The invisible hook

[marmalade]

Except hooks aren't really invisible. It's been niggling at the back of my mind than we tie all these patterns with great delicacy (sort of in my case) and fine ingredients and there's a big spiky thing poking out the back.

On the odd tying I'll put two strands of something as a tail and let the hook do duty as a third (some CDC quill emergers) and on a small Griffiths the hook is concealed.. but it's still a niggle.

If I could tie parachute flies, that might be a way round it.

I may start tying all my flies back to front, tail at the eye.

[uhhulu]

In my coarse fishing days, to not bury the hook inside a single caster when roach fishing would mean a long wait for my next bite!, but then trout aint roach but it took me a long time to get my head around it. I think the difference is that trout are normally "induced" to take so they dont get time to study the offering. Also I would imagine that your average roach gets caught more times than any trout so "wises up", I'm probably completely wrong of course. Would be interested what others thought though.

[jonnied17-2008]

reverse para's do look and sit pretty sweet.... as do USD styles. I think it doesnt make that much difference.... but I do use black nickel hooks now just as a confidence thing, not sure if it makes a difference.

[uhhulu]

What about nymphs though? does'nt matter what colour the hook is surely they'll still see it?, although I understand your thinking. It just amazes me that a fish can just totally ignore that lump of iron at the a**e end!.

[marmalade]

Hmmm. The problem I have is that on any imitative pattern the hook is a big part of the picture. Which means it's not that imitative.. We seem to think fish see the craft of our tying an ignore the big barbless danger sign.

If it's a case of the fish being in too much of a hurry to notice, then the little bells and whistles you put onto a fly (the PT Nymph tying I use has three sets of three whisks) seems a bit pointless.

[jonnied17-2008]

I dont think they particularly ignore it... in some cases I think it attracts them....

I don't think the particular detail makes much difference to 99.9% of the fish, I tie suggestive patterns.

as you say take a PTN, put it along side a natural, its a good imitation but far from a spitting image.

[marmalade]

This may be utterly irrelevant but on occasion my fly will get tangled up with a floating twig, or a bit of weed. No interest from the fish at all.

Clear the hook and the next cast may well take..

To further muddy the water (with amongst other things a split infinitive), I've never seen any insect with a straight line in it. Most hooks, though, have a straight shank.

I ask all these questions because at this time of year I look to replenish my fly box and want to start off with the right frame of mind.

Plugs and spinners come to mind. They dip and wiggle and go left and right and up and down.

[uhhulu]

I went to a place not far from you last winter, Pennine, and watched a bloke catch fish after fish on, wait for it......... a bare hook! suspended under a bung, just a normal B175 letting it drift round on the breeze!. Ultimate skinny buzzer, made me wonder about all those hours behind the vice though!

[jonnied17-2008]

with pike lures I catch less fish if the lure has been fouled in any way, no doubt it will seem strange to a fish to see something clinging to debris in mid water.

the straight line thing is a very big argument I dont think it matters much, especially with flies like spiders that have natural movement in them. Curved patterns have there place too, but again wee beasties dont stay curved all the time either.

the bare hook trick is nothing new, I've heard of guys that just paint there hooks, red for bloodworm and so on. take a look at scratch's brancuzi buzzers, just a bit of epoxy on a bare hook! simple but genius.

[uhhulu]

are we talking nymphs or lures?