I agree with you -- it is getting harder to decide which hook to buy and use. I guess having more options is good and I do like many of the new hook styles like the wide gape emerger hooks.

One corollary to this is that it is becoming increasingly meaningless to refer to bug hatches by hook size. If someone says: "there was a #18 BWO hatch" are they referring to the old #18 Mustad 94840, TMC 100, DaiRiki 125 or ? Of course, this is more confusing in the specially shaped emerger, pupa, nymph hooks. I've started measuring bugs in millimeters and use that as my reference rather than hook size.