HOOKS

Most hooks are made by feeding a soft wire into a machine which strikes the wire with a miniature hatchet which raises a barb. Then, the point is ground, stamped or “chemical1y” sharpened. To chemically sharpen, the hook is subjected to an acid bath that “eats” the metal. By withdrawing the hooks at precisely the right time, the hook is left with a sharp point.

The final step in hook construction is the temper of the steel. Fortunately, the stainless steal hooks developed in the last three or four years are all of high-grade steel. If the hooks are not brought to the proper temper then, under stress the hooks may curl on the strike, be crushed closed, or open enough to permit the fish to escape. HOOK SIZES Unfortunately, standardizing hook sizes has managed to escape the international standards people. The chart below shows six different numbering systems used by six different manufactures of fly fishing hooks. This is one of the reasons why fly fishers become loyal to one manufacturer.

In an effort to place a handle on a complicated subject less accept the mustad one 94840 1X-fine wire hook as standard based on the grounds that it is overwhelmingly the most widely used dry fly hooks in the world. On this hook the shank is twice the size of the gap. A size 12 hook would have a 5mm gap and a 10mm shank. The Mustard model 3906 is generally considered to be a "standard" wet-fly hook because a size 12 has the same size gap and shank as a Mustad size 12 94840 dry fly hook.
 
The following shows the relative shank length of some popular wet-fly/nymph/streamer hook using the 3906 as the standard. Notice there is no 5X shank length.
 

THE SHANK is the straight (backbone) portion of the hook however, some are bent so you can tie the Bend-Back fly. Shank length is defined as the distance from the rear of the eye to the beginning of the bend. Providing the steel is well tempered, very thin shanks are excellent for getting better penetration and a higher float from dry flies while thicker shanks are used to cause nymphs and streamers to sink faster. Longer-shanked hooks are used for stonefly and minnow imitations
 
As mentioned earlier the Mustad dry fly hooks With a 2:1 shank-to-gap ratio are used more than any hook for fly tying, so this is probably as good a standard as any. If the shank is less than twice the size of the gap it is called a “short”; those with a longer shanks than standard are designated as “long”. An X number is given to indicate how short or how long the shank is. For example, a size 12 2X short hook has a #12 gap and a shank length of a standard size 14 hook ( a 2X-short equals two sizes smaller). A size 12,2X-long has a #12 gap and a shank length the same as a #10 (two sizes larger)
 

THE BEND comes in three basic types: model perfect,sproat and limerick. The model-perfect, a round or semi-circular bend is a more abroupt curvature and keeps the fly tyer from tying to close to the rear of the hook. The sprout bend, a compound curve with a bend that becomes progressively more acute, is used on some wet flies and allows the manufacturer to make a slightly longer point. The limerick bend, a classic for streamers, has a compounding of the curve greater than the sprout, 
producing a spear like point.
 

THE EYE, like the bend, has three distinct designs: turned-down, turned-up and straight or ringed.For the general tying of Trout flies the turned-down eye is usually used. On small flies where the turned-down eye actually tends to shield the point, the ringed or turned up eye is used. Hooks with a turned-up eye in a black finish are considered classic for salmon flies.

 
THE POINT: Any point can be dulled during both manufacturing and fishing. All new flies should be checked for sharpness before use. Anytime your fly unknowing contacts an object on the backcast or knowingly on the forward cast it will probably lose some sharpness. Anytime you miss a couple of strikes, it’s time to check the point Press the point gently against your thumb nail and drag it across the nail’s surface. If it doesn’t immediately dig in , it’s time to sharpen. Four Trout hooks, one of the best sharpening tools is a diamond dust file (though often they are made of silicon carbide). The coating on one side of the strip is of a very fine material used for very small flies (sizes 18 to 28) while the other side is a bit coarser and is used for larger (16 and bigger) hooks.

When sharpening a hook, you want a short, sharp, well supported point. Holding the point so it is pointing towards you, angle your file and make several strokes near the point. Repeat three times after rotating the point 90 degrees each time resulting in for cutting edges that end in a sharp, diamond Shaped well-supported point.