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You have been given good advise above from many who tie for a living. I tie for myself for the pleasure of tying and for my use. I tie everything on Mustad hooks because the price for 100 hooks is within my limited budget and I have no problem with the quality of them. I tie nymphs and streamers 99.8% of the time for my use and give away to others on the river. I have found some defective hooks in the boxes as I use them but I do not care. I can throw them away and I have probably thrown away 4 hooks in the past year and I tie everyday. I have plenty of time at my fly tying table and while on the river fishing to sharpen my hooks so I do not care if they are not the sharpest hooks available. I also do not care where they are made. Let's face it, just about everything we buy is either made somewhere else or at least 75% of it is made somewhere else. You can put "Made In The USA" on any product as long as 25% of it is made in the USA. I do not fish for a living so therefore, I do not care if I lose a fish while fishing due to the hook. I am going to release the fish anyway. I fish for the enjoyment of the river, the surroundings, the peace and quiet and just knowing I fooled the fish into hitting my fly is all I was after anyway. I do not know why I even responded to this thread since my opinions will not really answer your questions, so, I guess these are just my opinions for what little they are worth.
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Warren
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I am sure that the main reasons for choice of hook brands are 1. Price, 2. Hook shape.
I think most of the leading brands make quality hooks, which will easily hold a fish.
I have always used Partidge for the simple reason they are easy for me to get and I like the hook styles they produce. Most sellers in my area do not stock Mustad, otherwise I may choose them more often. I am certainly suprised that Mustad also produce Partridge hooks. I presume that all hooks are probably produced under brand names and with specifications from a particular brand. Interesting.
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MUSTAD.....I have a few..and I mean few sizes of Tiemco's in the tiny dry standard hooks..and they do ok ...But if I can get Mustad 100 packs for darn near what I can Tiemco's 25 packs....hummmm ..I'll take the Mustad's any day...
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"I've often wondered why it is that so many anglers spend so much money on,and pay so much attention to.the details on the wrong end of the fly line.If they took as much care in selecting or tying their flies as they did in the selection of the reel and rod,They might be able to gain the real extra edge that makes it possible to fool a fish that has,in fact,seen it all before" A.K.Best
Everyone wants to excel in this sport but at the same time we let traditionalists place restrictions on our tactics, methods, and ideas. I always assumed that fly fishing was a sport that allowed imagination, creation, adaptation, investigation, dedication, education, revelation? : Fox Statler, On Spinners (Not the dainty Dry Fly kind) "Spinner'd Minner Fly"
"Wish ya great fishing"
Bill
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Mick,
As I stated Mustad _owns_ Partridge, all of Partridge. The brand name was retained, the hook range 'streamlined', the manufacturing relocated from Redditch, UK, to Malaysia, and (also important) the quality control tightened up.
Cheers,
Hans W
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=== You have a friend in Low Places ===
http://www.danica.com/flytier
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I've used Mustad standard (non Signature) hooks for years and find them entirely suitable for my purposes. A couple of gentle licks with a sharpener and they're just fine. I do find a malformed hook every couple of boxes. Do I have a major stroke. No----I just throw it away. I also bought many of my Mustads when they were $11 or $12 a thousand. Good company, good hooks! 8T http://www.flyanglersonline.com/bb/smile.gif
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You had better learn to be a happy camper. You only get one try at this campground and it's a real short camping season.
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I like Montana Fly Company's hooks because as far as I can tell they're exactly the same as Tiemco and are about half the price. I got a whole bunch of Daiichi hooks this year and tied a lot of flies on them. They bend too easily, and they bend on things that I don't think would have broken a TMC or other. Would you prefer that a hook bend or break? I would rather they be hardened a bit more and that they broke on a snag if or a fish if it came to that. Better yet I want them to be stronger than the tippet! I like some models from every manufacturer, Tiemco 200R is my favorite hook.
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Targus hooks are available from The Fly Shop
[url=http://www.theflyshop.com:35176]www.theflyshop.com[/url:35176]
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I just do not understand, why angler's insist on using undersized hooks for larger fish, is it an ego thing? I would never consider using a size 18 hook for Muskie or for that matter Bass.
If you use a thin wire hook, and exert too much tension (pull) the hook will straighten out.
A hook that has been straighten has been a hook that has been overloaded, pass it's "Point of Elasticity". If the hook was not flexible (elastic), it would be brittle. Instead of straighting out, a brittle hook would break.
The science is called Metallurgy!
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Steven I have personally never had the privilege of fishing for either of those species, but I can tell you with certainty
from my limited salmon angling experience that adjustments to hook size sometimes lead the angler to lean toward the down right small(10's and 12's and beyond)and is more often than not required depending on time of season. Of course other factors like location and time of day along with a multitude of other factors I suspect, require a smaller hook if you want to hook into a fish.
[This message has been edited by Newfoundlander (edited 08 December 2005).]
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What I have been trying to say, do not blame the hook, instead, blame the use!
If your hook straightens out, do not blame the hook, instead blame the use (and conditions and circumstance)!
The cold water can restrict rt the characteristics actions and movements) of the hook.
I will give examples, at 40 degrees (F) below, automobile tires will shatter (into small pieces)if they hit a pothole. The great ocean liner ( Titanic), was sunk, not by an iceberg, instead, by the temperature of the water, that reduced the strength of the steel plate (and the faulty composition of the rivets).
What I am saying is, that all things created (manufactured) by man, has limitations. That outside influences (heat, or lack there of) will change the the capacity of the material, and it inherit strengths (limiting its capabilities)!
When you cast a fly into cold, water, the situations change. The hook loses many of it normal characteristics, and becomes more brittle (it will crack and break). On the other hand, if a material (hook) is exposed to to stresses beyond its its limits, you can expect a failure (the hook will will straighten out, back into the wire from which it was form).
[This message has been edited by Steven H. McGarthwaite (edited 08 December 2005).]