What size Clouser's do you use?

[riverwhy]

Will 8's be Ok for the Susquehanna? I have 1's but think they will be too big. I also have plenty of sizes in between but they are longer shanked streamer hooks. Do you have a favorite hook style for tying them? Planning on hitting the Hanna tomorrow but may need to run up to Bass Pro for hooks today. Also, any favoring colors for this time of year would be appreciated. I caught a couple on the Swatara on Wednesday with brown over orange.

 

[tomgamber]

Personally most of mine are 2 though 6. I have a couple 8s but they are mostly specific ties for [picky steelhead. If you are searching big water, go big. i would tie up some gurglers if you want some real fun.
Might want to be careful tomorrow. calling for big boomers and flash flooding.

 

[Striperbobby]

Will 8's be Ok for the Susquehanna? I have 1's but think they will be too big. I also have plenty of sizes in between but they are longer shanked streamer hooks. Do you have a favorite hook style for tying them? Planning on hitting the Hanna tomorrow but may need to run up to Bass Pro for hooks today. Also, any favoring colors for this time of year would be appreciated. I caught a couple on the Swatara on Wednesday with brown over orange.

8’s might be a little small, 4 thru 2’s is what I would recommend. Try diff sizes till you see what they want. Poppers are the way to go on the susky from 6 to 9pm in the summer imho. Poppers in size 1 and 2 no matter what size bugs are hatching! Big fish are eating the small fish eating the small flies

 

[PennKev]

Will 8's be Ok for the Susquehanna? I have 1's but think they will be too big. I also have plenty of sizes in between but they are longer shanked streamer hooks. Do you have a favorite hook style for tying them? Planning on hitting the Hanna tomorrow but may need to run up to Bass Pro for hooks today. Also, any favoring colors for this time of year would be appreciated. I caught a couple on the Swatara on Wednesday with brown over orange.

I think you are going about this slightly backwards, particularly if you tie your own. Decide how physically big you want your finished clouser and then choose your hook accordingly. Personally, I prefer a fly that is right about 3" long for smallmouth. I prefer wider gap hooks so I end up using usually bass bug style hook, but again, nominal size of the hook is not that important, just so that the finished fly is the right size and proportions, and the hook is of a style you prefer.

As for colors, natural brown over white, then chartreuse, and finally maybe black. Appropriately colored Krystal flash in all of them.

 

[Swattie87]

6 is the size I most commonly fish for SMB. On smaller WW streams/creeks where the fish run smaller and/or you’re catching a lot of Sunnies, I’ll go down to an 8 or 10.

There’s a lot of variance in fly sizes with Clouser’s though. One guy’s size 2 is another guy’s size 6. Agree with the thought about starting with how long you want the finished fly to be in total and work backwards from there. Agree that 3” is about right for “big water”, like the Susky or lower J. For their tribs, 2-2.5” is probably about right, with proportionally smaller hooks and gaps as appropriate.

 

[dc410]

My favorite sizes for Clousers are size 4 and size 6. I really like tying them on Gamakatsu B10S hooks.

 

[Sylvaneous]

Will 8's be Ok for the Susquehanna? I have 1's but think they will be too big. I also have plenty of sizes in between but they are longer shanked streamer hooks. Do you have a favorite hook style for tying them? Planning on hitting the Hanna tomorrow but may need to run up to Bass Pro for hooks today. Also, any favoring colors for this time of year would be appreciated. I caught a couple on the Swatara on Wednesday with brown over orange.

I assume you're talking about smallmouth. I started by emulating sizes of lures I use on conventional tackle. A 3.5 to 4" Clouser will go well with a #2 or bigger hook. You want a good hook gap on these flies.
Syl

 

[riverwhy]

We went to the Conestoga today instead of the Susky. My brother and I are running the Ephrata Firecracker 5-mile race on Thursday, and I realized I hadn't done the Falmouth stretch for 20 years. That is brutal wading and I already have a tender knee.
I used 8's and some older Clouser's I had that were probably 4's. One thing about the bigger hook sizes with the wide gap is it seems like on the smaller fish the puncture point gets very close to the eyes of the fish.

 

[TimMurphy]

I assume you're talking about smallmouth. I started by emulating sizes of lures I use on conventional tackle. A 3.5 to 4" Clouser will go well with a #2 or bigger hook. You want a good hook gap on these flies.
Syl

Dear Sylvaneous,

I agree and generally use Clouser's from 1/0 to 4 size. I like Mustad 3366's or 3407's if I want to use stainless hooks. There are plenty of generic equivalent hooks available in both bronze and stainless and I actually prefer them to more expensive hooks. I still have about 500 Mustad hooks left from years ago to go through. The two hook styles work well for foam poppers too. Sproat bend and straight eye for me. If I want to tie some Clouser's in smaller sizes I use generic Tiemco 200R hooks for the smaller flies like 6, 8, and 10.

Regards,

Tim Murphy

 

[kbobb]

Usually a 4, rarely a 2. Because smallmouth reportedly eat minnow head first, to be able to swallow them, I don't think a really big hook is necessary.

Give these hooks a try - wider gap and approved by the man himself:

SA210 – Bob Clouser Signature S/E - Ahrex Hooks

SA210 – Bob Clouser Signature S/E A straight eye streamer hook with the correct shank-length according to saltwater legend Bob Clouser who has been a big part of developing of the SA210 Bob Clouser Signature. The no. 1 all round saltwater streamer hook. A-Steel Finish Available in size 5/0 – 8...

ahrexhooks.com

 

[BradFromPotter]

Dear Sylvaneous,

I agree and generally use Clouser's from 1/0 to 4 size. I like Mustad 3366's or 3407's if I want to use stainless hooks. There are plenty of generic equivalent hooks available in both bronze and stainless and I actually prefer them to more expensive hooks. I still have about 500 Mustad hooks left from years ago to go through. The two hook styles work well for foam poppers too. Sproat bend and straight eye for me. If I want to tie some Clouser's in smaller sizes I use generic Tiemco 200R hooks for the smaller flies like 6, 8, and 10.

Regards,

Tim Murphy

The Mustad 3366 one of the best bargains out there for hooks!

 

[tomgamber]

The Mustad 3366 one of the best bargains out there for hooks!

I use that same hook in stainless. All my clousers do double duty at the beach.

 

[TimMurphy]

I use that same hook in stainless. All my clousers do double duty at the beach.

Dear Tom,

I may have the hook models wrong, maybe the stainless version of the 3366 is the Mustad 34007? All I know is about 20 years ago I went to a shop whose name I can't remember in Bordentown NJ on Rte 130. They were clearing out Dai-Chi stainless ring eyed hooks and I relieved them of the bulk of their inventory.

Can any of the Bucks County PA/Burlington County NJ board members help me recall the shop? At one point in the late 1980's/early 1990's they even sold boats along with all sorts of hunting and fishing gear. It was about 2 or 3 miles south on Rte 130 from the Army-Navy store which was another place I visited often back then and is probably long gone by now. Sometimes you had to go somewhere other than Brinkmann's if you were a Bucks County/NE Philly guy.

I'm thinking it was Sportsman's Outpost?

Regards,

Tim Murphy

 

[wbranch]

Will 8's be Ok for the Susquehanna? I have 1's but think they will be too big. I also have plenty of sizes in between but they are longer shanked streamer hooks. Do you have a favorite hook style for tying them? Planning on hitting the Hanna tomorrow but may need to run up to Bass Pro for hooks today. Also, any favoring colors for this time of year would be appreciated. I caught a couple on the Swatara on Wednesday with brown over orange.

Way too small. I have caught hundreds of Susquehanna smallmouth on Clousers. I have never gone smaller than #6 and prefer #1 & #2. Bigger flies keep the juveniles away. All those flies are on #4 or larger.

 

[PennKev]

The Mustad 3366 one of the best bargains out there for hooks!

Another vote for this hook.

I'm not super impressed by it, but it with a little touch up with a sharpening stone it works nicely

Clousers are a cheap and easy fly to crank out and fish hard. This hook suits that perfectly.

 

[wbranch]

Another vote for this hook.

I'm not super impressed by it, but it with a little touch up with a sharpening stone it works nicely

Clousers are a cheap and easy fly to crank out and fish hard. This hook suits that perfectly.

Yes, a few swipes with a medium grit diamond hone on the top of the point will dress up the point sharp. If youj wanna go the extra mile also swipe the left and right sides of the point. The point will penetrate easily.