Suppose that you could use only one hook style and size for the rest of your life. What would that style (dry fly, nymph, streamer etc) and size be? Why would you make this selection? I believe that I would select a size #8 regular wire, 2XL nymph hook. I believe that I could do nymphs, streamers (of a sort), buggers and large dry flies with this hook. How about you? 8T 
Standard wire 2x short size 10. The gape would be large enough to tie tube flies or tandems for streamers. The body length would be a 12 dry or 13 nymph. I could bend the hook to make small dry bodies klink style, or tie extended for larger drys and nymphs. THe only thing id really mis out of in small nymphs and I am sure I could figure out how to if I REALLY needed to.
Good for us there are an infinate variety of hooks out there. Makes thinking less stressful.
hmmmmmmmmmm
Hi,
I would probably select a size 10 dry fly hook. You can always tie a smaller fly on a larger hook, so you could tie a size 14 fly on a size 10 hook and just leave a large part of the shank showing. Although I’ve never really done this, acording to Stewart in his book “the Practicle Angler”, they still catch fish just fine! (Actually, a lot of my spiders are quite short in the body and show a lot of shank, and they work without complaint!). Anyway, since I almost never fish anything larger than a size 10, I could tie smaller patterns using this size.
The dry fly hook gives me options to fish dry fly, wet fly, and nymphs. I could add weight to a dry fly hook when tying sub-surface patterns. This is easier than getting the heavier gage wet fly/nymph hook to float for a dry fly.
A size 10 hook is large enough for lures, such as matuka style streamers, or the New Zealand Fuzzy Wuzzies and/or pukeko flies. Again, a touch of weight can be used to get them sub-surface.
- Jeff
Probably an 8 or 10 streamer hook. I can tie woolie buggers, hoppers, various streamers and poppers on that hook in a pinch. Doubt if I could do midge patterns, but 90 percent of my fishing could be covered with one of these hooks if it was all I had available.
Jeff
Size 14 dry fly, I can tie drys wets and with a little work aka tube flies etc. I can tie buggers etc. For the fish I catch, and the places I fish this would be it.
Eric
hmmmmmmmmmm
#8 Streamer hook. 3XL. That would be about perfect for most of the flies I tie for warmwater fish.
A size 16 Mustad C53S or Tiemco 200R (same style, different makers). Ties dandy dries, nymphs, emergers and terrestrials. Can make extended bodies or larger dries, articulated nymph for bigger sub-surface nymphing, yet small enough for more finicky eaters we sometimes find.
I’d hate to find myself with only one hook, either by style or size but you asked.
EGADS…!!!, what have you done to my mind. It’s the same feeling I had when I saw J.C.'s version of what I think was a generic dry fly with no wings. I don’t remember exactly when it was posted or the correct post.
I sat and looked at the way too many flies I had tied and spent so much time and great care putting wings on them. I am now looking at several hook keeper boxes and have the same gut wrenching feeling that, I must be possessed with the sometimes deady tyers disease for sure.
I’m going up stairs and get one of those OYP pills (Ole Yeller Pill) that my Rebel Wife(RW) who also happens to have Indian ancestory , as well as being a decendat of Gen. John Bell Hood. She says taking OYP sends her on a soul cleansing and vison quest. She takes them after being confined in the crew cab on a trip with Ole Tick (OT)my old coon dog who thinks Ole Puss (OP) is the Devil Incarnate and his soul mission is to send O.P. back Hades. Ole Puss is also with us and thinks her soul mission is to do the same to O.T. And of course Uncle B.S. (Buford Samuel, not the other B. S. my wife calls him)goes everywhere with us. My wife RW says she has yet to see UBS but he’s been with me every where I went since a child and has accepted him as family.
Anyway back to the question on what hook, I am afraid to say what hook. Because if I do and R.W. see’s this post, I will never explain why I have all these hook container boxes she says contains 557 hooks of every kind ever made. Her opinion and me and UBS may be different but then I learned never to argue with R.W.
Have a good’n, Jesse
In old age walking on a trail of beauty, living again may I walk. (part of a unknown Indian prayer) I feel much the same.
8T -
Sorry - but you’re basically asking me to give up at least two, and more likely three of the four kinds of fly fishing I like to do ( dries, wets, nymphs, and streamers ).
After hmmmmmmmmmming about this for a full 24 hours, all I can do is say “Sorry, that ain’t gonna happen, even in a hypothetical world.”
John
I have to agree with the size 14 dry.
In my case it’d be the size 14 wet/nymph…cheep… about the same size.
Mustad 3366(In ALL it’s various sizes) could be pressed into doing this…But, Who’d wanna do this?..Not I !
I seem to have caused some deep psychological trauma for JohnScott and Dubbinfly. I sincerely apologize for this unintended distress. As a trained professional, I would recommend that each of you sit in a quiet area with a comfortable chair and breath slowly and deeply for at least twenty minutes. Once each minute, repeat aloud, "it was only a hypothetical question; no one is going to take my hooks. The periods of panic, depression, and anxiety should begin to decrease in a week or so. 8T
hmmmmmmmmmm
I have fished for everything from a 6 1/2 foot Shark to pumpkinseed sunfish. I can’t imagine even getting a sharks attention with the #22 hook that I used for pumpkinseeds, nor can I imagine a pumpkinseed chasing a shark hook.
It did not take me 24 hours of sitting on my kiester just hmmmmmmming to decide this either. 
Now if you are talking trout fishing in the lakes I usually frequent then its a #14 2x dry fly hook. I could add a little weight for nymphs and emergers. I could bend it in a scud hook shape for scuds, or leave it alone for drys.
And of course I would make as many friends with people who in their wisdom had selected a different hook and size than I had. Let the bartering begin.
GBF -
Take a look at the Fishing Report for the SE Idaho Streams for yesterday. So much for sitting on my kiester hmmmmmmmmmming.
John
P.S. You misspelled hmmmmmmmmmming - it has 10 m’s, not 7 m’s. Use your spellcheck next time !!
I think you folks have John all wrong…obviously he’s dealing with this brilliantly…he has clearly been in a zen state several times…good for you Grasshopper:cool:
:rolleyes:
Eight Thumbs, thank you so much for the great advice. Me an UBS feel much better now. RW said me and UBS spent the night dancing aroud a fire in the back yard chanting something about, save our hooks. She then ask if we had been in her Ole Yeller Pill bottle. But of couse not, (we know better) and we said, we had no idea about no fire or nothing else that happened last night.
We did go to what RW calls the Boars Nest after reading your advice today. The Boar,s Nest is the place in the back of the basement were we tie flys for our self and family. Sure enough after maybe 30 minutes of doing what you said we are healed. Your are a true professional, better than Dr. Phil.
By the way this is a very interesting post, and me and UBS are very interested in what hook, and the reasons for each reply. It truely is a educational and thought provoking post.
Thanks again for the help, Jesse : )
I hope you and all, have someone like UBS with you to put a smile on your face because it looks good on you. Have a Good’n
Folks -
I do have to make a PUBLIC CORRECTION ( not necessarily an apology ) to an earlier post regarding Gnu Bee’s spelling of “hmmmmmmmmmm.”
Some further research shows that the CANADIAN version is, indeed, spelled with only mmmmmmm ( seven m’s ) as opposed to the mmmmmmmmmm’s in the Idaho version.
As Duck so brilliantly but rather obliquely pointed out, we Idahoans get longer zen sessions than our friends in B.C.
John
Think I noted one our Aussie friends using a couple “hmmm”'s in a post on another Forum today. Those poor blokes hardly have time to get into a zen state before they are out of it.