Duckster,

I buy fly hooks in this order of 'preference':

Eagle Claw if they make it in the size/shape I want (I REALLY like the Eagle Claw fly hooks-sharp, strong, consistent, not too pricey).

Regular old Mustad (NOT only 'fly hooks', mostly just plain old 'fishin' hooks), for ALL my spun hair/poppers/bass flies, streamers, and for most of my trout stuff that I can't find an Eagle Claw for.

All other brands (if I walk into a fly shop someplace and 'need' some hooks, I'll buy what they have, usually getting whichever they have in the size/style I want for the lowest price). I've ended up with Targus, Dai-Riki, VMC (great hooks, hard to find on store shelves), and even, when I can't get anything else, Tiemco or Daiichi.

I've never purchased the Mustad 'signature' hooks, they cost too much for what you get, and I've always been able to find a 'better' value.

In all my years of fishing, I've never lost a fish because of a 'bad' hook. I'm lost them to bad knots (my fault), bad hooksets (again, my fault), and poor reaction to the fish during a fight (again, my fault).

As far as I know, I've never failed to 'hook' a fish because of the 'quality' of the hook I was using (see above). If that happens, I can usually do the old 'mirror' test to find out what went wrong.

AND, I've never fished with anyone who caught more or larger fish than I did because of the brand of hook they were using.

In any event, I'm not as 'picky' about hooks as much as I am about keeping them sharp. I sharpen all the hooks I use, EVERY time I use them. I check them often (my casting sometimes allows the hook point to encounter things other than fish, water, and weed).

A sharp hook makes sense to me. I know how to do that.

An 'expensive' hook seems wasteful to me. After all, it's going to end up stuck on a rock, tree, bush, belt loop, ear, or carpet eventually.

It's just a fish hook. Nothing 'high tech' here. They been doing these, and doing them well, for a couple of centuries. They all seem to work okay, provided the fisherman does his part.

Good Luck!

Buddy