Fly tying fishing Hooks
Without a hook we have a little chance of catching a fish and there are now hundreds of different hook patterns all based on a pointed, bent and barbed length of wire. Modern fly tying is done with an eyed hook either straight, up or down-eyed depending on personal preference for the type of fly being tied. The length of the shank can vary tremendously as can the gape of the hook and the set of the point. Hooks come either plain or forged, the latter having the end compressed to give more strength. The modern trend in fly fishing is to use barbless hooks so that an unwanted fish can be released with the minimum injury and so provide future sport. However, the vast majority of fly hooks are barbed and a range of commonly used patterns is shown.
Hooks are tempered in that the metal is heat-treated to harden it, but tempering is an absolute science for the hook must not be brittle that it breaks under tension, i.e. when in the mouth of the fish, and nor must it be soft that it straightens out under a pull.
In Fly Tying Fishing you are going to spend a considerable amount of time constructing a fly on a hook then the first thing you need to do is to test its temper. If you do not, then your own temper is likely to be severely tested it after much effort and time the hook breaks or straightens on the first fish it hook. However, testing a hook takes but a moment and you do it soon as the hook is placed in the vice.
At this point you will learn how to place a hook correctly into a fly-tying vice. The object is to cover the point of the hook with the jaws of the vice so that the tying thread does not catch on the sharp point and cut it. The hook must also be held so that the shank is level to make the tying operation easier and you do this by getting a good hold with the vice jaws on the lower part of the bend. Do not screw up the vice jaw so tight that the face of the jaw can be damaged, use just enough grip to ensure the hook is firmly held.
The temper-testing Fly Tying Fishing operation is not too technical, all you do is to depress the hook end with your thumb and let it go. If the hook bends or breaks discard it and try another. Ideally, it should return instantly to its original shape with a 'ping'.
The old adage that you get the best by paying the most applies very much to hook but even then you will get the occasionally bad one in a batch.
