Sunday outing & question on using wide gap hooks?

[mike_richardson]

I had about an hour and a half to work with yesterday so I tied up a few bugs and hit the stream. I bought some Gamakatsu B10S hooks for streamers, but wanted to try my stones on them.

I tied some up and hit the creek. The thermometer in my car read 23 degrees. I was dressed for it and there was no issue. It was 13 degrees in the morning so that may have been a bit rough.

My first fish was a nice brown about 8 or 9" that flopped off at my hands. He took a size 16 copper and brown pheasant tail.

My next fish was a really pretty brown that also hit the copper and brown pheasant tail.

My next fish was a mud sucker who hit my large stone fly. Good lord did that Gamakatsu penetrate, and just blast him. LOL It blew through the side of the suckers jaw bone. I pinched the barbs on my hooks but still this had me questioning how safe these are for fish.

I then was drifting and thought I had a nice take, I set the hook and just felt dead weight. It wasn't a snag as I could lift it up. I was shocked when I reeled in a rock. The line wasn't lassoed, the hook wasn't pinched. It actually penetrated the rock a little and just enough I could snag a pic of it. Incredible.

I switched locations and went up stream to another area I like to fish. I landed a nice little native and another brown. The native took a copper and brown hares ear and the brown took the stone fly.

The brown took the stone fly deep as seen in the pictures, but nothing in his gills and such. But when I went to get the hook out it must have been buried somewhere in his eye cavity. When I would move the hook so would his eye.

This leads me to ask the question: Even though these wide gap hooks are barbless should they still be used on fish? I love catching fish as much as anyone, but holy moly. I am not out there to injure them. Maybe I am over thinking it but seeing the fishes eye move when I am removing the hook cant be good for him? I know if someone stuck a large sharpened nail through the roof of my mouth, and then up behind, my eye it would have to do damage to the fish?

I just wanted to hear you opinions on this? I cant deny the performance of those hooks. I mean if you can penetrate a rock enough to reel it in, in the current, you have a wicked hook. But to what expense to we yield this performance? Maybe Im crazy and over thinking it? Thoughts?

 

[Solitariolupo]

I've noticed this to with wide gaps. Mostly for trout I use regular or smaller circle hooks. For bass you can get away with wide gaps but even then I seen the hook threw the eye so you should go for a smaller size hook.

 

[mike_richardson]

I just see so many flies tied with these, or "Competition" style hooks. just makes me nervous is all. Yeah you get your fish in and all but dang.

I think I may stick to my traditional style hooks.

 

[fisherboy3]

Why use a B10S on a nymph? Those are streamer hooks. I would stick with normal nymph hooks. But they are super sharp, i use them on all my streamer hooks.

 

[mike_richardson]

like I said I just wanted to give them a try. I am going to pick up some of Gama's S10 and see how they are. I like a 2xl nymph hook though so Ill have to see how they work. I may need to tie on a scud type hook, but I like straight shanks on my nymphs.

I have some 2xl Daiichis coming in that I am excited for, but wanted to try the wide gap hooks and see. Thinking these may just be a little too wide. LOL

 

[Nymph-wristed]

As a bass fisherman and striped bass angler for a long time, we have been using the Gamakatsu, but both species literally suck in or inhale a lure into a very bony mouth. In this case, that penetrating power makes total sense (same with streamers fishing, at times). Otherwise, the competition hooks are nice, but they may be overkill on trout??

 

[Mike]

There may be some parallel between what you saw with wide gap hooks and what was found in a study involving comparisons of various size circle hooks, fished with bait, and fished actively and passively for trout. Hook sizes were 4 through 10. Size 4's had a very high rate of hooking...68 percent...in the corner of the mouth when actively fished ( immediate hook set ). In comparison, the other hook sizes produces corner of mouth hook-ups 22-34 percent of the time in comparison to other locations of hook penetration.

Sell, M T, Kazyak, D C, Hilderbrand, R H, Heft, A A, and R M Cooper. 2016. A comparison of circle hook size on hooking success, deep hooking rate, and post release mortality of hatchery-reared Rainbow Trout. North American Journal of Fisheries Management 36:254-258.

 

[fisherboy3]

The S10 is a great hook as well. Super sharp.

 

[dryflyguy]

I only use wide gap hooks in the smaller sizes - #18's and down.
And they can make a difference then.
No reason for them in larger sizes IMO

 

[afishinado]

dryflyguy wrote:
I only use wide gap hooks in the smaller sizes - #18's and down.
And they can make a difference then.
No reason for them in larger sizes IMO

+1

 

[BrooksAndHooks]

I would agree I tie and fish the wide gap hooks with flies that are smaller, or that have a bigger body and require the wider gap hook. typically size 12s down. Though the ones I use aren't insanely wide gapped, just larger comp gaps (Hends). That said there will be times a small fish eats a huge fly and gets hooked badly. It happens streamer fishing a lot too. Part of fishing. Try to minimize the best we can.