Hook choice

[niveker 0]

4 hours ago, upnorthtier said:

check out troutbum.ca

Agree.  I have ordered from them on the auction site, didn't realize they had their own website, thanks for posting that. 

Nice hooks, and they sent me a few free samples.  

[upnorthtier 0]

45 minutes ago, niveker said:

Agree.  I have ordered from them on the auction site, didn't realize they had their own website, thanks for posting that. 

Nice hooks, and they sent me a few free samples.  

He usually sends samples. I would send Daryl a text if you buy bulk, he will give you a better deal.

[hopperfisher 0]

Allen Fly Fishing...allenflyfishing.com good hooks, good prices...never had one break, straightened a couple out but from accidental catches (big steelhead , tiny trout fly)

[niveker 0]

@upnorthtier, thanks for the advice.  

 

2 minutes ago, hopperfisher said:

Allen Fly Fishing

I have heard only positive comments about their hooks,  but I have yet to try them.  

[danthebugman 0]

On 11/26/2021 at 5:55 PM, niveker said:

I've had good luck with the Green Caddis Outfitters hooks, also Saber hooks.  Both are reasonably priced, and I have never had a bad hook from those brands that I remember.

☝ My usual hooks also. The GCO hooks are out of stock a lot on the sizes I "need", but I just stock up when they are. The Saber hooks have a pretty good selection and should cover most of your tying needs. I recently picked up some Umpqua U120s on sale for nymphs and really like them. I also bit the bullet and got some Gamakatsu B10s for the articulated streamers I've been tying, but would gladly go for a cheaper option if there was something similar.

Regardless of the brand, a good hook file is an important tool on the water 👍.

[DFoster 0]

My favorite are Fire Hole Sticks and Mustad.  Considering price and the fact that I loose a lot of flies, Green Caddis Barbless Elites are also a favorite of mine.

[kerusso 0]

Years ago my go to hook was Tiemco, and I also like the Lightening Strike  small emerger hooks much like the Tiemco 2488.  I had always heard the "overseas" hooks were poo and I bought some at a fly show which,   according to the proprietor, were Korean hooks.  The diameter was larger than what I was used to but I tied up some bluegill and bass flies and they worked just fine.  About 5 years ago I bought some professional dry fly hooks and nymph hooks and have used them with great success.  In 20 years of fly fishing I can remember having hook failure three times and two of those times were on premium hooks.  I've also had some hooks that break in the vise (8-10 times after thousands of flies) and again that is something, I assume, that happens with all manufacturers hooks.  Everybody's mileage will vary.  One day two years ago I caught 5 slot fish one afternoon on the same fly on a hook that cost 1.2 cents ..... two of the fish were over 20 inches. I am certain they are not the best hooks made, but for me they will do.

[Capt Bob LeMay 0]

I consider each hook a simple tool needed to accomplish a specific task - so I stock a pretty good variety (and that's not counting hooks I started out with nearly fifty years ago...).  Freshwater tyers need a good variety of hooks for different patterns - and that's it, unless your freshwater also includes salmon or other species known for being hard on hooks.... In addition to style and size, tying flies that need to float, or suspend, or sink adds some additional factors but that's as much about situations as the actual hooking ability of the style and size you're using.

In my world, salt and brackish waters,  you have to really consider hook strength at times when setting up for big tarpon, sharks, or big pelagic fish.  My go to, most days, when strength is needed are Owner Aki hooks (aki is japanese for yellowfin tuna.... so a very strong, very sharp hook indeed...).  Coming right after those Owners are Tiemco 600sp hooks - again very strong, very sharp - and with a bit larger gape per hook size (very handy for flies with spun and clipped deerhair heads or other bulky ties where the hook needs to be exposed and yet not overly large...  These days I've been experimenting with something relatively new from Owner... the Aki Light hook - and so far it looks like a winner for smaller patterns meant to be used on medium to large fish (tarpon under 30lbs so far...).

 

Generally, for most of the patterns I tie, the old reliable Mustad 34007 stainless hook is my first choice -particularly when I'm buying in bulk (when I was doing commercial tying I made a point of buying my hooks by the thousand per size if at all possible..... ).  Something does need to be said about those super premium ex-strong, ex-sharp imported hooks... They gain in strength and other qualities by tempering - but that very gain has a down side - some of those premium hooks will never bend - instead they break when stressed past a certain point.  That's something you only learn about with lots of exposure.... Can't remember how many of those old Mustad hooks stayed connected to fish - despite opening up a bit or deforming in one way or another... 

 

I'm pretty sure that there are other perfectly good hooks on the market these days that I've never been exposed to but that's more a result of not visiting fly shops or going to the big fishing expos... Guess I'm pretty much stuck in my ways... 

[Bryon Anderson 0]

I spent a couple of hours re-organizing my hooks last night, so, as it happens, I've actually been thinking about this a bit.

In the beginning--mid-1990s--I went exclusively for Mustad because that was the first brand I tied on; they were decent quality and I had memorized the model numbers that I used.

When the prices started to go up a little, I spent a few years plumbing the shallows of the bargain-basement pool -- eBay no-name knockoffs etc.--and learned pretty quickly that, both above and below a certain price point, you get exactly what you pay for, and the low end tends to be associated with disappointment at best and heartbreak at worst.

I got really excited about the Mustad 3366 at one point, because you could get them for like $5 per 100. I ordered hundreds of them from size 10-2...and learned why they're so cheap. They're dull as an insurance seminar, every last one of them. I ended up throwing a bunch away because I didn't feel like even giving them to someone for free would be helping anyone out. 

These days, I look for what I think of as best value for the most part -- I often won't pay for the best, but I'm done with the worst. The majority of my hooks right now come from Wholesale Fly Company -- the quality seems to be there (by which I mean they're sharp enough out of the package, and I've never had one break) and they're $7.00 per 100 pack, an exceptional value in my opinion. Beyond that, I have recently become a devotee of two specific models from two manufacturers-- the Gamakatsu B10S for bass bugs, and for the front hooks on articulated streamers, and the Daiichi 2461 for single-hook streamers and rear hooks on articulated streamers. I have become devoted to those two because I catch 90+% of all my fish and 100% of all my BIG fish on streamers and bass bugs, and those two hooks are right on the money 100% of the time--razor sharp, never bend, never break, never disappoint. 

[Philly 0]

Byron, I use the the B10S for my bait fish patterns and a lot of my mop flies.  The 2461 for streamers and poppers.  I've been tying some crayfish patterns and Clousers on the Eagle Claw Aberdeen Crappie hook.  Similar configuration as the 2461.  When you get up to 3/0 they're a fairly strong hook and they're very sharp.

[robow7 0]

Although I too, tie a lot of my bass flies on Gamy B10S, those old Mustad 3366 can be made super sharp in a matter of a few seconds with a mere couple swipes with an appropriate file.