Flinty old Yankee that I am,
my third criteria in hook choice is price. Don’t usually buy a 10 or 25-pack of
expensive hooks if I can find the same configuration in Mustad 100-packs at the same
price. Guiding & supplying flies to clients we go through a lot of flies, so I tie on utilitarian hooks & fall short of being able to
indulge in dropping the names of expensive Anglo hooks as my standard choices.
The initiated have their decided favorites & for reasons only they can say.
The initiated have their decided favorites & for reasons only they can say.
My own choices, the hooks
featured here, result from trials & the unique demands of my home water,
the upper Columbia River, where wild redband trout average 19 inches &
fight like pissed-off loggers on a Saturday night. They go bananas. And they will show
you if your wee hook is any good, or not.
The hook choices listed here
are based on the criteria laid down & none of these brands are sponsors (though,
really, I would like it if they’d all send me some free hooks for the plug).
You’ll notice that none of my choices are barbless, & there are some
claw-point barbless hooks on the market that I really like the looks of &
I’ve resolved to try some, yet, so far, using barbless hooks on my home water
mostly results in long-distance releases. Very
long-distance, denying anglers that pleasurable moment admiring a trout
properly busted, in the net awaiting parole. Most of my hook choices possess
mini barbs that back out doing little harm. When I fish water inhabited by a
lot of small fish, or where it is required, I simply crush the barb down –
& this saves me from having to buy & keep track of different hooks for
duplicating the same patterns.
Like I said, the initiated
will have their preferences. My own, hopefully, might serve as a reference or
starting point for those wondering what hooks to use in tying soft-hackle &
wet flies for trout.
Daiichi 1150
Those who read SHJ have
probably noticed that I use this hook a lot in tying soft-hackle flymphs &
spiders. Though it is short-shanked with a wide gape & the overall shape
lending itself to simulating the characteristic C-shape of caddis larvae, I
don’t classify the 1150 as a ‘caddis’ style hook, exactly. In configuration it
is, more precisely, an ‘octopus’ style hook, the same style popular with
salmon/steelhead/trout bait fishers, & for good reason. The ‘octopus’ style
is a faithful hooker & holder. When fishing precincts where large trout on wee flies is
the game, the reliably strong Daiichi 1150 is a good choice for wingless
patterns, #12-#18, as the short shank allows me a standard #16 on a #14
hook, affording a larger working end for maximum iron to hold larger, heavier
fish. The short shank of a #18 works fine for tying midges down to about #22,
while still allowing sensible iron for holding larger trout. The 1150 keels
nicely, & the needle-sharp offset hook point makes it a consistent getter
when fished on the swing. But for the tiny barb, the configuration is pretty
much the same as the new barbless designs sold as ‘soft-hackle’ hooks. I prefer
a straight or up-eye, & the slightly upturned nose of the 1150 is as
elegant as it is utilitarian.
Mustad 3366-BR
A sproat style all-purpose
hook, heavy wire, with a straight eye, short shank & wide hook gape with a
deep, fish-holding pocket in the bend. The 3366-BR is a classic configuration
for soft-hackle flies & winged wets. This style is a favorite of North Country traditionalists, who claim it tracks like the eyeless hooks of old, considering it preferable to modern down-eye styles for tying Tummel & Clyde style wets & North Country spiders. Its spacious, straight eye is easy to thread in failing light. A straight eye & wide gape
ensure the hook keels smartly. In shape, it is identical to the Alec Jackson
‘traditional’ soft-hackle hooks, at about 1/10th the cost. Mustad hooks aren't heat-treated as brittle hard as a lot of the English brands, so the barb can be crimped without fracturing the hook point, & when crimped, the generous barb maintains a good, fish-holding hump. These are sized smaller than standard wetfly, a #10 equal to a standard #12. I tie #12 & #14 on a #10, & #14-#16 on a #12 3366BR If I
could have only one hook for tying soft-hackles & winged wets, this would
be my choice. Good for nymphs, terrestrials & too. The Mustad
3366-BR is a good-looking, well-tempered, reliable hook at a bargain price.
Mustad R50-94840
The classic sproat, down-eye
hook many prefer for soft-hackle & wet flies. Though billed as a dryfly
hook, it is heavy-wired (& well-tempered) by modern dryfly standards, the
configuration identical to the Tiemco 2487 & Gaelic Supreme Jim Bashline
wetfly hooks, at a fraction of the cost. If you like the down-eye style, the
Mustad R50-94840 is a good one for the money.
Mustad 3906B
An old style wetfly sproat
with a slightly longer hook shank than the Mustad R50-94840. Good for winged
wets, stoneflies & patterns requiring a bit more body length. Also good for
wee flies meant to be swung in fast water, tied short on the hook shank with a
lot of hook extended behind. Some tie North Country spiders on these, the heavier
iron fishing them deeper in the water column.
Mustad 94842
This is the graceful,
old-timey up-eye sproat style James Leisenring, Pete Hidy & Sylvester Nemes
favored for soft-hackle flies. I used to tie on this one a lot before switching
to the stronger, shorter shanked, wider-gaped Daiichi 1150 & Mustad 3366-BR, which are more
reliable against the hook-bending trout of my home water. Still, this hook
makes any fly look good – & hooks as good as it looks. My choice for wee
flies fished in the slow clear precincts of discerning, educated trout.
Tiemco 200R
An elegant hook, similar to
Spey/salmon hook designs. The dropped, York bend of the 3x long 200R creates a deep
keel to keep the fly tracking upright while swinging. I like this one for
winged wets & bucktails. I also like the 200R for stonefly, dragon &
damselfly imitations, Carey Specials, leeches & buggers. Marabou tailing
doesn’t get wrapped as much with the dropped bend out of the way.
Daiichi 1120
A caddis-style hook. Some
like these for tying North Country spiders;
though, as a hook for soft-hackle & wet flies, my only practical use for
this design is in tying depthcharges meant to sink droppers bearing wee
soft-hackles to the lower water column. If any weight is added to the curved
shank it keels over & fishes point up, a desired posture in a weighted
depthcharge, rending it less apt to snag obstructions on the stream bottom. For
this purpose I use #8-#10, heavily weighted on the shank & dressed as a latex worm or nondescript-brown soft-hackle nymph.
And, naturally, SHJ's favorite catfish hook:
