Which Hooks?

[skinhead]

Oi Oi All,

Here's a nice easy question for you. Which type & size of hook can be best utilised in the tying of Pike flies? I've played around with Waddingtons & a couple of largish singles, up to about a size 2. I picked up a pack of Drennan 4/0 O'Shaugnessy hooks yesterday & they don't look too dissimilar to those used by Fulling Mill on their pike flies on sale in the Orvis shops. What do you think?

[Old Smoothound]

Originally Posted by skinhead

Oi Oi All,

Here's a nice easy question for you. Which type & size of hook can be best utilised in the tying of Pike flies? I've played around with Waddingtons & a couple of largish singles, up to about a size 2. I picked up a pack of Drennan 4/0 O'Shaugnessy hooks yesterday & they don't look too dissimilar to those used by Fulling Mill on their pike flies on sale in the Orvis shops. What do you think?

Hi Skinhead,

When I first started tying Pike flies a few years back I tried Fulling Mill Pike hooks. They were very brittle and did not have any "give" in them and subsequently snapped off in some very large Chew Valley Pike. I then switched to sea hooks. The best I have found are Varivas "Bigmouth" hooks.
God are they sharp! Exceptionally strong and have a longish shank, which is good for tying pretty big Pike flies.

Most of my early season flies are tied on 1/0 or 2/0 with the really big flies tied on 4/0 - 6/0. It basically depends on the size of bait fish I am trying to cameo.

My most successful flies are in the size range of 3 1/2- 4" long so hook sizes 1/0 and 2/0 are used a lot.

I hope this helps.