Thought I would try some Pistol Pete’s…ordered the smallest propellers I could find [from J Stockard]…upon trying them it became obvious for streamer type hooks …even with the barbs turned down …they wouldn’t go on.
I thought from previous discussion smaller was better mainly to make twist less likely.
Does anyone have experience?
What size props go with what size hooks?
Are larger props more effective?
Any other words of wisdom would be appreciated …but let’s not get into is it really a fly or fly fishing thing.
Quote: “The big difference between tying Petes and your regular tie is that you have to use hooks
with a longer shank, to accommodate the bead and propeller blade. Instead of a standard wet fly
hook, you will go to a 2X or 3X long shank. For streamer and some wooly worm and wooly bugger
ties, you might want to use a 4X long. Experiment until you get a balance in the size, shape and
performance of the Pete.
If you have a small enough propeller blade, so that it does not overpower a fly, or create a
bad balance, you can theoretically make a Pete on any size hook you want. But, again, since you are
usually not trying to finesse finicky six inchers, you will be tossing larger sizes. Petes are designed
to catch larger fish and are typically best tied on a hook of about size 6 or larger.
Big wooly buggers and streamers are best balanced on size 4, 2 or even up to 1/0 streamer
hooks, 3X or 4X long. Smaller wet fly and attractor patterns can be effectively created on hooks as
small as size 82X or 3X. Again, you can experiment to find what works best for you.
There is an option you may wish to consider in purchasing hooks for the Pete. Standard
hooks are mostly down-eye. Some come in up-eye models. For Pete making you might want to
try some of the ring-eye hooks, in long shank models. Several hook manufacturers offer these
and they are sometimes less expensive than high-end fly tying hooks.” End Quote
Doug
Another option is to use a normal shank hook and then place the propeller and beads on stainless wire ahead of the fly. This can be done using the round nose pliers used by beading folks. You then attach your leader to the loop on the prop assembly. This makes it a little easier to build and allows you to add a prop to any streamer fly.
Bigger props will make more commotion and add more flash which should lead to more attraction in dirty water. Depending on what your trying to acheive, I’d say bigger would be better until it causes line twist problems or becomes too much to cast.
The prop on wire in front of the hook would almost be a flyrod spinner. Putting it on the leader might work but I’d be worried about it knicking the line depending on how light the leader is. Thin metal edge rotating around mono or flouro for an extended period of time doesnt seem like the best approach.