Hooks\ chronamid

[kinwahkly]

Hey just wondering If any Fly tyers would give me thier preference in what type hooks used for chronamids ?

[Doc]

By far the Mustad C49S is my favorite hook for tying chironomids.

[pikergolf]

My favorite as well. I notice any time you go on youtube or read recipes, no one uses Mustad any more. How come, I really like their hooks and they are about half the price of the rest?

[MtnGiant]

may i suggest that related fly tying topics be put into the "from the vice" OP....its a great post and try to keep it alive

[Don Andersen]

Kin....

Like others I use c49 Mustad hooks for some of my chironomids. Size #12 and less are tied with CO68 which are are a much heavier hook.
If you stay within Alberta, you're chances of needing hooks that will hold a 20" fish drops to nearly "0".
CO68 are 2x short and therefore a size #10 CO68 is equivalent to a Mustad C49 #12.

Catch ya'

Don

[pikergolf]

Actually Don, some of the special management lakes give you a pretty good shot at fish over 20". Maybe we need a few more of the them.

[AdamJ]

uh oh, not this again!!

[Bhflyfisher]

Daichii 1760 and the 1260 and 1270 are my favorites, Alec Jacksons Crystal Covert Nymph hook is practically the same as the 1760, but its finish is definitely better.

I use the c49s a bit, i dislike how thick the hook is, and find tapering the body can be a bit of an issue.

My biggest problem buying chironomid hooks, is not remembering 2x, and 3x long hooks. So i always screw up my sizes.

[brown trout]

Pike,

Mustad hooks, IMHO, are typically pretty soft and flexible compared to others that I prefer. They just seem to rust faster, dull more quickly, and bend more than other hooks I use. No matter what I'm tying, I use Daiichi as a first choice and TMC as a runner-up. Part of the cost difference is that those brands are made in Japan from Japanese steel, while Mustads are made in China but "Designed in Japan" according to the label. There are lots of good companies out there, but I really like those I've listed above (maybe because that's all that's readily available in Edmonton?). For the record, I use Mustad a bit, but it's mostly just to use up old stock.

As per the price aspect. Let's say an average package of Mustads cost 3.99 to 4.99, and Daiichi for example costs about 4.99 to 5.99 for those same style of hooks. That's about $0.08 cents extra for a fly. Hardly enough for me to squabble over, and I live on a tight budget for necessity, at the moment. Anyway, my advice is not to let a dollar extra over 25 hooks sway my choice one way over another. Buy the best hooks you can. That is the last link to your fish, and not where I want to cut costs. In the end, though, just buy what you like best, and get on with it. Half of success in fishing is confidence.... If you truly like Mustad better, what could I possibly say to convince you differently? And does it matter?

Now, back to the actual topic at hand. I use Daiichi 1560, 1530 for straighter patterns, or TMC 2457 if I want that curved look to my flies. I actually like the shape of the Mustad C49s for chironomids, even better than the 2457s, but I prefer TMC over Mustad, so I use those more often, especially in smaller sizes when I want extra strength to the hook.

Nick

[goldscud]

You can also try Daiichi 1120, 2x strong (though a bit thinner than 2457s)

[johnk]

Originally Posted by goldscud

You can also try Daiichi 1120, 2x strong (though a bit thinner than 2457s)

Tying smaller than 14's the Diiachi 1120 is my hook of choice!

[Riverbc]

Tiemco 2457 for most of mine...good enough for Phil Rowley...good enough for me.

[AdamJ]

Originally Posted by johnk

Tying smaller than 14's the Diiachi 1120 is my hook of choice!

duly noted...

[Riverbc]

from Brian Chan
http://forum.flybc.ca/index.php?showtopic=41810
"Great question that I am sure there are a lot of opinions from die hard chironomid anglers. Looking at my fly boxes I would say I tie the majority of my pupal patterns on scud hooks except for the bigger bomber imitations. I tie even the smallest patterns ie #18 on scud hooks. However, on those size 18's I like to tie them on a #16 hook so that I can retain hooking capability.

There is no question that on some days the fish want a straight shanked Black & Red pupa versus an identical one tied on a scud hook. There could be a correlation between how the real pupal are suspended in the water column ie vertically suspended versus on a slight angle. It may sound like a minute difference but it might be significant to the fish, after all, there are lots of real ones to eat rather than our imitation.

I tie most of the common colour combinations on both scud hooks and straight shanked hooks just in case the fish are that selective.

Perhaps others will comment on this topic as well.

cheers,

Brian"

[johnk]

I also like the Mustad C49S in 12's and 10's only.

[Bhflyfisher]

Originally Posted by johnk

I also like the Mustad C49S in 12's and 10's only.

You dont find them too thick? I picked some up and dislike how thick the wire is. Im used to the daichi 1760's though i guess.

[Riverbc]

Originally Posted by johnk

I also like the Mustad C49S in 12's and 10's only.

nice looking chromie!

[pipercub17]

i use tmc 2457 and the mustad c49s
i like a heavy hook to help them tiny flys to get down where the fish are .