Hooks for salt water

[Piker20 0]

Interesting thread that came up on a UK sea fishing forum.

Making me think again about hooks I use for salt water flies.

http://www.worldseafishing.com/forums/threads/hooks-that-rot.24902921/

Anyone had similar experience with bronzed hooks?

[agn54 0]

Good stuff Piker. The thing about bronze hooks rusting is they need oxygen to do it quickly, so unless the fish jumps with its mouth open a lot the hooks are not going to corrode like they do in the tackle box. Personally I bend the barbs down on my hooks (I do this for my own benefit since I have a tendency to get poked when taking fish off), hopefully it has a better shot at wiggling out on its own

[Piker20 0]

The link is talking about bait hooks and the conger hooks can typically be 6/0 - 10/0 size so not your fly hook. But it is a dfferent angle on the subject. I know after some threads here a few years back I stopped tying on stainless for the benefit? of bronze. Hoping some of the salty lads weigh in.

[Peterjay 0]

Larry Dahlberg was quoted some years ago about using bronze in salt water; he said he usually loses the flies long before they have a chance to rust out anyway. I don't, as a rule, lose many flies, so I've never tried it. IME in salt water, any hook will rust over time if not rinsed and dried after use. I used to go down to the beach after big storms and pick through the seaweed to find plugs that had been lost in the rocks. I never found a single one over the years that didn't need new hooks. Some of them might have been exposed to the air, but I'm sure most of them weren't. I've never bought the idea that a gut-hooked or throat-hooked fish is gonna be just fine if you cut it off and leave it in place. Steps that can increase the chance of survival would be to use barbless hooks and to use circle hooks for all bait fishing and most saltwater fly fishing. There's no downside to doing either. There's a good chance that a barbless hook will work its way out eventually, and with (also barbless) circles, it doesn't matter a whole lot whether it does or not, since they catch up in the corner of the fishes' mouth anyway.

[Piker20 0]

Yeah, circles are proving 100% fish friendly for me so far. Can't hook a thing on them. I'm sure that will alter when I can target fish that hit and run.

[FlatsRoamer 0]

I use the Mustad C70SD hooks for any saltwater fly except bigger tarpon, where I use the Allen SW004s. Nothing but good stuff from those hooks... highly recommend

[vicente 0]

Hey flats have you checked out any of the umpqua u series hooks? Since you are selling flys you might want to check em out good hooks for about half the price of other name brands.

[Peterjay 0]

Yeah, circles are proving 100% fish friendly for me so far. Can't hook a thing on them. I'm sure that will alter when I can target fish that hit and run.

They don't work on all species under all conditions, but some fish are made to order for them. I've been using them on tuna flies for 20 years, (as do most of the guys I fish with) and they're pretty much unsurpassed for that purpose. Nobody can reel fast enough to take up slack when they run back at you, and they can't spit a circle. There are fish like flounder that keep coming when they hit a fly, but for species that hit and turn, you can't beat circles. They're also deadly on bluefish, with the added bonus that the hook stays out of their mouths. Anybody who fishes for blues can testify as to the importance of that. (LOL) I'd love to try them on pike, but the nearest pike is at least 200 miles from here.

[Piker20 0]

Yep I think they work great for hit and run species. A lot of folk (including me) have been trying them for the flat species like flounder as they are often deep hooked on bait. At least its solved that problem for me hahaha.

 

When I move I'll have more access to fish that suit circles better.

 

Have you got any pics of flies tied to circles you can share. So far I have some in #4, #1, #1/0 and larger but the larger will be for bait and congers.

[Peterjay 0]

Piker, these were tied with albacore in mind, but I'm sure they'd work on other species. They're tied on Mustad circle streamer hooks, which I like a lot. When the hardcore Rhode Island tuna guys started using circles back in the '90s, about the only hooks available were Eagle claw, which weren't particularly strong. Owner Mutu Light appeared next on the scene, which were great hooks, although short-shanked and slightly offset. I finally settled on Mustad C71S Ss, which I still use. They're inline hooks with a long shank. Lefty Kreh called them the best circles for fly tying, which is how I found them.

[Piker20 0]

Yes I will be trying some like this. Especially the zonker wing. Roll on moving day and I can start on setting all my tying gear back up.