I have been told that there is a report, or opinion, that stainless hooks should not be used for salt water flies because it is not strong enough. The motivation being that a plated carbon steel hook has a higher stress yield point. Acknowledging that the stress comment is valid, should we forgo using the stainless hooks?
AT some point, how strong is strong enough?
For many years, stainless was ‘preferred’. It IS ‘weaker’ but I’d not want to live on the difference.
AS long as the tippet can’t break the hook it is really a non issue…now, for 130+ pound tackle and 500 to 1,000+ pound fish, it may matter…are we talking about fly rods here?
Buddy
I prefer the plated hooks over stainless for three reasons.
[ol]
[li]…plated hooks are cheaper[/li][li]… plated hooks hold their edge longer than stainless, and when they do need to be touched up, they sharpen easier[/li][*]…plated hooks are cheaper ;)[/ol]
I wish all of my knots were as strong as stainless hooks…
Saltwater is so corrosive I almost hate to fish in it. But I do. I tie all of my saltwater flies using Gamakatsu stainless steel hooks. Those hooks are VERY sharp, my fingers can attest to that.
Yes, they are more expensive than other types of hooks, but I tie for myself, not commercially. That means I don’t need a hundred of each type of fly. With the stainless steel you can reuse that fly a number of times until the salmon totally chew it up and destroy the tying material; that is a problem I like to have.
If you have to sharpen the hook there is still no rust. On plated hooks, when you sharpen them, they raw steel is exposed and will start to rust immediately. I don’t like stabbing my fingers with rusted metal.
Larry 
—sagefisher—
I find that the stainless steel hooks are more brittle than plated steel. I have broken the point off a lot more stainless hooks than I have plated steel ones. Especially after I have bent the barbs down. I also find the stainless to be heavier than a good steel wire plated hook, which for my purposes is undesired.
I am also very concerned with hook sharpness, a bit to the extreme and like that plated steel is much easier to sharpen than stainless. No matter how sharp your hook starts off it never stays that way.
I stopped using stainless and have been much happier with the results.
Just for your info . . . Gamakatsu does not sell stainless steel hooks and never has. Thier saltwater hooks are either Tinned or Black Nickel.
Hello Ray
In regards to your question on stainless hooks . . .
Yes, Stainless Steel hooks are weaker compared to the same diameter carbon steel hook. The obvious advantage to using SS is that your fly hook will suffer far less corrosion than if you are tying on plated carbon steel hooks. That being said, if you do tie your flies on plated carbon steel (a tinned finish is best) and wash and dry your flies properly after each use they will hold up quite well. That does however depend on the quality of the finish that the hook manufacturer applies.
If you are on the fence as to which to use, take a stainless hook in the size you plan to use and tie it onto the leader you will fish. Then go in the backyard and bury that hook into some wood, take about 30 steps or so back and then crank down and put a good bend in your rod. By pulling up or to the side you will get to know just what pressure that hook will take. If you can apply the max pressure you feel you would apply in a fight and the hook holds up OK, you now know that SS hook will do the job for you. If you start to open it up or it fails you know you need to adjust your pressure accordingly to move to a carbon steel hook.
I use SS quite a bit in the salt are simply mindful of what I can and cannot due depending on the hook size and strength.
Hope this helps