Post by Charlie Dickson on Dec 12, 2007 9:40:07 GMT -5
While working a tube fly through one of my favorite pools recently and using some new hooks I began to think about my trials and tribulations with tube fly hooks. So I thought I would share what I went through so other people will not have the same problems I had.
My initial experiments with tube flies went very poorly primarily, I think, because of the hooks I started using. Most of the mail order catalogs I got and some fly shop employees recommended using the Daiichi X510 Xpoint hook for tube flies (hook in upper right of the attached picture). And since this was the only source of info on the subject I could find I went for it. Looking back on the whole thing I realized that these people didn’t know any better than I did. My hookup and landing percentages both proved to be very poor using this hook.
The next hook I tried was Partridge Boilie hook (hook in upper left of the picture), again on the recommendation of a fly shop person I met at one of the fly fishing shows I worked at over the winter. This hook seemed to be better than the X510 but my hookups where still not on par with standard fly hooks for some reason.
I was getting ready to give up the ghost on tube flies when Nick recommended using a different hook, the Daiichi 2451 (hook in lower right of the picture). This hook worked very well both in terms of fish hooked and fish landed.
A fourth hook I have started to use is the Partridge Salar tube fly hook (hook in lower left of the picture). This hook is specifically designed for tube flies and has a larger than normal eye that seats very well in the junction tubing. This hook also worked very well both in terms of fish hooked and fish landed.
I’m sure these are not the only single hooks that would work well for tube flies but they are the ones I have used and have some good experience with.
My initial experiments with tube flies went very poorly primarily, I think, because of the hooks I started using. Most of the mail order catalogs I got and some fly shop employees recommended using the Daiichi X510 Xpoint hook for tube flies (hook in upper right of the attached picture). And since this was the only source of info on the subject I could find I went for it. Looking back on the whole thing I realized that these people didn’t know any better than I did. My hookup and landing percentages both proved to be very poor using this hook.
The next hook I tried was Partridge Boilie hook (hook in upper left of the picture), again on the recommendation of a fly shop person I met at one of the fly fishing shows I worked at over the winter. This hook seemed to be better than the X510 but my hookups where still not on par with standard fly hooks for some reason.
I was getting ready to give up the ghost on tube flies when Nick recommended using a different hook, the Daiichi 2451 (hook in lower right of the picture). This hook worked very well both in terms of fish hooked and fish landed.
A fourth hook I have started to use is the Partridge Salar tube fly hook (hook in lower left of the picture). This hook is specifically designed for tube flies and has a larger than normal eye that seats very well in the junction tubing. This hook also worked very well both in terms of fish hooked and fish landed.
I’m sure these are not the only single hooks that would work well for tube flies but they are the ones I have used and have some good experience with.