when either buying flies or tying them yourself, what are your thoughts on hook colour?

i find that im always leaning towards black nickel, i think partly because they stand out less, and partly because i think they are better because they are more expensive

ive heard lots of good things about bright and shiny gold hooks, and i cant say that my catch rate changes uf i have a nickel or bronze hook on.

just wondering what yout views are?

I reckon red hooks are handy for some buzzer representations, though they can be a little hard to track down. I've painted some in the past. They seem to work ok, though whether they are really any better than a plain old bronze hook is up for debate. Need to do some more work.........and more fishing..................birdsnest

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Fear not if I steal from your side, as of yore, from paradise streams to fish Teifi once more.
BN based in Wolverhampton

Drennen used to make a range called "Rainbow UV" they came in a mixed pack and contained red, silver, gold and blue hooks.. (simular to a B175ish)

I use the Red for Red Holo Diawls and bloodworms

Gold for Hares ears (and Hummungus in larger size)

Silver for Pearl Ribbed Diawls, Flashback Diawls, Cruchers etc (and Fry patterns in Larger size)

And the Blue....well still in my hook box

Although they look nice, i'm not sure they catch me anymore fish...

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Mock me, vilify me, but don’t ignore me!

so your hook colour choice compliments the colour scheme of your fly?

Basically Yes....

I brought about 20 packets of the Rainbow UV hooks in a sale as I wanted the gold and red ones for nymphs.

As i said they look very nice especially when used as an extension of the fly...red hook for red holo diawl etc..

Large silver hooks are good for the Fry patterns too

But I'm not sure if they catch anymore fish than a standard pattern, I'll need to do a lot more research, by means of fishing

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Mock me, vilify me, but don’t ignore me!

As I mentioned some time ago I bought some black nickel coloured hooks made by Royds. Absolute ****. Hooked two fish both hooks straightened. Just be sure to buy quality hooks whatever the colour!

Ive caught fish on plain red hooks. no pattern. presume they mistake them for bloodworm..

I couldnt agree more that it's the quality of the hook that's more important. when tying nymphs, I always use carp hooks now. theyre stronger and cheaper.

after tests carried out by coarse anglers ,black is the one colour that stands out the most ,being a sharp contrast to the surroundings its in,however these tests were carried out fishing for barbel with a static bait and fish obviously have time to view it , so they may not be any good for buzzers etc under a bung fished static ,where as a shrimp pattern for grayling with a black hook i couldnt see making any difference as its travelling in flowing water giving the fish a do i eat it or not before someone else does situation and have maybe a split second to make up its mind !!!!!

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WHEN YOU LEAVE THE RIVER, TAKE NOTHING, AND LEAVE ONLY FOOTPRINT'S!!!

THA CAN TELL A YORKSHIREMAN ,BUT THA CAN'T TELL HIM MUCH !!

In my experience I don't think it makes any difference.If it did it would be very difficult to prove.

I think the fish are looking at whats on the hook and thats it.

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Theres more to fishing than just fish.

Rusty red works

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The truth is that if it were not for anglers the majority of our streams and rivers would be largely lifeless. A rather more uncomfortable truth is that, as anglers, most of us are far less active than we should be in fulfilling our responsibilities to help protect the rivers we fish
Peter Lapsley
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Monnow Fisheries Association
Riffles and Runs
Charfield AA