Dry fly hooks vs wet fly hooks

[bryan_w 0]

I am new to fly tying and have a newbie question. My fly tying kit I purchased came with wet fly hooks, dry fly hooks and streamer hooks. I cannot tell any difference in the wet and dry fly hooks. When you are tying wet fly's do you always use wet fly hooks and is there a difference between the two? Thanks for your help.

[flytire 0]

a dry fly hook will have a smaller diameter wire than a wet fly hook and would not sink as fast as a wet fly hook.

 

i have no problem tying a wet fly on a dry fly hook

 

streamer hooks are usually longer to accommodate the length of a baitfish

 

http://suite101.com/article/fly-tying-hooks-explained-terminology-and-x-designations-a354261

 

http://www.eugenecarsey.com/flytyinginstruction/hooks/hooks.htm

[Jaydub 0]

Yup, wire size is the main difference. There may be a slight difference in the shape of the bend as well. On any beadhead or weighted fly, the difference in the weight of the hook would be pretty negligible. The heavier wire may be desirable for strength for some species like Steelhead or Salmon.

[phg 0]

In smaller sizes (size 12 and smaller) wetfly or dryfly makes little real difference.

 

Streamer hooks have long shanks, usually 4x or 6x long.

[Henrik Thomsen (DK) 0]

Shouldn't be to focused on the hook type, more the hook properties.

I use XL hooks for some spinner imitations, and small round scudback hooks for some dries with extended bodies.

 

The main is to look for a thin diameter hook for dries and sometimes a more heavy for some of the wets...

If you use a too heavy hook for dries, the hackle, tail, foam body etc. might not be able to keep it floating.

If you use a too heavy for wets, they might snagg in the weeds at the bottom.

If you use to light for wets, they might float etc.

 

However most of the floating - sinking thing can be controlled by the tying.

 

Also, a too heavy wire diameter might make it harder do hook smaller fish etc.

 

/Henrik

[Crackaig 0]

Well said Henrik,

Hook manufacturers PAY ATTENTION. We do not need you to tell us what to tie on a hook. Simply describe the hook in proper terms, Gap, shape of point, length of shank, shape of bend, shape of shank, size (gauge) of wire etc. We will choose the hook for what we are tying based on that. Putting terms like "Dry Fly" "Nymph" "Streamer" etc. on the packet only causes confusion.

 

Cheers,

C.

[m_grieb 0]

Well said.

[SilverCreek 0]

I disagree. That works for an experienced fly tyer but not for beginners. Terms like 2XL, 1XS, 2XH, 2XF confuse beginning tyers. I've even seen dry flies tied on a size 12 2XS 1XF hook labelled as a size 12 dry fly when the shank (fly) length is actually a size 14.

[bryan_w 0]

Thanks to everyone. I feel better about choosing my hooks now. I think the thing that will help me the most is to order a few different sizes to get a feel for what will work with what I like to tie. Your advice will help me order my hooks with more confidence now. Thanks again.

 

Bryan

[Henrik Thomsen (DK) 0]

The size is generally just the size of the gape.

The rest is described with all the 2xl etc.

And yes a size 12 2xs should as the name implies have a shank two sizes smaller like you write size 14 shank.

 

And to learn the xs xl xf xh is just a bit. There's also the bend style... round, sneck, kirby etc.

 

Go look at tje hook, then use it. But description of hooks should follow the standards.

 

E.g. take a Klinkhammer hook and see the real name. It says more about the hook than the Klinkhammer term do.

 

The more detailed you want to acquire knowledge the more advanced the terms often becomes.

[SilverCreek 0]

Belt and suspenders. As long as the manufacturer describes the hook as to shape, wire size, gape and length, any additional information is fine by me.

 

Hook manufacturers give us a lot more information than fly rod and fly line manufacturers.

[Bryon Anderson 0]

I agree with Crackaig -- hooks should be described in terms of their various measurements/dimensions/shapes, and fly tiers should decide which will work best for the type of fly they want to tie. As for beginners, they should be learning what those designations mean and which types of flies go with which types of hooks. I know the book that I learned to tie flies from had all that information laid out in an easy-to-understand format, and I would assume most other beginning fly tying books would too.

 

If I followed hook manufacturers' designations, I would never have come up with some of my most productive patterns--one of my very best bass bugs, for example, is tied on a 4XL Limerick-bend streamer hook.

[Jaydub 0]

I don't see anything wrong with manufaturers stating what they had in mind for a hook design or suggesting uses. Why would that bother anyone? They are not saying that you must only tie certain patterns with a certain hook model. You are free to tie what ever you want. All of the pertinent specifications are almost always listed as well.

[Crackaig 0]

The problem it creates goes further than being told what to do with a hook. You'll have difficulty trying to find really large "dry fly hooks" or small heavy wire hooks, for example. Currently I am trying to find a large "scud" hook, one with an almost round bent shank, like the Kamasan B100 but in size 2 or 4. (B100s stop at size 10). This is because the makers have decided what the hook is for, and those insects (or other fish food items) do not come in other sizes. In the case of the B100 chronomid pupa. They think they know what the hook should be used for and make it in sizes for that use. They do not consider that there may be other uses that would require other sizes.

 

If the system I outlined previously is adopted, it is easy to draw up a table from which to design an entire range of hooks. They would then be consistent in sizing across the entire range. As an example I have two hooks from one maker of the same gauge of wire, the same shape of bend, both straight shank. The gap of the hooks is the same. The spear and barb are indistinguishable. The only difference is the shank of one is 3 times longer than the other. Yet one is designated a size 26 the other a size 30. They have not based this designation on the gap of the hook, what they have based it on is a mystery to me. Possibly wind direction on the day they were designed.

 

This is something for which we could use purchaser power to influence hook makers. Unfortunately trying to organise fly tiers to do something like this is like trying to herd cats. A uniform system for hooks is easy to design, for a real challenge, try defining thread sizes in a way that is relevant to fly tying and is standard across various thread materials.

 

Cheers,

C.

[switch10 0]

It's amazing how much easier a bead will slip over the bend of a 1x fine hook versus a 1x heavy hook of the same size and style. For my smaller nymph patterns that require a 1.5mm bead, I usually only use 1x fine dry fly hooks.