Mustad

[Dxh]

Tied up my first flys ever this morning, some not so pretty, others not too bad actually. Tied up a BH bloodworm on a size 16 mustad, tried it out on the river today and WHAM something took it HARD. I had a bunch of line out, so i was slowly trying to let it out and get the fish on my reel, it was pulling VERY hard. Now i wasn't pulling too too hard but i was keeping tension and keeping my rod tip high, when the hook came out and the fish got off. Brought in my setup to inspect my hooks, and saw that the bloodworm i tied actually had him, until he straightened the hook out.. :$*%&: Just wondering if anyone has had problems with mustad hooks straightening out or if this was user error. Should i buy better quality hooks? Thanks in advance.

[johnk]

Tied up my first flys ever this morning, some not so pretty, others not too bad actually. Tied up a BH bloodworm on a size 16 mustad, tried it out on the river today and WHAM something took it HARD. I had a bunch of line out, so i was slowly trying to let it out and get the fish on my reel, it was pulling VERY hard. Now i wasn't pulling too too hard but i was keeping tension and keeping my rod tip high, when the hook came out and the fish got off. Brought in my setup to inspect my hooks, and saw that the bloodworm i tied actually had him, until he straightened the hook out.. :$*%&: Just wondering if anyone has had problems with mustad hooks straightening out or if this was user error. Should i buy better quality hooks? Thanks in advance.

 

Could just be the style of hook or a bad one in the batch. I use Mustad C49S hooks for chironomids and 12 lb. trout can't straighten them out.

 

[Dxh]

its actually a size 14, my mistake. Its a R50 DRY. Which i was informed was a better hook even for nymphing.

[bhurt]

I've used mustad for the last 5 years and personally have never had a problem with them.

 

I wouldn't use a dry fly hook for nymphs, as I understand it the dry fly hooks is a thinner gague of wire, which would make perfect sence why the hook straighted on you.

 

As for the nymph hook not beeing as sharp as the dry hook, I dunno cause I know mustad now chemically sharpen thier hooks now, and how sharp do you really need a hook to be for trout?

[Gaffer]

I have used dry hooks for nymphs in certain ties, but I normally tie on Daiichii hooks. Like other have said, probably just the finer guage of the dry hook that caused it to bend out on you. Sounds like you hooked into a bit of a monster so a nymph hook may have bent out too.

 

Andrew

[DonAndersen]

Dxh,

 

Mustad are good hooks. By far cheaper than the Japanese stuff and just as good if not better. I started tying with Mustad 50+ years ago, tried the others and now am back to Mustad.

A R50 #14 is a light wire dry fly hook and should be capable of landing fish to 8 lbs. or better with some care. The hook may have only been lodged into the point rather than the bend allowing the mechanical advantage to bend the hook readily or like some have said, occasionally a bad hook gets shipped.

 

Is a R 50 #14 appropriate for "worms". That kinda depends on the size of the worm tie. I've used size #16 when tying worms using rubber bands.

 

regards,

 

 

Don

[ironfly]

Dhx, have you ever heard of the 20/20 Club? To get in, you have to catch a 20" trout on a #20 hook. Not sure if it has to be a dry. Point being, very large fish can be landed on very small hooks, but it's not easy and takes a lot of practice to get that good at playing fish. Ultimately, with hooks you choose between bending and breaking. If a hook is tempered hard enough it won't bend, but will break. I did a bunch of bench tests a few years back, and Mustad ended up at the top of the list. Comparing equivalent sizes, styles and guages of hooks from various companies, I found that a Mustad takes more pressure to straighten out than is required to break most other brands. So not only is a Mustad hook one of the strongest out there, but if the hook that got straightened happens to be the last of it's kind in your flybox, you can bend it back and catch another fish. That's saved my day a few times. I had a foam beetle that I bent back and caught about 20 more fish on. I had to close the bend after every fish, and I kept expecting the hook to break. Mind you, these were Grayling, and weren't truly straightening the hook; instead of a "J" it was more of an "L". After sunset, when I was heading back to the car I straightened the hook by hand and it took almost no pressure to break, but I still wonder if I could have caught another fish with it.

[Dxh]

Okay great, thanks for the replies. So would you recommend use an actual nymph hook to tie nymphs? Im not sure why the guy i was talking to told me to pick up the dry hooks, even for nymphs. Maybe it was just his preference.

[kungfool]

Okay great, thanks for the replies. So would you recommend use an actual nymph hook to tie nymphs? Im not sure why the guy i was talking to told me to pick up the dry hooks, even for nymphs. Maybe it was just his preference.

 

I have made the mistake of using dry hooks for nymphs in the past. They work ok in some small still waters for smaller fish but are useless on the bow and many other bodies of water that contain fish over 16" with some fight in them.

 

As for Mustad in general, I have used tons of them in all shapes and sizes and not had a problem in the past. A solid product IMHO.

[Dxh]

I have made the mistake of using dry hooks for nymphs in the past. They work ok in some small still waters for smaller fish but are useless on the bow and many other bodies of water that contain fish over 16" with some fight in them.

 

As for Mustad in general, I have used tons of them in all shapes and sizes and not had a problem in the past. A solid product IMHO.

 

 

Thanks for the tips. From now on, nymph hooks for nymphs (duh..)

 

PS , i hope you find your camera.

[DonAndersen]

Junior,

 

I am aware of the 20/20 club. No idea who or what runs it.

 

Do recall years ago fishing the Crow when it was good. Did use Mustad 94840 in sizes 20>26 for the BWO's and Trico's. Found that the tiny Mustads would open up. Started to use Partridge Capt. Hamiliton L3A's in 20>26's. They are stronger but a lot more brittle. Flattening the barb was a tough one. Often the hook broke.

 

Tried the Tiemco's and Diaiichi hooks. They opened up even faster than the Mustads.

 

regards,

 

Don