What size hook do you tie/fish the most?

16 for dry and nymph, 4 for streamers. On my local limestoner haunts, I find that being undersized for dries and nymphs is fine, but oversized triggers refusals. 16 seems to be a happy medium. If I am fishing streamers, I am targeting larger fish so size 4 is the winner.
 
12 , 14 , 16 (probably the most) , 18 , 20 , would be in my bug-out bag.........heh
 
As far as numbers of fish, I catch most of em while brookie fishing, and a size 12 Parachute Adams is my go-to. That's also pretty typical for the March Brown hatch (nymph and/or dry), which I fish as much as any other. Add to it that most of my egg imitations are on a size 12 hook, which is the go-to for steelies, stocky rainbows, and occasionally wild browns during the sucker spawning season. So I'll say 12.

It's fairly rare that I fish anything bigger than that, though. I do, on occasion with say, streamers, drakes, etc. But those are fairly rare.

Whereas 14's and 16's are pretty common at sulpher time, 18's are common at BWO time, and I use 26's for midges and trikes every year.
 
Gamakatsu SL45 size 6 and 4. Gave up fishing small stuff because the big stuff bend them straight and get off. They make a great tubefly hook also.
 
My most used hook size is definitely size 16 for trout. For bass I would have to say its a size 2.
 
#14 April/May; 16-18 May/June; 18-22 June-Feb.
Coughlin
 
Nice, appreciate all of your responses. The other day my order of 1000 daiichi 1130's came and I realized that recently I had gotten several other style hooks size 14 in 500 count. Never really thought about it that hard and it made me wonder about what everyone else uses the most. Thanks. :pint: It would seem that 14's & 16's are the most frequently used size.
 
18's all year (minus specific hatches) but most nymphs are still 18s even during those times
 
If you are fishing specific hatches then you determine the hook size by the hatch you are fishing. So for the Sulphur hatch you start with a 14 and go to 16 and 18 as the season progresses.
If it's Hendricksons it a14 and that's it. A number 14 tan caddis, is a 14. A little black stone fly is an 18 early and a 14 later in the season.
On attractor patterns it works differently, I tie a lot of stimulators and they start at # 12and get bigger. I dod tie 14's but only to match a specific bug, you can tie one for the early black stones and they work pretty good, but tie them sparse.
For Royal Wulffs they start at 14 and go up in size to an 8. However I do use a 24 during the trico hatch and it works.
The primary thing is if you are matching a hatch is to tie what you find on the stream, because what is one size on stream 'a' maybe a different size on stream 'b' or 'c.'
For the summer, if I'm not tying for a specific hatch then it's usually pretty big like a 12 or 10, the dinks tend to ignore big flies.
 
18
 
16 except streamers which are #8
 
I have probably ordered more TMC 2488 in size 18 than any other hook. So the preponderance of evidence leads me to believe I must tie more size 18s.
 
I agree with sbecker, 14 early 16 late. Might be one of the few times that has happened ;)
 
I'd have to say 18's. My go to nymph in most situations is a #18 flashback pheasant tail. Not sure why, but that's the size that works best for me.
 
for trout, generally its the 14-18 range for me.
 
not counting streamers and saltwater flys it would be size 12
 
and if we're going into everything, it's the Mustad 3366 in a size 4, as I'll admit, I fish warmwater a lot more than I do trout.
 
1/0 up to 3/0 for salt

fresh I stay between 14 to 24
 
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