Tiemco hooks

[Zepher]

I'm at a point that allows me to spend a bit more 'cabbage' on fly building material, which at this point, is mostly for terrestrials. I'm tempted to think that Tiemco brand will allow more hook-ups. They seem to have a keener edge, according to the fingernail test. About half of my hook selection are the "house brand"

Is there any evidence to show that fish will stick to Tiemcos more often ?

Most of my shopping is done a Kiene's and S.L. Tahoe fly fishing. I mention this only because both shops are located within 5 minutes of highway 50, just in case someone suggests another brand of hook. If neither shop carries that particular hook, I won't be getting it.

But to get back back on track, I wanna 'sticky' hook

[Carl Blackledge]

Sir,

I have hundreds if not thousands of Tiemco hooks- what size are you looking for, I can offer you a great deal.

carlblackiedge@aol.com

[John H]

Zephyr - I like the use of the word 'cabbage'. It has been a while since I heard 'cabbage' used like that. Good job on that.

My thinking on hooks is if you feel good about the hook, you will feel good about the fly. If you feel good about the fly you will fish it with confidence and it will fish sticky. A little bit of extra cabbage for hooks will buy you a lot of fishing confidence. I used to use the Tiemco 200R quite a bit for stimulators. Now I just tie bass flies. They take along time to make but you don’t lose them so you don’t need many.

[DLJeff]

I have found that when it comes to trout flies, the holding ability isn't a key factor in hook choice. For me, the shape and design of the hook is my first differentiator. Some hooks have narrow gapes, some have the wrong eye position, some use heavier or lighter wire than I want, etc. Since most trout flies are pretty thin wire, penetration and holding ability isn't a problem. For me, the only fish I've found where hook penetration and holding makes a noticeable difference is tarpon. You absolutely need a super sharp hook with the proper wire strength when it comes to tarpon flies, even for the 10-20lb juveniles in Yucatan.

[Zepher]

A PM message has been sent to Carl.


Zephyr - I like the use of the word cabbage. It has been a while since I heard cabbage used like that. Good job on that.

Thanks John. I borrowed "cabbage" from the three stooges.

So, to address you and DLJeff -Thanks to you both. Great self-learned information. You're both hard core.

I love fishing terrestrials. They are big and easier to see. I've made adjustments to several styles and patterns of flies. At the risk of this post going sideways, these are some of the adjustments. I got rid of the hard shell back, like the turkey quill wing case. Also deleted the 1 to 2 mil thick foam back ( except in beetle patterns because it doesn't seem to matter ) , in favor of the 1/2 mm. Also, the bodies and wing cases won't extend past the barb. On the hoppers, the wing material is sparkle yarn. It's soft, flexible, floatable, quick drying, visible at a distance, and most important, it has a better chance of getting tangled in fish teeth. My beetles are foam back - I have a higher rate of "fish stick" with beetles patterns.

I don't know what the percentage of grabs to hook ups should be. I enjoy what I do and how I do it, just want to increase my odds. At this point, maybe hook selection could be a sticky improvement

[Carl Blackledge]

A PM message has been sent to Carl.



Thanks John. I borrowed "cabbage" from the three stooges.

So, to address you and DLJeff -Thanks to you both. Great self-learned information. You're both hard core.

I love fishing terrestrials. They are big and easier to see. I've made adjustments to several styles and patterns of flies. At the risk of this post going sideways, these are some of the adjustments. I got rid of the hard shell back, like the turkey quill wing case. Also deleted the 1 to 2 mil thick foam back ( except in beetle patterns because it doesn't seem to matter ) , in favor of the 1/2 mm. Also, the bodies and wing cases won't extend past the barb. On the hoppers, the wing material is sparkle yarn. It's soft, flexible, floatable, quick drying, visible at a distance, and most important, it has a better chance of getting tangled in fish teeth. My beetles are foam back - I have a higher rate of "fish stick" with beetles patterns.

I don't know what the percentage of grabs to hook ups should be. I enjoy what I do and how I do it, just want to increase my odds. At this point, maybe hook selection could be a sticky improvement

Message sent

[John H]

I did not know it was in the Three Stooges. I thought it was just a word from my youth. Interesting. The Stooges were influential.

It is fun to make adjustments to flies for the fishing you are doing and ending up with your own creation and having it work.

[Sonoman]

Today's chemically sharpened hooks are vastly sharper than in the past. I had to sharpen my old Mustad hooks from way back but newer hooks are sharper out of the box than I can get with a hone.

I had problems with small Tiemco hooks straightening out on big fish when fishing rivers like the Lower Sac. Happened a lot on purchased Umqua flies like #16 PTs I picked up. I tie mine only on heavy wire hooks like a 2488 or stiffer hooks like Firehole. Larger hooks like a 200R for stonefly nymphs or terrestrials have not been a problem for me.

[Jay Murakoshi]

I've kinda shyed away from Tiemco, but still use a few. I now tie on Daiichi, Gamakatsu and Ahrex hooks. Just my preference.

[Shawntheflyguy]

Definitely some solid advice from the members. For me, each maker will have their shining stars when it comes to hooks, and generally the more expensive hooks use a better quality wire which can retain a better edge. Some Tiemco models have seemingly become less effective than they used to be. I was talking to Lance Gray at the last show in Pleasanton and he cited their 5262 model seemed to be opening up easier than it used to. I still use plenty of their dry fly or nymph models with continued satisfaction. Definitely check out Daiichi and Ahrex as Jay mentioned. Kona is another rising star along with Firehole sticks as they use great quality wire and feature barbless models. One thing to take away....unless it's on clearance...if the price tag for a 100pack doesn't make you think twice....it's probably not the sharpest hook in the box

[Jay Murakoshi]

Like I tell all my clients who go on my trips. You spends $$$$ of dollars for a trip of a life time and you skimp on the cheapest hook. That's the least expensive part of your trip. Why take a chance of losing that fish of a life time. On the other side of the coin, I did lose a big bone fish in Aitutaki a few years ago. Had almost to hand, then he took one last surge and straightened out the hook. It was Gamakatsu SL 45. The only hook I've had straightened out in my years I've been fly fishing (50 years)

[Troutsource]

I decided to commit to high end hooks -- why go through all the work to have a hook bend, or have a hook rust out, or not penetrate, etc. So I use try to use Hanak for everything except when the don't have the right size or shape. Then I go to what my second tier (quality may be just as good, but for me they're my second choice): generally Tiemco, Umpqua, Firehole (which has lots of unusual hooks). Hanak's not cheap ($8.95 for 25 hooks) but I have no complaints or regrets. They have a black shiny finish and I haven't seen any rust. They are EXTREMELY sharp (I often end up bleeding while tying if I'm not careful). Hanak has mainly hooks for core euro-nymphing applications (which is how I do almost all of my fishing), and they're all barbless. The drawback is that they lack extra large and extra small hooks. Their smallest size seems to be 16.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Hooks are a subject that could be debated for days.


The old larger Mustad and Wright McGill Eagleclaw hooks were very crude and had to be sharpened.


When the barbless fishing rules came out people would pinch down the barbs on old Mustad 94840 dry fly hooks.

While pinching down the barbs many hooks failed like having the entire point fall off.

Next entered the better hooks from Japan which had small barbs, better/sharper hook points and better steel.


Over the 50 years of selling fly tying hooks we had some come in where an entire box was not tempered right and they all opened up very easily.

If you have a heavy rod and a heavy tippet you might be able to bend open hooks or break them? Something has to give......

On a large fish if you pull too hard the tippet will break, the hook will bend open or the hook with break.

With all the Japanese brands of good hooks you can find the shape that fits your needs so many brands will be used.


I like Japanese hooks with the barb pinched down. We are spoiled today......

[Jay Murakoshi]

Hey Bill, remember the old Eagle Claw 254. That's one of the hooks I use to use for stripers. I still have about 300 on hand. Also the 3908C shad hook, not the sharpest things on the market but they worked. I still have a bunch of those, also

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Hey Bill, remember the old Eagle Claw 254. That's one of the hooks I use to use for stripers. I still have about 300 on hand. Also the 3908C shad hook, not the sharpest things on the market but they worked. I still have a bunch of those, also

Yes Jay, Us old timers witnessed lots of changes in the hook market.

That Eagle Claw 254 SS was used by Mike Monroe of the Fly Hutch in Sacramento for Tarpon as well.

After they stopped making the Mustad 3908C hooks we were scrambling for chrome/nickel Shad hooks.

.

[dynaflow]

FWIW I use Gamakatsu SL-11-3H for most all of my Bonefish hooks and only use the SL-45's in #6 with (some #8's) exclusively for the George Bush pattern.If you want a stronger hook than the SL11-3H try the Ahrex SA220 Streamer hook in #6 and #8 as they are a similar size to the Gamas but with heavier wire.