Re: Hooks for newbie

"Reed Waters" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message
news:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> I am just getting started at this and I am overwhelmed at the varieties of
> hooks. Is there a basic hook assortment available somewhere? If not, what
> are a half-dozen or so hooks for dry, wet, nymphs and streamers that I can
> get.

Yes, there are lots of hook styles and I can remember being really dazed by
that when I first started tying.  I was amazed by my mentors who always knew
exactly which hook to use and could browse a rack of hooks and pick out the
ones they needed.  (In retrospect, I realize that for the nymphs and wooly
buggers I started with, the hook was always a Mustad 3906b...)

1. There are different styles of 'bend' in the hook.  Don't worry about
that.  At some point in your tying you might care that the hook has a
perfect bend vs. a limerick bend, but for now that's not an issue,

2. Wire comes in different thicknesses.  The usual description of this (if
other than the normal size) is to say 1x fine, 2x heavy, etc,  That is, 1
grade thinner than normal, 2 grades heavier, respectively.  Again, this is
not so important to the beginner, but with experience you will learn that
sometimes you need a heavier hook, and sometimes lighter.

3. The shank of the hook can vary in length too,  For example you can have
1x short, 2x long, etc.  This is usually shortened to 1XL, 2XS, etc.

4.The gape of the hook can also vary.  Some hooks have a wide gape (distance
between barb and shank).   You can look at this either as a wider gape (a
size 8 hook in length with a size 6 gape) or as a short shank (a size 8 wide
gape is equivalent to a 1x short size 6).  Don't fret this yet.

5. Up eye, down eye, straight eye.

6. Wire color.

7. This is the important part: there are 4 basic (and lots of not so basic)
types.  Dry fly, wet fly/nymph, streamer, scud/caddis.  It should be pretty
obvious what the intended use of these is.

The key to sorting this out at the beginning is to stick to the 4 basic
types and when you understand how the standard hooks work, you can decide if
you need a longer shank, lighter/heavier wire, etc.  Or you can try to
follow the pattern and use the exact hook specified (and end up with a
drawer full of hundreds of hook boxes).  In practice you will want to
approximate the specified hook with something you already have (if you can).
For that a good hook conversion chart will help:
http://www.killroys.com/hooks/hookchrt.htm
http://www.ofifc.org/Eli/FF/HookChart.htm
http://globalflyfisher.com/keywords/index.php?keyword=hooks
http://www.flyanglersonline.com/flytying/tyingtips/part162.html

These are the 5 basic hooks I recommend to beginners.  Translate to Mustad
or other brands as appropriate.
TMC 100 size 14 (for dry flies)
TMC 3761 size 10 and 14 (for nymphs/wets)
TMC 5263 size 8 (for big nymphs, small streamers)
TMC 2457 size 14 (for caddis nymphs and pupae)

Go up and down sizes from there as needed and get specialized hooks if
necessary.

Just my humble opinion not knowing where you're fishing or what size bugs
you get.