HOOK REVIEWS hopefully from many here on this forum

[Kelly L.]

Oh, well I should of figured that out. Thank you for enlightening me!

[Kelly L.]

I am making a list, and checking it twice. Not too late for somebody else to chime in here. So nobody uses a Mustad 94840 for the lighter wire hooks huh? I think I bought them because Dave Hughes liked a TMC hook, and this one compared to it. I don't tie many dry flies at all. I also have Mustad 3906 and 3906B for heavier wire. I have several Dai-Riki hooks. I have some Daiichi nymph hooks, but not enough. I have mostly scud hooks from them in the smaller sizes. I have a ton of Daiichi streamer hooks though... Has anyone tried Togen hooks for these flies? A good friend of mine swears by Togen, but I haven't tried them yet. I would be amazed at what I have that I've forgotten about, because of being so disorganized with my hooks. I'd say 85 percent of my hooks are streamer hooks though. Funny how when you are first starting to tie, those numbers for hooks and names, are so over the top. Now I went through all my hooks recently, and some of those numbers jumped out at me. But as I said, they are strewn in different containers, and it is hard to find the ones I need, quickly.

P.S. I know some use Mustad classic hooks, and maybe what I listed are some they use a lot. I cannot wait to get my hooks straightened out. (well, you know what I mean)

Mark, if you are reading this...what about Gamakatsu? The guy there in Shreveport carries Gamakatsu, which was a pleasant surprise. Any models I should particularly look for to try out for these soft hackle/spider/flymph type flies?

[hankaye]

Kelly L. Howdy;

If you do a forum search you'll see that some DO use the Mustad hooks that you are refering to.
I've ask once or twice about hooks and it seems like it's all just a matter of personal preference.
I mean that yea you can be a historacly (sp?), correct or incorrect as ya want... Nose around abit,
you'll see what I mean.

hank

[Kelly L.]

Okay Hank. I wrote on the other thread that I guy I know, from England...told me not to get Kamasan hooks, that they are not good. Is that the general thought here too? I would like to get one full box dedicated to these flies, all in one box, so I can find everything in one box....my boxes came in the mail. So I am ready to get rolling on this after I finish my popper swap flies.

[kanutripr]

I like the Togen hooks. They are not available around here so I have to order them on-line. I really have only used these two styles. They are light wire. The grasshopper hook is a 10 and the emerger is a 14. Oh the pic is not actual size!



Another one I really like are Gamakatsu S12S-1F. They are light wire and extremely sharp. They are the hooks I tied the last swap fly on.



Vicki

[Soft-hackle]

KelIy, I like my friend Hans Weilenmann, believes the hook is the armature upon which our flies are constructed. There are many good hooks that can be used to create effective and imitative wingless wets from soft-hackles to flymphs.

Of course there is the standard wet fly hooks like these.


Greenwell's Glory Wingless on a Mustad S60-3399A


Ginger Spider tied on a Daiichi 1530

There are other great "standard" wet fly hooks like Mustad S80-3906 and Daiichi 1550

Rodger Fogg, English wet-fly fisherman suggested Drennan Specimen style hooks for traditional North Country spiders. Equivilent are the Daicchi 1640

Ruddy Spider

Another nice spider hook is Mustad R48

Partrdige and Yellow

The Mustad C53S or similar adds a great mayfly or stonefly profile:


Of course emerger or scud hooks work well

Black Star Emerger

This style also makes great wingless wets. Daiichi, Partridge, and Grip hooks from S. Africa make this style with a lot of implied action. This one is a Grip 14723BL, which is barbless, but they make a barbed version as well.

Green Goblin

there are special hooks designed especially for Soft-hackles as well and many more that are great for wingless wets including the turned up eye hooks, and don't forget dry fly hooks as well. Hope this gets you thinking.

Mark

[Soft-hackle]

Kelly,
A bit more--
Hook profile is, IMO, an important part of fly creation. The profile gives the overall impression to the fly, and getting the right profile for insect imitation can lead to better fly design and success.

Looking at the flies I've posted, the Mustad C53S profile is okay, but I've switched this hook out for a Daiichi 1260 because of the angle of the barb on the C53S is a little to steep. The 1260 gives a more open, level barb angle for better hooking.


Daiichi 1260

The Daiichi 1760 is similar in profile, but a heavier wire for fishing deeper:


This next one is a Daiichi 1150, which is similar in profile to the Grip 14723BL, but a bit heavier in wire.


You, must think of the job the hook will be doing for you -how it it will be fished and what you want it to look like in the water.

As I said above, many tie wingless wets on dry fly hooks to be fished in the surface film, upstream or up and across. The selection of the lighter wire and rounder bend of most dry fly hook are appropriate for this application.

I hope I haven't befuddled you more. I can be rather overwhelming. It's just a matter of thinking it through.

Mark

[Kelly L.]

Mark, this is simply fantastic!! Photos to go with the comments. That is very very helpful. I have a lot of those hooks too. Those photos really are impressive, and do show off the fly, the hook gives it that little extra... I never thought of using a scud hook either. I have a lot of them. I do have several varieties of wet and classic wet fly hooks, nymph hooks. But I wanted to make sure my box includes hooks that are classy, and that hold up too. I tried hitting the search button for hooks, then spider hooks, but the search function wasn't working right for me. I did learn how to subscribe to the forum though. THANK YOU FOR THE EXTRA TIME with the PHOTOS.

Ah, more pics. I know I have one or two sizes of Mustad C53S hooks. If I remember right, I got them to tie a Gartside Sparrow. (they were excellent for that)
I never heard of a GRIP hook. I thought I had known all the hook makers. But here are two more today I never heard of.

[Soft-hackle]

Kelly,
Grip hooks can be purchased in a number of places. Do a search for them.

Mark

[hankaye]

Kelly L. Howdy;

See the difference from when I asked a simular question a wee bit more than a year ago...

http://flymphforum.com/viewtopic.php?f= ... 8679#p8679

You get pretty photos... I got a bunch of links ..... they ARE worth checking into
still confused but working on a solution. Ruard says there is Always one. (chuckle)

hank