I buy Dai riki's by the 1000 for 3XL hooks. There are anywhere from none to as many as 3 defects in a hundred hooks, and I throw those away. I don't think I have ever lost a fish due to the hook.
Bob
I buy Dai riki's by the 1000 for 3XL hooks. There are anywhere from none to as many as 3 defects in a hundred hooks, and I throw those away. I don't think I have ever lost a fish due to the hook.
Bob
They are not acceptable salmon hooks... They lack the sharpness to get into fish and they bend and break regularly. IIRC the 710 and 750 were the styles I tried.
But I am a Gamikatsu slut...
Like 'em a lot
Like 'em and use 'em for many patterns.
Try bluequillangler.com for really good prices.
Bob, I use the Dai Riki 700 religiously for buggers, and in the thousands I have used, have only found a couple defective ones. Obviously the 135 machine hates me and the 700 machine likes me.
I am now collecting all the defective hooks I find. Got em on this magnet here...somewhere...hmmmm.
I use a combination of Dai-riki and Mustad hooks for 95% of my tying. Every now and then I'll get a different brand, but it's usually because im only buying a 25 pack to try tying something specific that I dont have the hook for.
In MY experience:
I've had roughly 500-750 Dai-rikis through my vise this year. I got a total of about 5 defective hooks, all in one box of #135. Methinks it was just an isolated incident, as all the hooks would have probably still worked on trout (the eye just wasnt completely closed), but I was tying steelhead eggs at the time, and wasn't about to risk a 10-12lb steely on a slightly opened eye.
Yes, I HAVE had a few of my D-r hooks break. Of the breakages (less than 5), all but one were on glo-bugs (a pattern that puts a higher degree of stress on the hook while tying) that were snagged in rocks. The other one was a caddis pupa that had become lodged in the fabric lining of my car's trunk. I was holding the hook and twisting hard to wrench it free without pulling up the entire piece of fabric.
It's important to not that with many of these hooks, you're dealing with high-carbon steel, which is harder, but more brittle, than say, the steel used in wire cable. It is going to break before it bends many times. Also, this is what makes them so darn sharp out of the box. It is *also* what allows the tip to dull out after banging them against a few rocks.
I have used a few packs of Tiemco hooks as well, and while they are indeed a nice hook, I didn't feel they were any nicer than a comparable Dai-riki...certainly not enough to justify the price increase. I found many of the Tiemcos to have a rougher finish than the Dai-riki's as well.
As far as the bright finish...I'd have to take a look at this guide's fly box and see how many flies he has in there that have beadheads, or added synthetic flash...
I just wanted to report back. I tied some size 22 thread midges on these hooks and caught fish between 16 and 20 inches. The hooks did not bend or break. I'm happy to have found a good quality hook that is very affordable.
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