We tie quite a few flies each year at Glenn River Fly Co Ltd and we always get asked – “what hook is that?”   The answer almost always varies. Why? We believe the hook is perhaps the most important component of the fly pattern.  The size, shape, style, wire, gage, sharpness, durability, point, barb, eye – are all super important. Perhaps the only thing that is not important to us, actually, is the price.  While we fully understand some consumers are limited as to the availability of materials or financial resources they have to invest in their hobby- we also understand most local fly shops have plenty of suitable choices. 

Attached you find a great Fly Tyer’s Hook Reference Guide.   It does a real nice job of listing similar hook styles of very common distributors such as:  Daiichi; Dai-Riki; Mustad; Orvis; GamaKatsu; Partridge and Tiemco (TMC).  

Now, back to the original question- “what hook is that?”   Well, Wayne ties a lot of saltwater flies and bass bugs. For that reason, his answer would be all over the board.  Since I tie mostly Trout related patterns- here is how I would answer the question.

First,  I would tell you that at least 75% of the flies that I tie to fish personally are tied on Daiichi.  Second, I would tell you that the same holds true for our pattern specific fly tying kit called the “Fly-Kit”.    I have had a professional relationship with Angler Sport Group since 2000. For nearly twenty years they have been supplying me with sample hooks to promote the art of fly-tying and I have been purchasing their Daiichi hooks for personal and product use.  I have been through thousands and thousands of their hooks and find the quality to be very consistent. They have quite a few styles to match the patterns I tie most and they always have inventory when I need them.

My favorite hooks are:

1100 almost all Dry flies (especially smaller size)
X120/1120 used for Scud patterns
1160/1167 used for Klinkhamer patterns
1251 main Terrestrial hook
1260 Hoppers and Stimulators
1280 used for larger Dry flies
1750 Buggers and basic Streamers
2451 Sculpins and Leeches