I have been tying flies for several years and have uses several styles and brands of hooks for both fresh and saltwater flies. However, for most of my trout flies, I started out with Tiemco hooks because of the many styles and quality of the hook. As I began tying many more flies, I shifted to Mustads for the reduced cost. However, I am thinking about going back to mainly Tiemco as I like there strength and the profile of the finished fly.
I was interested in what others have experienced and welcome any comments.
Use what you’re happy with. I tie most of my flies on Dai Riki and have absolutely no complaints with their quality, plus the cost is reasonable for me.
I’m of Norwegian descent, my surname ends in “sen”…all I can say is that I favor that hook brand for that reason alone and you don’t have to. I did get peeved when the 9671 series went phoofht-phooey…it was and is a favorite of mine. But…I do have enough to last me. The smaller 94840 in sizes #24 or so always worked well for me.
I started to buy Eagle Claw hooks here a little over a year ago and really like them! Good quality hook for pennies compared to some other brands. Other than them, Dai-Riki and Mustad for me…
I have always used a wide range of hooks for tying, as I tie both trout and salmon flies. I started with Mustad because of their availability in Canada. Here the cost isn’t as cheap as it is in the US. I tend to purchase Daiichi hooks for most my flies now, unless I find a good deal on Tiemco hooks. I find Daiichi hooks look great, have a great selection and are remarkably strong and sharp. I have not had a Daiichi or Tiemco hook bend in the vise from tying, but I have had Mustad bend in the vise.
For the fishing that I do, I don’t think you can go wrong with either of these brands, however, I much prefer Daiichi to Mustad. Tiemco hooks are great too, but again are more expensive than Daiichi hooks.
I’ve used a lot of Mustad (a sponsor on FAOL!) and Umpqua hooks, mainly because my local store stocks them. The quality is very consistent and reliable.
I have also been using/buying quite a few Allen hooks…and they are very good quality for a very reasonable price. I just recently got an order of barbless hooks from them, and these seem very nice and there is a good selection of them. They have not just trout hooks… I’ve also bought steel saltwater hooks and bass popper hooks from Allen Co. http://www.allenflyfishing.com/fly-hooks-etc/
I was also quite pleased with their prices on tungsten beads.
However, I donate fly boxes to TU and other charities like Wounded Warriors. Right now I am tying up 4 boxes of 12 dozen flies or about 600 flies. For these flies I use Saber Hooks and I have begun using Saber hooks for my own flies when I can.
They are $6.99/100 hooks and I have been really pleased with them. I have tied well over 1000 flies with them and found only 2 hooks with bad eyes.
I have also heard good things about Allen hooks but I have not used them myself.
The Saber hooks I use are the #7010, 7051, 7052, 7021, 7040, and 7017
My standard hooks are Tiemcos also. The main reason is because of the ability to buy them “barbless” and because of their strength. I really like the Tiemco brand.
Thanks everyone. I have not really tried Diichi hooks. I will give them a try. As I said, I have used Tiemco and Mustad mainly and some Dai Riki. I find the Mustads are find for the larger sizes down to 14s. Smaller sizes are not as strong. These are not the signature series.
Here is a photo comparison of the Saber 7010 with a TMC 100, the Saber on top and the TMC below. Both are size 14.
I like the Saber because it has more of a model perfect bend like the Partridge Capt. Hamilton dry fly hook and the TMC is a sproat bend. It allows me to tie a slightly shorter fly with a slightly larger gap to hook length ratio. For example, on a size 16 Saber 7010, the hooking gap is wide enough for sure hookups.
That hook on the bottom looks funny for a Tiemco 100. Thought the 100 dry fly hook was 1xf and with a ‘round bend’, not a ‘sproat’. Maybe Tiemco has a few versions of the 100? I looked at the manufacturers web site and it seems there’s a mistake on the desccription. It states that the hook has a ‘looped up eye’. Isn’t that inaccurate insofar as the dry fly hook? Just an observation looking at the computer and maybe it looks different in the hand.
Just asking.
I went back and checked my hooks. The lower hook is definitely a TMC 100, although I bought it years ago.
Here is a comparison image of a TMC 100 I grabbed off the web at Murray’s Fly Shop’s hooks. Click on “Murray’s” and the photo is at the bottom lower right hand side of the page. It looks like the same hook shape to me.
Here is a Kamasan B17o “sproat” hook from Trout Catchers. The bend looks like the TMC 100 to me.
Silver, I just went to the Tiemco site. There are a few hooks with the designation TMC 100. One is a barbless, one says extra heavy and the description of the one for dry flies I copied below. The Tiemco description says “heavy wire”, but further down it says “xf”. Something is wrong! Additionally, the hook photographed looks different then the one you list in that the wire in your photo looks heavier and the shank looks longer. Yes? No?
Allan
TMC 100 / TMC 101(same hook but a straight eye)
An up-turned, tapered-loop eye design that has become the standard model for salmon and steelhead wet flies. It uses heavy wire for added strength. Black only.
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Togen lets you buy in assortments at the 500/1000 hook price in groups of 100.
Hagens sells hooks by the thousand, but will split for a dollar (so if you need 200 hooks, you pay the 1000 hook price per hook, plus a dollar).
If you need a hook like the Mustad 3366 (classic sproat bend ‘standard’ straight eye hook-kind of the industry standard for bass bugs and such) Hagens sells those as well at the best price I’ve seen. Great all around hook.
