I've recently joined this board after having read the long but informative thread on Mustad dropping their classic series fly hooks and going with the Signature series.

I've been tying for about 3 years now and in the interest of sanity (not to mention my bank account) decided at some point a year or so ago to "standardize" on Mustad hooks and to try and limit the number of different hook types I need. To that end I decided to use the 3906b for most of my nymph/wet/flymph ties.

I'm now in need of some 3906b hooks and while I know I can still find them have decided that since they are being discontinued and the replacement is the S82 I might as well begin getting the replacement hook since I'll have to eventually.

What bothers me with the new hook is that if you go by Mustad's coding system, this hook is 3x heavy and 2x long whereas the 3906b was 2x heavy and 1x long. I realize I maybe shouldn't compare the specs of the 2 hooks but I'm concerned the new replacement is going to be much longer than the 3906b. I've sent a PM to Dr. Fish but no answer yet.

Has anyone purchased the S82 hook and compared it to the 3906b to see if they are, in fact, comparable in size? I'm not as concerned with weight, I'm more concerned with length.

Thanks.