You have been given good advise above from many who tie for a living. I tie for myself for the pleasure of tying and for my use. I tie everything on Mustad hooks because the price for 100 hooks is within my limited budget and I have no problem with the quality of them. I tie nymphs and streamers 99.8% of the time for my use and give away to others on the river. I have found some defective hooks in the boxes as I use them but I do not care. I can throw them away and I have probably thrown away 4 hooks in the past year and I tie everyday. I have plenty of time at my fly tying table and while on the river fishing to sharpen my hooks so I do not care if they are not the sharpest hooks available. I also do not care where they are made. Let’s face it, just about everything we buy is either made somewhere else or at least 75% of it is made somewhere else. You can put “Made In The USA” on any product as long as 25% of it is made in the USA. I do not fish for a living so therefore, I do not care if I lose a fish while fishing due to the hook. I am going to release the fish anyway. I fish for the enjoyment of the river, the surroundings, the peace and quiet and just knowing I fooled the fish into hitting my fly is all I was after anyway. I do not know why I even responded to this thread since my opinions will not really answer your questions, so, I guess these are just my opinions for what little they are worth.
I am sure that the main reasons for choice of hook brands are 1. Price, 2. Hook shape.
I think most of the leading brands make quality hooks, which will easily hold a fish.
I have always used Partidge for the simple reason they are easy for me to get and I like the hook styles they produce. Most sellers in my area do not stock Mustad, otherwise I may choose them more often. I am certainly suprised that Mustad also produce Partridge hooks. I presume that all hooks are probably produced under brand names and with specifications from a particular brand. Interesting.
MUSTAD…I have a few…and I mean few sizes of Tiemco’s in the tiny dry standard hooks…and they do ok …But if I can get Mustad 100 packs for darn near what I can Tiemco’s 25 packs…hummmm …I’ll take the Mustad’s any day…
“I’ve often wondered why it is that so many anglers spend so much money on,and pay so much attention to.the details on the wrong end of the fly line.If they took as much care in selecting or tying their flies as they did in the selection of the reel and rod,They might be able to gain the real extra edge that makes it possible to fool a fish that has,in fact,seen it all before” A.K.Best
Everyone wants to excel in this sport but at the same time we let traditionalists place restrictions on our tactics, methods, and ideas. I always assumed that fly fishing was a sport that allowed imagination, creation, adaptation, investigation, dedication, education, revelation? : Fox Statler, On Spinners (Not the dainty Dry Fly kind) “Spinner’d Minner Fly”
As I stated Mustad owns Partridge, all of Partridge. The brand name was retained, the hook range ‘streamlined’, the manufacturing relocated from Redditch, UK, to Malaysia, and (also important) the quality control tightened up.
I’ve used Mustad standard (non Signature) hooks for years and find them entirely suitable for my purposes. A couple of gentle licks with a sharpener and they’re just fine. I do find a malformed hook every couple of boxes. Do I have a major stroke. No----I just throw it away. I also bought many of my Mustads when they were $11 or $12 a thousand. Good company, good hooks! 8T
You had better learn to be a happy camper. You only get one try at this campground and it’s a real short camping season.
I like Montana Fly Company’s hooks because as far as I can tell they’re exactly the same as Tiemco and are about half the price. I got a whole bunch of Daiichi hooks this year and tied a lot of flies on them. They bend too easily, and they bend on things that I don’t think would have broken a TMC or other. Would you prefer that a hook bend or break? I would rather they be hardened a bit more and that they broke on a snag if or a fish if it came to that. Better yet I want them to be stronger than the tippet! I like some models from every manufacturer, Tiemco 200R is my favorite hook.
I just do not understand, why angler’s insist on using undersized hooks for larger fish, is it an ego thing? I would never consider using a size 18 hook for Muskie or for that matter Bass.
If you use a thin wire hook, and exert too much tension (pull) the hook will straighten out.
A hook that has been straighten has been a hook that has been overloaded, pass it’s “Point of Elasticity”. If the hook was not flexible (elastic), it would be brittle. Instead of straighting out, a brittle hook would break.
Steven I have personally never had the privilege of fishing for either of those species, but I can tell you with certainty
from my limited salmon angling experience that adjustments to hook size sometimes lead the angler to lean toward the down right small(10’s and 12’s and beyond)and is more often than not required depending on time of season. Of course other factors like location and time of day along with a multitude of other factors I suspect, require a smaller hook if you want to hook into a fish.
[This message has been edited by Newfoundlander (edited 08 December 2005).]
What I have been trying to say, do not blame the hook, instead, blame the use!
If your hook straightens out, do not blame the hook, instead blame the use (and conditions and circumstance)!
The cold water can restrict rt the characteristics actions and movements) of the hook.
I will give examples, at 40 degrees (F) below, automobile tires will shatter (into small pieces)if they hit a pothole. The great ocean liner ( Titanic), was sunk, not by an iceberg, instead, by the temperature of the water, that reduced the strength of the steel plate (and the faulty composition of the rivets).
What I am saying is, that all things created (manufactured) by man, has limitations. That outside influences (heat, or lack there of) will change the the capacity of the material, and it inherit strengths (limiting its capabilities)!
When you cast a fly into cold, water, the situations change. The hook loses many of it normal characteristics, and becomes more brittle (it will crack and break). On the other hand, if a material (hook) is exposed to to stresses beyond its its limits, you can expect a failure (the hook will will straighten out, back into the wire from which it was form).
[This message has been edited by Steven H. McGarthwaite (edited 08 December 2005).]
Anyone use the Eagle Claws? I got some Cabelas last year they seems work fine. Cheap and they seem to have a larger eye but not as sharp as the other premuim hooks.
Not that I disagree with you,and I really don’t know, but how do you know the Eagle Claws are “not as sharp as premium hooks”? How have you tested them?
What about Kamasan hooks? I don’t believe anyone has mentioned them. I believe they are quite popular in Europe and the UK, and I’ve seen them recommended by some very experienced UK and European flyfishers.
Any opinions/comments/experience with Kamasan hooks?
Cheers,
[This message has been edited by bimini twist (edited 09 December 2005).]
Bimini, I use Kamasan hooks a lot and find them to be of very good quality. Plus, (dont know if they are available in your neck of the woods) Fulling Mill hooks are very good also.
An interesting thread indeed. I always enjoy listening to tiers discussing their favorite hooks and why. Being a tier as well as being on the manufacturing side of things, feedback on all the brands is informative. Thanks to everyone who contributed
A couple of quick clarifications . . .
Partridge hooks are produced in both Singapore and Malaysia (the factories are about 1.5 hours drive from eachother). A few years back all Redditch production was transferred to Mustad factories for better quality control. Hand made hooks in Malaysia are then sent to Singapore for finishing. Most of the Partridge hooks are produced in Singapore. Yes, some of the PArtridge hooks are what some consider expensive but those are the hand made products. The new Flashpoint range are machine made and are quite reasonably priced, in line with the other premiums out there.
When mentioning Mustad it’s important to remember that there are 2 series of Mustad fly hooks. The first is the Classic series with the standard points and shapes. These hooks have been around for a long time and have caught more fish than all other fly hooks combined . The other is the newer Signature Series. These are the premium fly hooks with the great points and finishing. They are the only proportionally correct fly hooks produced globally today. Unlike others out there, we produced all of our fly hooks within our factories.
Each tier has certain things they are looking for in a fly hook and no doubt that there are plenty of brands and models out there to choose from
Keep your eyes open as there are some exciting things on the horizon for Mustad fly hooks.
Jeff - AKA Dr. Fish
If it has fins and swims than I must chase it!
As someone who is getting back into flytying after more than 20+ years of not tying, I’m a bit overwhelmed with the massive selection of hooks (manufacturers, styles, grades, etc.)now available. As I cruise thru the maze of fly patter recipes (dressings), each calling for a particular hook by a particular manufacturer, I find myself wanting (needing) an accurate & reliable cross-reference table to use so I don’t have to go out and buy the exact hook recommended in a given recipe.
Is such a cross reference available, and in your opinion, reliable?
I guess I will jump in.
Daiichi I find over all to be the best quality, always sharp and the eyes are always closed.
Mustad tends to be a little duller and eyes tend to be open but I still use them more then mustad just because I have so many to use up.
Partridge I like alot I use them for salmon hooks.
Alot of brands I found are softer, but year after year hooks change so since I have not used them in a while they maybe as good or better then mustad or daiichi, I guess I am a bad judge because I order in 1,000’s and 10,000’s I do not get to see how brands change from year to year.
Joe Fox
