help with small popper hooks

[Gravytrain 0]

i want to tie some small poppers, ( 8 and smaller ). i will be making them out of tupelo. i have used gamakatsu B10 stinger for some of my bigger bugs.

my main problem is i don't have a local shop to turn to, the only thing close to a fly shop is a bass pro about 1 1/2 hours away, so most of my stuff comes off line.

i could blindly just order some but it would be trial and error, so what do ya'll like to use ?

 

thanks for the help

craig

[hopperfisher 0]

dry fly hooks from Green Caddis outfitters, they're cheap and good strong hooks

[mridenour 0]

I would order them elsewhere until Will gets his affairs in order. There are a lot of people that have been waiting for orders for a long time. J. Stockard sells some good hooks of similar quality and price.

[djmyers 0]

The hooks I have been using for smaller poppers are the Mustad 3366. #4 I use for the small rainy's foam bass popper head. The small poppers are 16mm x 12mm

[Stippled Popper 0]

For #8 and #10 poppers, a Mustad CK52S(Kink Shank) would be a good choice.

 

For smaller poppers, a Mustad 33903(Kink Shank) would be another choice.

Just be sure you seat the hook as close to the popper bottom as will be completely

embedded in the body.(The gap is slightly smaller than the CK52S.)

 

The hook eyes on Dry Fly hooks smaller than #10 can be pretty small. When I use

dry fly hooks in the smaller sizes I opt for the Orvis straight eye Big Eye hooks.

[phg 0]

Allen Fly Fishing used to be a sponsor too. They don't have any small popper hooks, but they do offer their B200 Bass Bug hook in sizes down to 14. $3.89 for 25 hooks, and free shipping.

[ditz2 0]

I don't remember the number but Mustad use to sell some nice long hump shank hook that had fairly light wire. These were great for small poppers. I always made a 1/4" dia popper. I used cork cylinders from E. Hillie but I don't think they are any longer available. I recently have been using a paper hole punch to punch holes in 2mm craft foam and using CV glue to glue the small disks together to form short cylinders. Then I cut a slot in the cylinder and use CV glue to attach to the hook. Strait shank hooks will work if you prewrap the shank with thread but I still much prefer the kink shank hooks in 8, 10, and 12. I have used down to a 14 with some real small cylinders but they don't float very well and are difficult to see. The size 10 is just about perfect for the 1/4" poppers. 12's work fine as well. I use the size 8 for a 3/8 dia popper. I am still using hooks I bought 40 years ago but I am getting low and will have to go on a hook hunt myself. A couple of years ago I bought some real long Aberdeen hooks at walmart . They are very thin wire and I have made a couple of kink shank hooks out of them but I don't recommend the process.

[fshrmanms 0]

I use either the mustad 33903 (kink shank) or 3366 for my tupelo poppers normally however I recently tried some of the Eagle claw gold Aberdeen hooks like you find in the walmart in some small pencil poppers made from tupelo and they worked well at about $4 for 50 hooks.

[Kirk Dietrich 0]

fshrmanms, the Mustad hooks you and Stippled mentioned are pretty cheap on-line and I'm pretty sure Jann's Netcraft sells them as well as Barlow's tackle. Yeah, $4 for 50 hooks is cheap but I don't think the Mustad's are much more expensive. Anyway, who cares about getting a cheap hook? The Tupelo was probably free and you're spending a good amount of your precious time making some nice poppers, I'd go ahead and put some expensive hooks on those bodies, the hell with cheap when time is worth more than any hook you'll ever buy.

[tidewaterfly 0]

I agree with Kirk, hooks are relatively cheap compared to the time invested. Even if you pay 50 cents per hook, the total cost of the popper is still less than what you would pay if you purchased the finished poppers, except for your time. I make some large poppers on straight shank worm hooks,(Mustad, Gamakatsu, Owners, etc.) and have paid as much as 75 cents per hook for some of them. (Owners, 5 hooks per pack for $3.75) I don't pay that kind of price often, but for a high quality hook I know I can rely on, it's worth paying a little extra sometimes.

 

However, one less expensive option for small size poppers is an Aberdeen style hook. They're readily available in many sizes & shank lengths, and bronze, gold or in some brands black or black nickel finishes.

 

I very much like the Mustad Signature popper hooks that Stippled Popper suggested. They're an excellent popper hook, very sharp & strong, and not overly expensive.

 

The Mustad 33903 or 33900 if you can find them (shorter shank, similar to a 3366, except has the humped shank) are good hooks too, but not as strong or sharp as the Signature hooks.

[fshrmanms 0]

fshrmanms, the Mustad hooks you and Stippled mentioned are pretty cheap on-line and I'm pretty sure Jann's Netcraft sells them as well as Barlow's tackle. Yeah, $4 for 50 hooks is cheap but I don't think the Mustad's are much more expensive. Anyway, who cares about getting a cheap hook? The Tupelo was probably free and you're spending a good amount of your precious time making some nice poppers, I'd go ahead and put some expensive hooks on those bodies, the hell with cheap when time is worth more than any hook you'll ever buy.

Kirk , ever hear the old saying: sometimes "better" is the enemy of good enough?? the request is for a small hook I used the eagle claw hooks because of the size the price is an added benefit! needed something a little longer than the 3366 and didn't have any #10, 33903s' on hand.

By the way the pencil poppers worked perfectly and really slayed the bream! I will definitely use that hook again. So sad both of the prototype pencil poppers were broken off. but I will put the pencil sharpener back to work soon.

[Kirk Dietrich 0]

fshrmanms, the Mustad hooks you and Stippled mentioned are pretty cheap on-line and I'm pretty sure Jann's Netcraft sells them as well as Barlow's tackle. Yeah, $4 for 50 hooks is cheap but I don't think the Mustad's are much more expensive. Anyway, who cares about getting a cheap hook? The Tupelo was probably free and you're spending a good amount of your precious time making some nice poppers, I'd go ahead and put some expensive hooks on those bodies, the hell with cheap when time is worth more than any hook you'll ever buy.

Kirk , ever hear the old saying: sometimes "better" is the enemy of good enough?? the request is for a small hook I used the eagle claw hooks because of the size the price is an added benefit! needed something a little longer than the 3366 and didn't have any #10, 33903s' on hand.

By the way the pencil poppers worked perfectly and really slayed the bream! I will definitely use that hook again. So sad both of the prototype pencil poppers were broken off. but I will put the pencil sharpener back to work soon.

Gotcha. I know what you mean about shank lenghts for certain bugs. I like the little extra length the 33903 gives. You might want to look at some of the straight eye streamer hooks. I think Mustad sells some 6x long straight eye streamer hooks. I've also used the down eye 7x streamer hooks they sell for some of my Rabid Dogs, which are basically pencil sliders even though they dive and dart around.

 

Kirk

[Gravytrain 0]

thanks guys

i knew all i had to do was ask

going to place an order monday

 

craig

[essequamvideri 0]

Good morning Craig,

 

Reading this thread. I use Mustad #3366 for most of my crease flies. J. Stockard still has them in stock, however they only go down to a size #4. They are only $5.25 per 100 pack. That said, they also have the kink shank #33903 from a 2-8 size. They are only 8.95 per 100 pack. I'm not sure if the #3366 in a size 4 has a shorter shank than the size 8 kink shank #33903.

 

Michael

[Bryon Anderson 0]

Reading this thread. I use Mustad #3366 for most of my crease flies. J. Stockard still has them in stock, however they only go down to a size #4. They are only $5.25 per 100 pack. That said, they also have the kink shank #33903 from a 2-8 size. They are only 8.95 per 100 pack. I'm not sure if the #3366 in a size 4 has a shorter shank than the size 8 kink shank #33903.

 

Michael

I'm glad I read all the way to the bottom of this thread--I've been buying Mustad 3366 hooks from FeatherCraft at $4.95 per 50 and thinking that was a good price. Come to find out J. Stockard has them for the same price, but for a 100-pack. That's a no-brainer. Thanks for the tip essequamvideri.