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Gundriver64

Hook Organizing

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Over the years, I have come to favor small plano boxes - each with hooks by application. I can pull out one of these small boxes when I am churning out a dozen or two of a few sizes of the same type of fly...this works for me but your personal milage may vary!

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I have tried a few different ways though the years, and settled on these Pill Boxes as my storage system. Weekly boxes will hold 7 different hooks, and double sided boxes will hold 14 different hooks. For my trout fly assortments, I save them by size and 7 different types of hooks. For streamer and other large hooks, I keep the different shank lengths together in one box with 7 different sizes in each box. These are big enough for size 2 4XL hooks. The boxes I use will fit in my small plastic drawer system two layers deep.

 

Top row:

 

post-12074-0-39169600-1564349960_thumb.jpg

 

Lower row:

 

post-12074-0-98180400-1564349996_thumb.jpg

 

 

 

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Wow, you guys have a lot of hooks! I'm not sure why original packaging doesn't get the love it deserves but I'm thinking it's because it needs a picture. 32 different types of hooks and 21 packs of beads and lead eyes all in a 3" by 11" box. This pretty much satisfies all my tying needs. I would say at most the hook/bead bins are only at about 70% capacity. I made the box 22" in length but didn't need it all for hooks and such. In the other 11" I hold glue, tools, and other doodads but if my hook needs ever increase by 130% I'll be ready.

 

post-48414-0-86443700-1564362099_thumb.jpg

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Flytire, looks awesome. What about 3xl #4 streamer hooks or those 1/0 salmon fly hooks? I'm guessing they don't fit into bead containers.

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I took inspiration from my dad's (over?) use of pegboard hooks that he shaped himself (there is a simple little tool to help shape them). When I was 16 or so I made a little "tree" with a couple of aluminum rods pushed through to hold all of those materials (floss, chenille, etc.) that you buy on "cards with holes in them". If my hooks were in little bags, I think I would make a tree with 1 rod for drys, 1 for streamer hooks, etc. If I had a lot of really small and really big hooks, I might have 2 or more trees. Divide and conquer! ; )

 

FWIW, my little tree is made out of 3/4"x3/4" wood that was setting around doing nothing. Be creative, you can probably do better than I did. I mean, if you can't, then you're not really trying! Think "Lincoln Logs", but use a drill to help poke the aluminum rods through. Surely you can generalize this idea in many directions--the key idea here is to use aluminum rods, much like the stores use. If you don't know what Lincoln Logs are, then you might need to look around for someone a few years older than you to help you out! If one was "very desperate", a 2x4 and a coat hanger could be made to work--look around, see what you have, and think how you can improve on that! Hand-rubbed lacquer finish--optional (I never got around to it) : )

 

Bill_729

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That space looks good, Poopdeck. My only problem with original packaging for hooks is pulling ONE out. Always seem to catch more than one on my crotchet needle or with my tweezers ... and the extras, of course, drop all over the place.

 

I use small containers from Dollar Tree. They come in two sizes. The large one is approximately 1.5" tall by 1" diameter. The small one is (approx.) 1" x 3/4".

 

https://www.dollartree.com/crafters-square-mini-storage-containers/177607

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Flytire, looks awesome. What about 3xl #4 streamer hooks or those 1/0 salmon fly hooks? I'm guessing they don't fit into bead containers.

 

3xl and 4xl #4 hooks are in there

 

box.jpg

 

and in post #9 i mentioned i keep longer streamer hooks in their original package and store them in a plastic shoe box

 

i dont tie 1/0 salmon hooks

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Ahh, I didn't think they would fit. Missed the earlier note about the shoe box. I like the simplicity and ease of finding hooks with your setup.

 

I made this but it's a pain to get hooks which are behind others and I've outgrown it and need something that holds more.

 

f05gsz.jpg

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Size 4 seems to be the limit but if you don't tie streamers these boxes are great for storing hooks

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I probably fall into the hook hoarder category. To make matters worse I tie for more than myself (2 grandsons, my son and his wife). The five people are very diverse in their fly needs running the gambit from large saltwater tarpon flies to size 20 dries and nymphs. My eyesight may limit that further as size 16s may be the small end limit soon. I still really like the Darice Storage System Flytire suggested. It won’t work for 2/0 Gamakatsu SC15’s but that is okay. My bread and butter usage is in the 8 to 16 size range which it handles and organizes well I think. You’re never going to cover all bases well with one system if your inventory is huge. With that said I admire people who have the discipline to limit hook selection to the tasks at hand. I’m not one of those people.

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