WoollyBugger Fanatics Hook Bend & Eye Styles

[BobC]

Hi All! I am tying this afternoon out of necessity to replenish my Woolly Bugger collection. The tree gods have had their way this season! It got me to thinking, as I have to reorder some hooks, is there a particular bend such as limerick or round bend that you prefer for your Woollys, and do you like straight eyes or downturned? I am partial to Mustad, but other brands are welcome as well! Thanks for any info from your experiences.
Good fishing!
Bob

[Ray Kunz]

Hi Bob; You really got to my favorite topic when you talk about turned down versus ring eyes. This aspect has been a frequent subject on the forum with many various comments. My personal opinion here is that ring eyes make better looking flies unless your objective is to duplicate a classic, they are easier to use for flies like Muddlers where you need access to trim deerhair around the eye and if you want to attach the fly to your tippet with a loop they are the only way.
The agrument for the turned down eye is that it provides a more direct pull from the eye to the hook point. Many agree that one of the reasons for the turned down eye was because it more suitable for attachment using a Turle knot.
When I asked the U.S. repreentative of Mustad why the down eyes were still so popular the reply was that customers are used to them. It is interesting to note that many of the newer lines of quality hooks have a greater variety of ring eye hooks for all purposes.

[BobC]

Hi Ray. I never thought about the turle knot and the downturned eye that way, but I think you're right. The George Harvey works the same way as far as how it will make the fly ride. I have always been a fan of the turle, simple to tie and has always been reliable for me. I was kind of wondering as to how the power tiers felt about the different eyes and what they thought the advantages of one style over another might be when we're dealing with buggers and streamer style flies. Same with the hook bends. Love those Woolly Buggers!
Bob

[MidgeMadness]

I like the Daiichi #1850, it has an eye that is turned on its side that is inline with the shank of the hook. It just makes the buggers look a little different from the norm.