Hook Test

All about flies Fly Tying
1

TEST FOR YOURSELF (oh, I’m talking trout hooks):

  1. Take a Mustad and a competitors ‘equivelant’, say about size 12(or any).
  2. Take a 2 foot length of 10# mono.
  3. Knot each end of the mono to each of the hooks.
  4. Bury the point of each hook about 2 inches from each other and at the same angle into a piece of wood, say a 2 x 4, a window sill or a counter top.
  5. Grip the mono in the middle so that you can apply the same pulling power to each hook at the same time.
  6. Begin to exert pulling power to the mono. Keep adding power until one of the hooks begins to straighten or one breaks.

See the results for yourself.

Deezel

2

Without knowing the results or samples used; I would say that comparing a Mustad to any equivalent would have to be difficult at best if you are talking Mustad Classic and say Daiichi or Tiemco, etc; like for example comparing a Mustad 3906B to a Daiichi 1560. It’s really tough to draw conclusions IF you are comparing a $6 per 100 hook to $13 per 100 hook.

A fairer test would be to compare the Mustad Signature hooks to the Japanese premium hooks. Now IF the Mustad Classic hooks came out STRONGER than a Tiemco or Daiichi in your test OR stronger than a Mustad Signature that would really say something.

3

Perhaps I wasn’t being clear or simply understating the objective.

For dries: Take a Mustad 94840 and test against another brands’ ‘standard dry fly’ hook.

For wets: Take a Mustad 3906 or 3399 and test against another brand ‘standard wet fly’ hook.

For nymphs: Take a Mustad 3906B and test against another brand ‘standard 1xl nymph’ hook.

A series of tests like this will show how the ‘standard’ Mustads compare to the ‘premium’ hooks that cost twice as much.

As for the suggestion that a fairer comparison would be the Mustad ‘Signature’ hooks v the ‘Premium’ Japanese hooks, by all means do that test.

I’m not saying I know what the results will be. I do not. However, I do know that this will be a fair comparison.

Deezel

4

I’m willing to bet that both will hold up to the amount of pressure necesarry to bring in any fish you would expect to catch on a #12 hook.

At one point I was trying to figure out a way to do this test with a scale, so Iwould have a number to compare.

Your test works for personal use. and unless your writing an article is all that maters. Now I have to try.

Of course to make it more interesting you would have to use multiple hooks from multiple batches.

Eric

5

What bam was getting at, Is that The Mustad SIGNATURE Hook’s are Mustad’s Premiem brand of hooks…and are therefore more in line with the Jap hooks you are talking of…94840’s(dry),3906’s(wet) and 3399’s(wet) are Classic model’s.

For a more apples to apples comparison, You need use their Signature series hook’s…I for one could not even try this…As I do not own any Signature hooks…Only the Classic’s…

Signature hooks have the additional chemical hardening and sharpening of the hooks of the other manufactures…Mustad is just kewl enough to have their higher dollar hook’s in their own catagory and yet…Still offer us a cheaper avenue…as for some, We may not need or want all the bell’s and whistles…and merely want to catch fish!!

6

If the Signature hooks equal the other premium hooks in the test then wouldn’t you want to do the Classics against the other premiums so you can see if you can get similar quality for fewer $$$$$'s…then of course you could test the Classics against the Signatures…let me know when you all get it done;-)

7

OK, I’ve got eight size #12 hooks firmly buried in my window sill----now what? 8T :slight_smile:

8

Use it as a furling board???

9

And you guy’s waste all this money on dowel rod’s and planking! :p:rolleyes::smiley:

10

Duckster,

You never let me down! LOL :wink:

11

Bam and Bill…

You guys STILL seem to think that pricier means better…

I’ve done a similar test (many, many, times).

Those that think that the all that chemical and hardening crap make a better hook should really try it…

Buddy

(I know which hook ‘wins’ :wink: )

12

Mustad classics have never straightend out on any fish I ever caught.
So for me any straightening test is moot.

For Coho and Chinooks the only hooks I used to replace were the wimpy hooks on mepps spinners. A Coho will destroy that thin Mepps triple hook in a heartbeat.

As for fly tying hooks I like the mustad classic because I can bend them a bit to suit the fly I am tying and they don’t snap off like the harder tempered ones will. Plus they better fit my budget.

Not as sharp perhaps but sharp enough.

13

Buddy:

Maybe you misunderstood the point I was trying to make. Bill knew exactly where I was coming from so I guess he and I are in agreement that price DOESN’T mean squat.

What I was getting at was; IF a premium (Japanese) hook beats a regular Mustad in a strength test maybe it isn’t a fair comparison because even Mustad acknowledges creating the Signature line to compete with the Daiichi & Tiemcos of the world.

All things being equal in any test of hooks you SHOULD compare apples to apples.

In other words I was sticking up for Mustad.

:wink:

14

Bamboozle,

I wish you had told me that before I embedded eight assorted hooks in my window sill. I’ve always been a Mustad fan. I didn’t need to be convinced. Now I’m going to have to listen to my wife say, “if one of those online guys told you to jump off a cliff…” 8T :slight_smile:

15

I have problem with the test. From what I understand, the point of teh hook isnt doing all the work most of the time. For example when bass fishing the bend of the hook is what is in contact with the fishes mouth.

Just an onservation.

16

Tell her some are there to hold apples, and the others are there to hold oranges…:wink:

17

I had a witty reply written, but then I realized that no amount of actual testimony or evidence will sway someone enamored of a position. End of my reading these threads.

18

You guys, if you really care (I don’t anymore), you should actually try a test like this.

I ‘stuck’ a 3/0 worm hook into a cardboard box and pulled on it with ten pound test mono. Broke the hook. Actually, broke a couple of dozen different ones.

I’ve pulled on several sizes of fly tying hooks with more suitable tippet strengths. It’s amazing how easy it is to break a hook…most do break, not straighten out.

However, it’s just about impossible to break/straighten a hook with the line attached in the normal fashion to a fly rod. Fly rods are not overly efficient instruments for the application of force.

Take a few minutes some day and try it for yourself. Put a hook on the end of some tippet that’s reasonable for the hook size (ten pound is too heavy, most fly rods used in freashwater can’t break that). Stick the hook into something, and then pull on it with the ROD.

I’ve done it, and it’s why this whole hook strength thing really means nothing to me…my 9 weight can’t ‘break or straighten out’ a #12 hook (cheap Mustad 3399) before the rod fails, and I don’t want to break the rod…

Buddy

19

I consider the occassional hook bending straight or breaking as all part of the sport. It’s not the end of the world. Tie another fly on and go fish some more.

20

Not so as we use the same high quality high carbon steel in the Classic fly hooks and the premium Signature fly hooks with the same NorTempering so a Mustad Classic should test the same as a Signature hook OF THE SAME WIRE DIAMETER.

Better have a micrometer with you as there is no standard so a Daiichi 1X fine in size 12 will not likely be the same as another brands size 12 1X fine (unless they came from the same factory). Be sure you are comparing apples to apples is all I’m saying.