Traditional Bucktails and Streamers: Selecting Streamer Hooks for the best results

[@Check-Your-Fly]

Excellent insight on streamer hook size and fly design based on hook size. Size matters! Thanks for sharing !

[@sakanatsuri]

That's the good point. I have been wondering why all the streamer hooks are designed that way. So, I take a cigarette lighter to heat up the neck of the eye to heat anneal and bend it. Make sure to test the eye strength when you tie a fly.

[@whiskeydan]

Good video. How do long shank straight eye hooks compare?

[@hooked4lifeca]

About halfway in performance between up eye and down eye hooks, as far as riding level is concerned.

[@wdtaut5650]

What about straight-eye hooks? What about tying to the leader with a snell-type knot? That's how it was done long ago. Still a difference with up-eye vs. down-eye? What about fly clips or a loop knot?

[@hooked4lifeca]

It's all about the relationship between where the line attaches the centre of gravity / centre of pressure of the fly. Two videos on that subject: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rJ3aq2uEe8qVoJI and kzbin.info/www/bejne/r5mTipSKft56i68

[@JoelSzymczyk]

longer shank and smaller gape to reduce the "butt end sag" - and proportionally the longer the shank the more rotational leverage which is POSSIBLE once you're hooked up on a fish, potentially increasing the chance of the hook being torqued out of the fish's mouth... at least that is what all the cool kids have said to justify the trend toward short-shank hooks and tandem "articulated" streamers... all in all a really good discussion on the subject-- traditional bucktails are my favorite style of flies to tie and fish- along with Clouser Deep Minnow style which almost negate the worry since correctly placing the weighted eyes cause the fly to swim "level". In over 40 years of fly tying and researching, I never found a definitive answer as to why so many fly hooks are made with a turned-down eye, other than the possibility of certain knots which were used in the days of silkworm "gut" leaders having a weird angle that the TDE compensated, to help an unweighted fly ride straight. It's a mystery ... In the end there are so many variables at play that only watching the flies in the particular water you fish, as you did with the footage of your flies side by side in the river, will be the solution. Great video- hope you keep bringing more-

[@hooked4lifeca]

My guess for the prevalence of down eyed hooks is more about the hook set and the holding capability of such a hook. If we hang a down eye hook from mono, the hook shank is parallel to the mono - it hangs straight down. That means on the hook set, the point is driven in relatively straight and during the fight, the less the tendency for the hook to rotate out of position, as would happen with an up eye hook. The old English bait hook is best example of lining up the hook point with the thrust line of the pull from the leader. The farther away the hook point is from the eye of the hook (viewed in the vertical plane), the greater the odds the hook will rotate out of position during the fight. Long shanked, down eyed hooks are vulnerable to being levered out in side-to-side motions (head shakes), but more likely to stay put when subjected to a straight pull. We can test the vertical rotation of a hook by sticking the point in a pice of wood, then pulling on it by the leader, then look at the angle of the shank relative to the wood.

[@dariuswhite3002]

​@@hooked4lifecawould u recommend throwing modern Streamer on a splitcane rod

[@hooked4lifeca]

@@dariuswhite3002 Not a problem at all. After all, go back 75 years and split cane rods were the only game in town and they tossed big streamers with them.

[@donaldwaldrop6301]

Hello Peter Great video's. Each and every one. My question to you Sir. Why tie all or most of these stream patterns on the #4 or #2 3XH/7XL hook if it does not flow properly. It may be easier to show. But is not the best way. I like the #6 hook idea. I understand the idea. But the #6 in the lighter wire may bend out on a bigger fish. I just now seen your video on streamer hooks. Lol After I watched your videos with #2 or #4 3XH/7XL. Please show us it tied how you prefer to fish it. Thank you for your time Peter.

[@hooked4lifeca]

If you check out my Black Nose Dace Weamer, you'll see my preferred style of streamer. If I'm tying a pattern closer to traditional styles, I tie the fly on an up eye salmon hook. You have seen the reasons for that. I will fish these traditional flies on occasion, but that's more just for the fun of going traditional.

[@rhabdob3895]

Would a dumbbell eye even out the down-eye attitude?

[@hooked4lifeca]

Yes it would

[@rhabdob3895]

It’s all coming together. Somewhat.

[@alloutdoorsnovascotia8791]

well I m new at fly tieing and this is probabley a dumb question but cant you just add a little lead wire at front to level it out or and I have used streght eye hooks to tie my streamers sometimes better then rideing butt down

[@hooked4lifeca]

Most definitely we can add weight and a straight eye hook helps, but this video was more directed toward the users of streamer hooks. If we tie a traditional streamer with traditional hooks, we run into this problem. Adding weight changes the proportions of the fly and makes it more difficult to cast, or we have to move up in line weight to handle it. The weighted fly may also be too much for our water. The problem is to get a traditionally tied streamer to swim right.

[@fredpuchany9551]

Could you add weight to the front of the hook to ride level? Just a thought!

[@hooked4lifeca]

Most definitely we can add weight, but this video was more directed toward the users of streamer hooks. If we tie a traditional streamer with traditional hooks, we run into this problem. Adding weight changes the proportions of the fly and makes it more difficult to cast, or we have to move up in line weight to handle it. The weighted fly may also be too much for our water. The problem is to get a traditionally tied streamer to swim right.

[@fredpuchany9551]

@@hooked4lifeca Thank you for your insight!

[@stephenrosenfeld833]

Weighted flies are illegal where I live in New Brunswick, Canada. I believe the intention is to prevent people from jigging Atlantic salmon by stripping the fly through the pool. Thanks for your streamer videos!