saltwater hooks, and they're not very sharp right out of the package. I have to sharpen them. Still, they're a fine hook for my purpose. Again, quality is relative.

 

Better quality hooks will also stay sharper longer. Of course how long will depend on use & how many hard objects you drag them across, and how many fish you catch with them. They're going to dull some, nothing lasts forever.

 

Since most hooks are mass produced & made by machines, there will be some degree of damaged hooks. How much is acceptable is a matter of personal opinion I think. Myself, I know there's the chance that a few hooks in every 1000, might be damaged. I've straightened bent hooks in the past, and discarded any that could not be used. I don't let it bother me.

 

I do however agree with Silent_Light with his decision to send those hooks back. I would have probably done the same. In a 50 pack, that is way too many damaged hooks!