To set the stage, I have always tied Atlantic Salmon flies so I am used to really big hooks of say 2 manufacturers, Partridge and Mustad. Well, last year, I started to venture into tying some trout flies and well as you can imagine, my hook selection is not real plentiful so I have to order them. There are a few patterns that I pick up off places like FAOL that use specific hooks, and to quantify, if I can use another hook that I already have I do so for cost reasons. There are some patterns however that use a hook that I want to order and with hook sizings being so different, how do I know which one to order without actually seeing them (a picture that is blown up so the thing is 3 inches long when in reality it is a # 18 hook does not help much).

My latest quest is for Daiichi 1130 hooks, but, I don't know if I should order 12,14 or 16. Does anyone have this problem, and is there any place that has them lying on graph paper or beside a ruler for sizes? I could order all 3 sizes that I might use evetually, but that would just add to the pile of hooks.

Thanks,

Dwight