Make the difference in success of catching fish? For example if I use whatever hook to tie a wooly bugger. Does it have to be a specific hook?
Any of you buy just a couple different hook to tie all your flies and have the same success rate? Or do all of you tie the fly on the specific hook the pattern calls for?
Was curious about this since I just grab whatever hook I want and tie. Could make sense why lately I’ve had crappy luck with the fishies…
Thanks,
Shane
I can’t answer for your type of fishing, and also bearing in mind the countless variations and fishing styles for woolly buggers.
What I can say is that I used to try to keep a range of hooks in sizes, styles, lengths and so on and it just got crazy!
Now I only buy my three main sizes in hundreds. I only buy dry hooks and weight them to use as nymphs/wets; and I never saw a fish that can tell the difference between a 2x shank and a 3x. So I keep my dries in sizes, scuds and curves and a couple of shank lengths, and maybe a small number of a specialty for something that is a one off.
Up eye; down eye; sproat; limerick in heavy gauge or light? Give it up man, even if you did have every style and size of hook you would need, you’d never find it anyway!
i tie flies on hooks called out in fly patterns. however, i cant afford to have every single style and size of fly tying hook known to man, so i will for example, substitute one brand of dry fly hook for another brand.
i have so many hooks in a rubbermaid shoe box that ill never use them up before i die.
i wont go to walmart and buy bait hooks to tie flies on.
Otto:
You’ll get TONS of opinions on this but other than 3X fine bronzed hooks in the salt and 3X heavy hooks for midges; you REALLY can do what you want. But how a fly LOOKS is somewhat important to the fly-tying experience if you are a tyer who cares about more than just catching fish.
I like to use the right “style” hook so the fly “looks” the way it’s supposed to for the same reason I don’t like Green Eggs & Ham; they may taste every bit as good Sam-I-Am, but they just don’t look right! 
When I first started tying I bought whatever hook the recipe called for and ended up with LOTS of similar hooks and LOTS of confusion. Later I gave all of those hooks away and settled on a manufacturer or two and handfull of different hook styles to cover 99% of what I tie. The ONLY specific fly/specific hooks I continue to buy are for special or show flies.
I haven’t gone to the extreme that Gringo has but I do use WAY less hook models than I used to. In simplest terms I have certain hooks for dry flies, certain hooks for nymphs and certain hooks for streamers. If the recipe calls for a Seeifyoucanfindthishookiichiakatsu #113429XYZDB-6 Streamer Hook; I use my streamer hook.
While it isn’t the CHEAPEST approach and we all know the fish don’t care; it just makes sense to me.
Hi Shane,
When Gretchen and I write a magazine article we try to use the hook called for in the pattern or a similar substitute by another manufacturer. That said we tie almost all of our fishing flies on two hook styles - 1X long dry fly and 3X long streamer. We’ve caught a good number of fish over the years so I assume the style doesn’t make much difference to the fish. Take care & …
Tight Lines - Al Beatty
www.btsflyfishing.com
I like a longer hook shank for woolly buggers, so usually at least a 3x length.
Expecially when targeting bluegills, I like the hook as far back on the fly as possible. Bluegills can be annoying short-biters at times.
So I usually try to keep my marabou tail short…about the length of the hook gap seems about right. If its longer, I’ll often just cut/pinch it shorter in the field.
Since I tie flies in three sizes on al myfaovite flies I don;'t worry about matching the hook style. I pick a hook that looks to be the size of the fly I want to tie and that is the way I go.
I just picked up a bunch of hooks from size 10 to size 16. That will cover alot of my tying for along time.
Rick
That’s enough for me. I was curious if it really mattered. I know some styles matter of course. But so many styles you can’t tell the difference in anyways, so I wasn’t sure. Good! Will save me a headache from now on.
Now I just need to buy a couple styles in different sizes and I’m set.
One quick question. What’re your opinions on who makes the sharpest hooks? I’ve been buying mustad only, and have had a friend give me a pack of those japanese name hooks. I find the mustad aren’t nearly as sharp, infact, I’ve had to sharpen almost every hook. Minus the pack my friend gave me. Maybe I’ll start a thread on sharpest hooks.
Thanks a lot for your opinions, saved me headaches and money.
Shane
Hi Otto
I don’t believe that any hook style confers supernatural fish catching ability to a particular fly pattern. I always tie with whatever hook I happen to have but most of my hooks are pretty standard Mustad patterns. The only exception I make to that rule is my perference for a straight eye or even a turned up eye on dry fly patterns smaller than size #16. I do feel that a turned-down eye blocks the hook gap and point in smaller sizes. Other than that, I use what I’ve got. Just my 2% of a dollar, I’m sure others will disagree. 8T 
I agree with all of you, and Bamboozle, my extreme still covers a lot of hooks!
Re sharpness, I really cannot truthfully say that I could do a blindfolded test and find one brand sharper than another. They would all be stuck in my hand and hurting like hell.
When fishing I tend to give the point an occasional brushup with a sharpener as they have been hitting rocks etc. I have found some hooks may tend to break more easily but sharpness, not an issue for me. I do not keep my hooks or flies for too long because of this. They are a disposable commodity for me.
I like Mustad OK along with many others.
I’m new to tying, but I found that bass pro caries a gamakatsu made series that is really sharp. They are fine wire, flexable but retain their shape(spring steel maybe?) All I know is that when I stick my finger with one it doesn’t take much to stick it good.