What's Your Take on the Number of Hook Styles Needed for Trout

[MD_Gene]

I am interested in hearing your thoughts on the numbers of different hooks (hook styles) you need on your bench to tie trout flies. Let me postulate:

I would say you need: 1 dry (eg. TMC 100), 1 emerger (eg. TMC 206BL) , 1 nymph (like 3906B), 1 scud, and perhaps a couple of streamer hooks. So, I would state that a PA fly tyer looking to catch trout could get by on 6 hook styles.

That assumes you can get each style in appropriate sizes. My ultimate goal is to simplify my inventory while meeting all of my tying needs (and reduce redundancy in styles)

What are your thoughts? Look forward to reading your ideas.

 

[McSneek]

My thoughts are similar to yours. My trout fly hook inventory is various sizes of standard length dry fly, streamer/nymph in 2xl and 3xl, emerger/pupa and standard length wet fly. This gets it done for me.

 

[nfrechet]

dry fly hook (includes 1xl-2xl etc): can tie many styles of flies including scuds, nymphs, emergers, dries, terrestrials, quill wing wet flies, soft hackles, flymphs, midges etc

3xl-4xl nymph/small streamer: can tie larger stoneflies, hoppers, small streamers, minnows/bait fish etc

6xl-10xl streamer: can tie the larger feather wings, bucktails, thunder creek, larger minnows/bait fish etc

brands: use your favorite

 

[sniperfreak223]

I'm a little excessive, and I believe I have over a dozen different hook models for trout flies...down-eye standard dry fly for conventional and parachute dries, ring-eye dry fly for spinners, thorax, and comparaduns,light wire scud,emerger hooks for emergers, cripples, and Klinkhammer-style dries, 2xl dry fly hooks for hoppers and stoneflies, standard, 2xl and 3xl nymph hooks, light wire curved nymph hooks for stoneflies, 2xl and 3xl curved nymph hooks for beadheads, scud hooks for scuds, sowbugs, and Czech/Polish nymphs, swimming nymph hooks for damselfly/hexagenia nymphs, standard wet fly hooks for wets and soft hackles, down-eye streamer hooks for standard streamers, and ring-eye streamer hooks for buggers, zonkers, clousers, crayfish, and Thunder Creeks.

I could probably streamline it a bit, but that's where I'm at right now.

 

[lv2nymph]

Alright Gene, ya made me go and count how many different styles of hooks I have. 14, Yes I need each and every one of them.
Someone not quite as anal could get away with less, but not I...

 

[shortrod2]

You only NEED one style, but that's no fun.

 

[sniperfreak223]

shortrod2 wrote:
You only NEED one style, but that's no fun.

not so sure about that with trout flies, I'd say three would be the minimum, dry fly. nymph and streamer.

Now bass, I'm pretty sure I could get away with only one hook style for bass flies...I mean, for years I only used the Mustad 3366, but now I have specialized popper hooks, stinger hooks and a few different jig hooks for bass flies, too.

Variety is the spice of life, after all...

 

[FrequentTyer]

I'm somewhere between Sniper and Lv2nymph on this. Probably 70% of my flies are tied on standard dry/nymph/scud hooks. But the other 30% is a very diverse collection. Some are unimportant like old stock Mustads that I'm basically collecting. Others like short shank dry fly hooks are necessary for a few specific patterns. You learn in time what you can and can't substitute. Other than overall shape, hook gape and wire weight are probably the most critical parameters to keep in mind when substituting hooks in patterns. Also, try to get in the habit of measuring your hooks. Its unbelievable how much variance there is across manufacturers/suppliers.
Mike.