Ever notice how plastic stuff is easy to break until it gets really short/small?
I am wondering if they could manufacture some sort of plastic or composite dry fly hooks in the small sizes? Would help the floatability. While they are at it, they could color them light blue to make them less obvious than black or bronze…
Just a dream of mine.
I don’t recall the sources offhand to cite, but your typical 1XF dry fly hook is extremely light; in smaller sizes, they can be floated on calm/still water until the meniscus is broken. The moisture-absorbent properties of the materials we tie onto the light hook and the conditions under which we fish (broken surface water, drag, etc) are the more likely culprits for submerged dries. Steel has wonderful properties and is the choice for countless applications, including fish hooks. I think modern hook-making has reached a point where there isn’t much that can be done in the name of improvement. The only weakness of steel that stands out to me is its tendency to oxidize. As for color, I’ve heard that the light bronze finish is somewhat less visible than other finishes due to its ability to blend in with its environs. Though this may be marketing speak, bronze hooks seem to work just fine. But who knows? – your thinking may be what right in line with future hook manufacturing!
Every once in a while, a hook manufacturer goes the hollow wire route for dry fly hooks as well. They never seem to stick around very long, though as it makes for a very brittle hook. As for blending in, I just tied a series of streamers on chartreuse hooks. In my experience with bronze, stainless, nickel, red, black and now chartreuse finishes, I think too much is made of the hook itself. Fish (usually) seem perfectly willing to overlook that piece of wire sticking out of their meal.
Well written and well reasoned - both uf you. Like I said, my “crazy” idea. Thanks
You may be onto something Byron. With the rapidly advancing technology in graphite/carbon fiber, it’s only a matter of time before someone comes up with an injection molded hook. Maybe re-enforced with Kevlar fiber?
I said this on the Flymph site a week or two ago, but it might be appropriate here, too. I used to try so hard to match my fly to the proper hook size and type so I could cover up as much of the shank as possible and still have a wide enough hook gap. The least amount of hook showing has got to be better…right? Then I tied up a couple of Roy Christie’s Copper Wire Hare’s Mask and caught fish on them. Completely shot my theory.
This picture is from Roy’s group of flies on Hans’ Danica website.
Joe
When will you show the completed fly?? LOL
Good point! I have no idea what the fish think it is.
Joe
Although I’m not going to go so far as writing that it will never happen, the chances of something like this coming to reality anytime soon are very slim at best. The main problem is the diameter of the hook wire. There are all types of re-enforced/filled plastic materials already out there. They are extremely strong, but only at a certain width or thickness. If they have to go below this for a specific application, they usually start to add ribbing or something along that line to beef up the overall structure of whatever part it is when it’s molded. When you get to where fresh water hooks are in diameter, they’re just too thin no matter what you can add like Tungsten, glass fiber, carbon fiber etc. to even come close to what metal can do, and do it at a much lower overall cost. To even try and injection mold anything like a small hook would be quite a challenge in itself with injection speed, heat, and pressure, not to mention how the molder is going to eject a part like that in the automatic mode. Commercial molders work on time and speed period. They try and mold as much as they can, as fast as they can. They would absolutely have to sharpen each and every hook that comes out of that tool which would add to the cost as well. I work in the product development part of plastic’s for a living and have hands on experience for a little over 32 years now with the stuff.
Regards,
Mark
Sounds pretty definitive to me. Thanks
If they made them out of some plastic material or composite, would the cold temperatures that some of us fish in make them more brittle. I don’t think heat would be an issue unless you were fishing a cold stream and there was a significant temperature difference making the plastic or composite flex repeatedly. But that is an interesting notion, i’m sure the material exists but for the right stuff it would probably end up costing too much per hook.
At this point in technology, they would be cost prohibitive I’m sure. But who knows what will be available several years down the road. As for cold and brittle? Even the coldest fishing conditions doesn’t affect a graphite fly rod. Sharpening a material like that will be the problem to overcome.