Do we need so many hook brands?

[flytire 0]

Being retired and having virtually nothing to do, I decided to find as many "fly tying" hook brands.

 

After searching the internet trying to find as many hook brands as I could find, I managed to create the following list (most likely incomplete). I tried to find as many "freshwater" brand of hooks. Of course some brands contain "saltwater" hooks, one brand contained only 1 "freshwater" hook, some brands I have never heard of but most of them I have. Some are "fly shop" brands and some are personal brands. Some are offshoots of popular major brands. I did not list brands that only made treble hook for salmon etc.

 

So here is the list of fly fishing hook brands I found and I most likely missed some others

 

A. Jensen
Akita
Alec Jackson
Allcock
Allen
Bergman
Blue Heron
Cabelas
Castor
Charles Jardine
C'ultiva
Daiichi
Dai-Riki
Demmon
Dohiku
Dragonflies Competition
Drennan
Eagle Claw
Elite
European Barbless Hook
Fly Tying Boutique
Fulling Mill
Gaelic Supreme
Gamakatsu
Green Caddis Outfitters
Grip
Hanak
Hayabusa
Hends
Heritage
Herters
Hook and Hackle
J:son
Jstockard
Kamasan
Ken Sawada
Knapek
Kobe
Kumho
Lazer Sharp
Leeda
Lightning Strike
Maruto
Matzuo
Maxcatch
MFC
Mustad
Orvis
Osprey
Owner
Partridge
Saber
Sakuma
SFFT
Skalka
Spear-It
Sprite
Stealth
Stewart Forster
Sundridge
Syndicate Comp Hooks
Talon
Targus
The Fly Shop
Tiemco
Togen
Topfly
Trokar
Tunca
Turrall
Umpqua
Varivas
VMC
White River Fly Shop
Wizard

[JSzymczyk 0]

Fly tying is hardly about "need". At least the free market is still (barely) alive and you have the luxury of choice.

 

I'm sure a lot of those hook brands are repackaged pieces of wire from the same few factories.

[Dave G. 0]

Just a guess but you could probably reduce that list down to half a dozen or maybe 10 manufacturers, be that in the states or overseas.

 

I pretty much only use known brands, I keep about 4 brands in stock for my tying needs.

 

Mustad

TMC

Daiichi

Eagle Claw

 

And I still have some old Universal Vise that I obviously won't be restocking but so far Mustad has been able to cover those needs.

I just bought some salmon hooks, was able to get what I needed at Bears Den in Tiemco ( #6 single point up eye). They were available from the same supplier in Partridge as well ( different sizing scale for Partridge so I went with these). And probably one of the store brands has them and is one of these manufacturers repackaged anyway.

[mikechell 0]

THAT is one long list of names.

But, I am agreeing with previous comments about "brands" vs. "manufacturer". As with electronics and cars, there are a lot of brands that are made by a single manufacturer.

As long as Walmart sells Eagle Claw, I can tie my most productive fly. I do buy the occasional "specialty" hook, but mostly I use standard hook types.

[Cold 0]

As a counterpoint to your question: Is having so many hook brands a problem?

 

I, for one, am all about intense competition, or, failing that, a broader selection. I see no downside, as a consumer, to having a lot of different brands. Sure there may be more styles and sizing to figure out, but you'd have that problem even with 2-3 brands.

 

If you don't like having more hook brands than Mustad and Daiichi, just only buy Mustad and Daiichi, and forget the rest. I'm glad we have such a broad variety. If you want to get into the realm of what we "need", then starting with hook manufacturers for recreational fishing is a rather odd place to start.

[126lineman 0]

I agree that some brands may be made by the same manufacturer but that's still a lot of hooks, wow!

[RCFetter 0]

Easy industry to enter.

[Skeet6 0]

Some new names are good... For as many flies as I put in the trees here in Northeast PA, I am thankful for Saber hooks @ around 6-7 bucks per hundred... first found them at the Fly Fishing show. Now buy them direct from same retailer. They work darn well when actually contacting trout, too.

Mike B

[josephcsylvia 0]

Im going to agree with others that the more hook brands the better. Unless of course your in the hook business lol.

If there were only a couple you would see higher prices and less diversity in ties.

[FlaFly 0]

Remember.... very few brands = very little competition = higher prices and monopolies.

 

 

Evidently the market supports all those brands or they wouldn't exist for long.

[GC59 0]

The more the better, lower price, better quality and more choices. Thanks for the leg work flytire I am going to save that list.

[heavynets 0]

Then add Montana Fly Company and The Fly Shop to your list.

[Saltybum 0]

I would like to see some lower prices on a few of the better saltwater hooks like Owner and Gamakatsu. But I guess they figure if a person will pay almost a grand for a fly rod and another grand for a top reel and almost a $100 for a fly line what's a dollar or two for one hook.

[notenuftoys 0]

I'm relatively new to this fly tying addiction, but just in the 6 years I've seen several new hook brands show up, and then seen them improve. Two, J Stockard and Allen, are now in my supply, along with Mustad, Montana Fly, Gamakatsu, and Daiichi

 

Competition forced them to get better. So no, there can't be too many.

[skeet3t 0]

Competition is the name of the game. Granted, a lot of hooks are made in the same factory. Like a lot of things from China. Ever think why we need so many different brands of cars?