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Question for Cheech and others: Articulated Streamers

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I have not really messed with articulated streamers before and want to play with them so I have been reading and watching videos. Cheech has a plethora of videos out there and I have been enjoying them. What is your theory on hook selection? Specifically size differences between the front and back hooks and also why do you use a wider gap hook only on the front hook? I imagine wider gaped hooks are used in the front because of dumbbell/head clearance concerns, but is there any reason not to use a wide gap hook for the rear hook? I ask because I'm generally a fan of wide gaped hooks on steamers unless there is a reason to specifically not use them. FWI I fish saltwater and warmwater (LMB etc.) these days, so my tying with be concentric to those if it makes a difference. Thanks

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Don't have any videos out there but do have a lot of articulated I've made and traded. Generally the Gamakatsu B10S is the standard hook. As to why the bigger hook in front and smaller in back? No idea. Just the way the big guns do it in their videos and I'm a great follow the leader. I particularly like the Hog Snare with the center shaft and no hook.

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A larger hook in the front will help the streamer keel and track better. As to sizes, some say the front should be 2 sizes bigger than the rear hook. I dont think that needs to be written in stone tho. Most of mine are done with a hook 1x larger than the rear, the most popular being a #4 b10s in the back and a #2 b10s in the front. If i want more body a partridge hook replaces the front.

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Hooks on streamers are something I've messed with a lot. There are some sweet spots when it comes to shank length, and hook gap. For bigger articulated streamers that have a bulky head, I prefer to use a Gamakatsu B10S (mostly in size 1 or 2) because I know that the bigger gap will accommodate barbell eyes, deer hair etc. For the back hook, I'm not usually using a lot of bulk, so I use a different hook due some experiments that I have run. Streamer eaters aren't always attacking a fly to eat it. Many times they are nipping the tail to say "get out of my territory" so they just kind of go give a it a little chomp on the butt and then move on. I have found that I have missed fish if I had a wide gape hook on the back because their mouth isn't really open super far, and they aren't flaring their gills (suction) when they just nip at a tail. I think a wide gap hook can get turned sideways when they do this, and they have a harder time getting in the good mouth meat that is prime for the hooking... I switched to the Daiichi 2461 for my back hooks, and I've been extremely happy with them. Probably one of the sharpest hooks in the market, and the wire is just right... Not too thick so it makes it harder to set, and not so thin that it bends out. It's a nice Aberdeen bend that has just enough gap to allow the materials to flow freely, but not so big that it gets turned sideways when a streamer eater nips it. I have tested with the B10S on the back vs the 2461, and the 2461 was much better at hooking up on the tail swipers. I'd use it on the front hook if it were a wider gap.

 

I really don't like hooks that are 4xl plus... I'd rather just use a shorter hook shank that has more hook gap. For example, I could use a size 6 3xl streamer hook (like a TMC 5263), or I could just use a size 4 2xl streamer hook (like a TMC 5262). The flies would be identical in length, but the size 4 would have a much nicer hook gap.

 

 

Anyway... Hopefully you get the general idea. That is a lot of rambling without a lot of proofreading.

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When you say that some of the strikes are more of a territorial defense behavior, are you talking mostly about trout? I ask because most of the reaction strikes I get from bass and saltwater predators are more of a "kill it" not "chase it away" when they aren't hungry.

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