Hook Manufacturers?

[Clay]

I know that there are more hook distributors than manufacturers. Who actually makes the hooks that we use?

I'm going to think that Mustad is an actual manufacturer. I'm looking for who makes which hooks. I know that there are different specs, but would love some kind of chart of who made the hook and who distributes their hooks with the names of the distributors.

If no such chart exists. Please add the examples that you are aware of. Thanks in advance.

[David Parker]

If I'm not mistaken, Tiemco Hooks of Japan might be one for the list. Distributed through Umpqua Feather Merchants.
Please correct me if I'm mistaken.

[Uncle Jesse]

I have used Eagle Claw most of my life, when I was bass fishing with plastic worms and jig and when I can find the sizes to tye flies on. I think they are manufactured by Eagle Claw in the USA, the only manufacturer in the country according to their website.

[AllenOK]

I have no proof for my theory, but I wouldn't be surprised if hook manufacturers are like fishing line manufacturers. Almost all the different brands are made in a few factories over in China. Eagle Claw is probably made here in the USA, Mustad was purchased by by some large parent company based in China, correct? Firehole Sticks, while being distributed by a gent here in the US, are actually made over in China to his specifications. Dai-Riki hooks are made in Korea, and distributed by Dan Bailey in Montana. Not sure about the other brands.

Lately, I've been tying on a lot of Wholesale Fly Company hooks. They are, to my eye, 100% identical to the White River brand of hooks you can get at BPS. The BPS hooks are roughly $5/25, while the Wholesale Fly Company hooks are $7/100.

[planettrout]

Check out this site. It is still evolving...

https://flyhooks.org


PT/TB

[Clay]

Check out this site. It is still evolving...

https://flyhooks.org


PT/TB

Sweet link, thanks for the useful information.

What prompted the original question was my consideration of the Firehole stick barbless hook. I liked the idea of a stout, barbless hook for my application. I was wondering if others made a similar hook.

I'm not into buying the cheapest hooks that I can find, and I am not into paying for pure marketing. I thought that knowing who was the actual manufacturer, might help me sort out some of the marketing hype from reality. I also understand that just because the same manufacturer actually makes hooks for different distributors, that the specs can and probably are different. Then there are very different price points on the exact same hooks offered by different distributors.

I just find the subject interesting. Knowledge is power, knowing more is better for me.

[whatfly]

I have no proof for my theory, but I wouldn't be surprised if hook manufacturers are like fishing line manufacturers. Almost all the different brands are made in a few factories over in China.[SNIP]

Not wanting to sound like I'm picking on you AllenOK, but this is a myth as far as I can tell for both fly lines and hooks. For lines do the research if really interested (e.g. where are Rio lines made?), but as was pointed out, Eagle Claw are not made in China (US). Nor are Dai-Riki (Korea). Nor Tiemco (Japan). Nor Daiichi (Japan). Nor Gamakatsu (well not all of them anyway [Japan, Thailand, China]). I'm too lazy to go through the various also-ran companies, but there are probably plenty of other examples. Not sure how it started, nor why this urban myth persists, but odd how frequently it turns up. Perhaps it started by some sale rep. when Mustad moved its manufacturing to China? I've seen it repeated in forums, and even heard it in fly shops, with absolutely no evidence to back it up other than hearsay.

Was probably a similar post that sent the OP on this quest. Never seen such a chart as Clay wants and not really sure why I would ever want to if it did exist. Nowadays anyone can put up the money for a minimum order and start a 'hook company'. Heck, I'm practically reading about a new hook reseller ever other day. Many of them might be sourcing from the same few mainland factories with hook-making capabilities, but to say that everyone is drawing from the same source is stretching the imagination a bit, IMHO.