Quote: "The big difference between tying Petes and your regular tie is that you have to use hooks
with a longer shank, to accommodate the bead and propeller blade. Instead of a standard wet fly
hook, you will go to a 2X or 3X long shank. For streamer and some wooly worm and wooly bugger
ties, you might want to use a 4X long. Experiment until you get a balance in the size, shape and
performance of the Pete.
If you have a small enough propeller blade, so that it does not overpower a fly, or create a
bad balance, you can theoretically make a Pete on any size hook you want. But, again, since you are
usually not trying to finesse finicky six inchers, you will be tossing larger sizes. Petes are designed
to catch larger fish and are typically best tied on a hook of about size 6 or larger.
Big wooly buggers and streamers are best balanced on size 4, 2 or even up to 1/0 streamer
hooks, 3X or 4X long. Smaller wet fly and attractor patterns can be effectively created on hooks as
small as size 82X or 3X. Again, you can experiment to find what works best for you.
There is an option you may wish to consider in purchasing hooks for the Pete. Standard
hooks are mostly down-eye. Some come in up-eye models. For Pete making you might want to
try some of the ring-eye hooks, in long shank models. Several hook manufacturers offer these
and they are sometimes less expensive than high-end fly tying hooks." End Quote
Doug
Enjoying the joys of others and suffering with them- these are the best guides for man. A.E.
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