Hook sizes

[Harold Ray 0]

Before I began learning flyfishing and attempting tying flies, I never really paid attention to hook sizes. When I bought a lure, they came with treble hooks. When fishing with bait, I got a hook I thought was large enough, and that was it. Now, I'm into flyfishing and tying, I have to look at hooks, while trying to figure out which size goes where, how much of this for that and all the other questions a novice has when learning something new.

 

And, that brings me to, how are hooks really sized? In the world of flyfishing, hook sizes go from 22 or so, which is very small to 1, I guess, which is a lot larger, but then I see a picture such as this, the son of a man I know in Corpus Christi whose family owns a very large tackle business.

This hook is a 16. In flyfishing, the 16 is a very small hook.

 

What method has been used to measure hooks, and how do you know what hook you are getting?

 

Thanks,

 

Ray

 

[fly time 0]

:bugeyes: Ok that is like no flyfishing hook I have ever seen, that looks like a grappling hook or something, mabey its a 16 inch saltwater hook I have no clue, but that looks like it hurt like hell!!

[AlG 0]

Looks like someone misjudged and caught that poor kid with a grappling....And it looks like because of the bandage placement that theres another hole! :bugeyes: Never knew they went by sizes like that though, i always thought it was size (in inches), # of talons, and lb. rating.

[fly time 0]

Im starting to think thats not a fish hook, cause there is no eye, or atleast that I can see.

[AlG 0]

If it were i believe they would cut the weld anyway? :dunno:

[Harold Ray 0]

>>>> maybe its a 16 inch saltwater hook <<<<

 

That is a saltwater hook. You are viewing from the side. Down here along the Gulf coast (Gulf of Mexico), hooks like that are used for sharks and a few other large species. Most of the time though, people are going after sharks. When caught, they are brought into shore or to the kayak, tagged and released. A couple of weeks ago near where we fished the next day, a man and his son caught a 12.5 foot Tiger, brought her through the surf, took a picture and tagged her, and then got her back out, and saw she swam strongly away. There is a good survival rate.

 

My friends and I fish for redfish, sea trout, flounder, and shark. A lot of fishing is done here Beyond the Breakers, 300 to 400 yards from the surf.

 

The pictures below are of a whale shark a few miles off the coast just off Corpus Christi. There have been four sightings there in the last few weeks. The guys who were out are some of the people on extremecoast.com, many of who come out from where we all fish:

 

These are of a shark that was hooked a couple of hundred yards of the beach at Galveston. This shark pulled the kayak you see and another one, which had the first kayaker's brother in it, plus all their gear for 2.5 hours 3 miles into the Gulf. Large shark caught off the Texas coast head toward Cuba, so the word is, if you're after big ones out here, bone up on your Spanish 'cause that's where you're headed if you get one. They got this big girl up to the kayak and cut her loose. She was as long as the first kayak:

 

There are quite a few people down here who use heavy flyrods in the surf, 10's, 12's and larger out in bluewater off power boats going after shark, tuna and others, sometime 200 to 300 miles into the Gulf. I had these photos in Photobucket and thought I would post them here while we were talking about that hook. I can't remember just how he got it, but he was nearly to shore and fell overboard from his boat.

 

We do a lot of fishing here on the flats and up to 2 or 3 miles from the coast in kayaks. You never know what you'll catch!

 

Ray

[Alex_F 0]

In the world of flyfishing, hook sizes go from 22 or so, which is very small to 1, I guess, which is a lot larger, but then I see a picture such as this, the son of a man I know in Corpus Christi whose family owns a very large tackle business.....

 

 

This hook is a 16. In flyfishing, the 16 is a very small hook.

 

You're half right Harold. Hooks are sized with higher numbers for smaller hooks until the hook size reaches 1. Thereafter they change to 1/0, 2/0, 3/0 etc, the higher the number the larger the hook. I would assume that the hook in the picture is about right for a 16/0 saltwater hook.

[Harold Ray 0]

Thanks, Alex, I appreciate the help.

 

Ray

[madkasel 0]

*Yikes!* on that first picture.

 

*Cool!* on all the Harold Ray pictures. Really nice. I just have to do that someday.

[Joe Hard 0]

:bugeyes: , wow poor guy. Great pics.

[Ephemerella 0]

You guys have that all wrong. That guy in the 1st pic WAS the bait for shark fishing... :bugeyes:

[gill buster 0]

definatly not gettin this whole concept of shark fishing from a kayak. seems like youd be pulled out to ocean since you cant just fire up the motor and go the other way. ill stick to bluegill from a paddle boat they wont pull me so far and if they can ill be happy cause thats a huge bluegill

[billb 0]

Wow -- that's quite the hook -- poor kid.

 

I'm chomping at the bit. High winds are probably going to blow off my first try for a shark on the fly rod tomorrow, the third time we'll have missed this trip due to weather, dating back to last fall. I'm getting tired of spooling up the reel with the 14-weight line and then having to pull it off again.

 

We plan to go out in a Bertram 28, quite a different experience from that of the hardy souls who are chasing sharks in kayaks! Here in New England we refer to getting towed by a fig fish as a "Nantucket sleighride."

 

Bill