How would you rate the quality (irrespective of price) of the various brands of hooks for freshwater uses? Who’s at the top of your list? Who’s in the middle?
Where is Partridge, Tiemco, Mustad and the others and on your quality scale?
I’m interested because I’m getting back into flytying after many years of not tying and I’ve noted that the choices today are varied and many. I learned on Mustad hooks and pretty much used only them. But, I want to “update” my knowledge on what’s available and what’s the “best”. So, I’m looking for your “expert” opinions.
I use several different brands.
Mustads are a little heavier nd drop a little faster. Dai-riki are thinner and don’t drop as fast.
I think it might depend on what you want to do.
I have used Mustad Signature hook for almost a year and have yet to find a hook with a deffect. Also not a a bad price. To bad they only come in packs of 25.
[This message has been edited by irondragon013 (edited 06 December 2005).]
First you have to understand that most hooks made in Japan are made in one of two factory’s and are made to the same quality control. The big difference anymore is in the styles. That is were people may differ. At least that is were they should differ.
It would seem that hooks are being made all over the place anymore. I still use some of the old Mustad hooks and find nothing wrong with them. They may not be as pretty as the newer hooks but guess what ? The fish sure don’t care. I wish fishermen understood that as I am stuck with one heck of a lot of old style Mustad hooks. But that is OK I will get them used up, or not?
For tying orders now I for the most part us Dai-Riki hooks Which were made in japan and are now being made in Korea in there own plant. I do like there new hooks this year. They are well made and seem to work just fine. I have caught some real nice fish on thme with no problem. Ron
I’ve found the signatures to be razor sharp like the Japanese hooks, but too weak in the smaller sizes for me. I’ve bent plenty of those hooks straight on bigger fish. The good old 94840 however is stronger than most Japanese hooks in sizes 20-28.
Ron,
You’re right about the Mustads. They are a good hook for 85% of what people are tying. The Japanese hooks are sharper, have better finishes, and smaller barbs ( this I really like ), but for most people, they are over kill. Having said that, I still use Daiichi hooks for 80% of my tying because my clients demand that type of stringent quality.
Jude
Late to bed,
Early to Rise,
Guide all day,
Tie more flies! www.customflys.com
Any thoughts on Partridge hooks? As I’ve been reading to prepare for getting back into tying, I’ve studied some UK fly books and recipes. And , of course, Partridge hooks are the norm and are considered top tier hooks.
Yet, you don’t hear much about them here in the US. Wonder why? Are they deemed inferior to what is the norm here, or is it because most US tyers don’t know much about them because they are not readily available in local fly shops?
[This message has been edited by bimini twist (edited 06 December 2005).]
I use Dai-ichi and Dairiki as well. I have many mustads. I find that I sharpen the Mustads two or three time before i have to shapren the other two brands. Never triee Patridge. I think I shall.
I think that the partridge hooks are of good enough quality, slightly dearer (at least in the UK) but the hooks are softer than the Mustad, especially the wet hooks. dry hooks seem strong enough.
Patridge is 100% owned by Mustad. The All Partridge hooks these days are produced by a Mustad facility in Malasya.
Quality is there in all the popular brands, so my take is that the choice of hook I use is determined by a combination of availability (to me), the proportions and characteristics I am after for the style of fly, and finally the price (for “same” hooks) though often there is little between any of the brands.
Riverdancer, your observation about Mustad Signatures being too weak in the smaller sizes confirms something I was wondering about…one of the qualities they are said to have is that the wire size goes proportionately smaller as sizes get smaller so the weight of the hook is lighter… helps small dries float I guess.
I can’t remember if I actually asked in another thread or thought about it but it seems to me that would make the smaller sizes more likely to bend vs other brands with “less quality control”…actually may not be desirable…
Tyflier:
From whom do you get Targus Hooks? I use Mustad mostly and Tiemco when I can’t find the Mustad for which I am looking, but the Tiemco are expensive. I abuse hooks while fishing as you might well imagine, since bass and their warm water cousins love to hide in the stumps and rocks.
As a note, I do tie one small streamer on a light gold wire aberdeen hook that I buy locally. I fish one spot at the base of a bridge abutment and I can steady pull and straighten out a hook when fouled and then re-bend it. I have never lost a smallie yet on a rebent hook.
We’ve all seen testing (done by both amateurs and engineers) on the various brands of tippet on the market, but I don’t recall seeing any extensive testing on hooks. Are the top name brands really equal in quality or not?
My guess is that the answer to that question varies depending on the style of hook, size, etc. But, even with those variations, would one or two brands stand above all others on quality if they were all tested using objective standards? I don’t have the capability to do the testing, but I’d sure like to read the results!
I use Partridge hooks for special ties. Such as Full Dress Salmon flies and such. I like the hooks but find they are a might expensive for everyday use.
bimini twist- They did something like that some years back in one of the magazines. I believe it was Fly Rod and Reel? Anyway they showed the hooks in blown up pictures several thousand times normal size. And as you can guess the old Mustad took the brunt of “The Bad Hook Look”. When I saw that and how they talked them down it made me wonder how I had caught so dang many fish on those ugly hooks over the years?
I do not believe it would be worth anyones time to do a test as you are talking about today. All hooks are just to close and it would be more of an opinion than a real test. I have fished with and tied on just about every brand of hook on the market and they are all just fine.
I have fond that most people that break a hook do so for one of three reason. They over played the fish, got a bad hook or hit a rock with it on there back cast. Nothing more or less.You can get a bad hook from any manufacture out there.
Just be gald you have the hooks you do today. Not to long ago we didn’t know what a Scud hook was so we bent our own to shape. LOL… Ron
I now use Mustad brands for essentially all of my tying. In my experience they have the most consistant steel properties. I have been disappointed with other brands either breaking when I pinch the barb at the vise or losing a nice fish only to find the hook’s especially sharp tip has broken off.
I can’t comment on the on hooks smaller than size 20 because I rarely fish them.