i was wondering, how important is it to use fly hooks? i am new to tying, and fly fishing, but i have noticed (usually after getting snagged on a tree and recovering mind u) that i sometimes break the tippet right on the hook sometime during the cast. (it is still on after i get it down from the tree lol)
however, the flies ive tied with a Mustad hook seem to not have the same problem when posed with the same stress… the hooks in question are Eagle Claw in this case, i use them for spin fishing, and they hold up fine, cast after cast, fish after fish. (except on submerged trees! lol) is this coincidence? or am i onto something here.
spoof
just to add… i do understand that certain patterns call for specific hooks for a reason, a few posts below question the hook measurements from one company to another.
I don’t know about the kind of hooks, but if they snap the leader during the cast, you are most likely not allowing the rod to load on the backcast. If you start the rod forward again before the line fully rolls out behind it, you have some of the line moving forward while the end is still moving backward. The result is that you crack the line like a whip and the fly snaps off at the leader. I lost a number of flies this way when I started flyfishing.
My opinion on hooks is the fly hooks are made to a higher quality standard. I’ve tied on others, but I don’t like them. Just my opinion.
i do have to agree with you on the higher quality… what is your opinion on making mono eyes, instead of using the pre bent hook eye? (obviously involves cutting the eye off)
i try to be as conscious as possible about allowing my line to load, my biggest problem is laying the fly on the water before the fly line, for a gentle presentation… then when i finally do get “the perfect cast,” im not sure what to do to create movement on the waters surface (fishing in a quarry… kinda still water)
i do crack my line on occasion, 9 out of 10 times i think im loading my line properly, i may be wrong though…
ive had to learn tying and fly fishing from the internet… not the best “hands on” experience… lol the only people with experience in fly fishing i know are the ones on this board lol
If you are trying to do a pattern correctly, then you would want to use whatever hook the pattern calls for. Dry Fly hooks are 1X long, and made of very light wire, so they will not weight the fly down. Wet Fly Hooks are similarly proportioned, but are made of heavier gauge wire, to help them sink. Nymph hooks are longer shanked, as a rule, and streamer hooks are longer still. Salmon hooks often have up-turned eyes (I am not sure why), and bass hooks have a wider hook gap (bass have larger mouths). Salt water fly hooks are stainless steel, and very stiff.
That being said, I use whatever I have. I have tied flies on Aberdeen hooks, Cricket (light wire) hooks, and even Gamkatsus, and Kahle hooks. They have all worked, to a degree. Fly hooks are best, but if you need a fly, and all you have are Aberdeens…You do what you have to do.
I have even made small jigs by tying bucktail on an Aberdeen hook, and clamping a split-shot behind the eye. It caught a lot of fish. When I needed a Clouser Minnow, and did not have any barbell eyes, I have used .17, and .22 cal. air rifle pellets. I have used a paper hole-punch to make dots from thin plastic, made an eyeball in the center of the dots with a Prismacolor marker, and used them for glue-on eyes. I’ve also used Doll Eyes from Walmart and Hobby Lobby.
Like I said, you do what you have to do.
Your leader failure is more likely due to your casting than the hook design. Set up a camcorder (or cell phone video) and record yourself casting. When you look at the video, you will be amazed at what you see…
spoof85,
[b]" what is your opinion on making mono eyes"
[/b]I think they are great if you want eyes but do not want the weight.
[b]" instead of using the pre bent hook eye? (obviously involves cutting the eye off)"
[/b]I am lost here! Are you saying that you cut the hook eye off??
Maybe I am the only one here that is not understanding what you are asking about “cutting the hook eye off”. If, so, I apologize.
correct, cuttingthe eye off and sanding the end so it is now just shaft, basically the opposite of removing the entire bend to create a hinged body (or extended)
spoof
I interpeted that as snelling a leader to the hook to replace the eye on the hook. I may be wrong, I know when I saw it early this morning before coffee, I was huh?
If you are warm water fishing or tying hoppers you can do well with a Mustad 3261. it comes as small as a size 10 (8 is easier to find) and costs $4/100. Very good cheap hook.
Spoof,
Except when you want a specific hook for a tie, you can use ANY hook to tie flies on.
Just use a little common sense in your choices. You can tie any fly on any hook, but the length of the hook shank will effect the size of the fly. Same with a larger gape, like tying a slim bodied fly on a larger hook, you get the same length fly, but the hook bend and point are oversized for the pattern and the fly isn’t balanced correctly. You can sometimes use this to your advantage. When tying bass flies, for example, tying on a larger hook rather than a hook with a longer shank, you get the same sized fly and a larger hook gape which should aid in hooking the bass easier. Just don’t go overboard with this kind of thing and you’ll be fine.
Also, many hook ‘styles’ are out there that work just fine for flies but aren’t ‘regular fly tying hooks’. The Mustad 3366 comes immediately to mind. I tie all of my bass bugs and lots of streamer patterns on this hook. The venerable 3191 ‘Carlisle’ is an outstanding long (about 6X I think) streamer hook. It’s kirbed (or offset, can’t remember which) but it straightens easily and is MUCH cheaper (around $4-$8/100) than comparable ‘fly tying’ hooks. Caught lots of trout and other species on these. Plain old ‘baitholder’ hooks are usually standard length/standard gape hooks with down eyes. A couple of seconds with a pair of pliers to flatten the barbs down and straighten the bend, and you have a very servicable hook for nymphs and wets, and bass flies in the larger sizes. None of this fly tying stuff is written in stone. Experiment, use what you have or can get easily. Have fun. It’s just fishing.
The breakage you are experiencing is unusual. Normally the tippet will break before the hook…but, sometimes when a hook is in the tree the force applied to it is at 90 degrees to the shank (hook in the bottom of the limb, the line coming over the top and down to your rod…, etc.) and that can break a hook. If they aren’t breaking on fish, don’t worry about it.
Buddy
You can actually buy hooks without eyes.
… and you can pay a fortune for them
Cheers,
A.
Also consider if you are doing catch and release. I prefer barbless which the Eagle Claw hooks are not. I’ve used them for tying and they work out fine. They just don’t release easily even with crimping, clipping, etc. the barb.