A Pro-tiers View by Simon Easthope

I am sure I am not alone with the recent upheaval I have had to endure with respect to hooks, the demands of the UK market have taken a very definite turn towards barbless and as this is not common globally, not every supplier has moved to offer alternative ranges.
I found myself in the position where I was being asked for barbless hooks in the same style as the barbed hooks I tied on, sadly the market leading brand that I was using, didn’t, and still doesn’t provide a barbless range.
We are all guilty of brand loyalty, but when you need to change, gaining trust in a product is paramount, especially as it will reflect just as much as on me as the company and brand I use.
It is also essential that they have a range that is versatile and can cater for the needs of individual patterns without having a range so big that becomes a problem to hold stock of them all.
As much as I could do comparisons across the board and show my findings I have chosen not to, I am instead going to explain why Grip hooks are now my go to and also the only hook I will recommend without condition.
As any other pro-tier will tell you the expectation is to be able to turn your hand to any fly that is requested, but we do all have our niche markets, mine is without doubt defined by my ‘postless’ parachute technique so it will not surprise anyone that my focus is on delicate, light, and strong hooks, this instantly discounts those heavy gauge brutish hooks that focus on strength to the absolute extreme.
The biggest test for any hook is the unexpected and where better to test this than Grafham water, the fish are generally 2-3 lb and this is the bread and butter that you expect any hook worth its salt to handle.
Yet I have to be honest even with this test there were failures with other brands. A straighted hook on a smashing take for a buzzer is unforgivable and frustrating.

Especially as this is one occasion there is no excuse when a heavier weight hook will compliment  the fly perfectly. The unexpected test comes when something with more vigor attaches itself, and this is when the trust comes in. We want to push the hook to the limit, an extended fight on a fish that you fully intend to release is not ideal, but a premature release due to the a hook malfunction is not what we want either.  My experience is the more wiley fish are much more likely to aggressively feed on the smaller stuff so when we are putting the size 18 hooks to the test they have nowhere to hide and everything to prove throughout the fight. When the fight is over and the hook has done its job that is the time when the trust builds.
My favourite saying is that fly fishing and fly tying is an art form based on a foundation of science, the fly cast can be learnt and explained by the laws of physics with words like momentum, power transfer and absorption, but the art is presenting an artificial fly to a fish that finds it irresistible

Taking the fly, the scientific foundation is the hook, the weight changes its speed through the water, the shape is not only sympathetic to the biological make up the fly it is imitating but it also takes into account the forces that will be exerted on it. A good quality hook will be designed in such away that no weakness is  exposed, the art is using feather and fur to make the sterile metal appearance of the bare hook resemble something the fish is expecting to see.

So many of the most popular hooks are similar, taking one and placing it next to another brand of the same style will often offer no hint as to which is which, more over certain suppliers will say “ our hook is exactly the same as x just different branding, packaging quantities and cheaper”
With grip hooks they have a signature that is truly unique and it is difficult to confuse them with any other brand. The 2x light wire gauge hooks have the smallest diameter I have seen in the wire of hooks of their relative length and strength.
This in turn gives me as a producer of flies the ability to produce something different. And this is in part what gives me the confidence to promote my flies as superior to those produced on mass and imported.

Simon Easthope is one of the Scottie Pro-team and a regular contributor to Fly Tying and Fly Fishing – you can see more of his work on his web site: https://www.easthopeflies.co.uk/