Earlier today I received an email from J Stockard Fly Fishing. They have Hanák Competition hooks on sale 15% off till the end of the month. I am unfamiliar with them. Any one here use them? Have an opinion about them? They appear to only make barb-less hooks.
Turns out Brand Hanák Competition are in the Czech Republic, in business since 1997. So maybe not surprising most flies I found tied with them are Czech nymph type flies, though of course many of their hooks are made for other types of flies.
I probably use Gamakatsu barbless hooks more than any other brand.
Have a bunch of Tiemco, & Daiichi hooks I purchased when I first started tenkara. A few Owner, and Oni hooks. Last spring purchased some Firehole hooks. I have some brand of competition hooks I purchased from Anthony Naples at 3 Rivers Tenkara, that I kind of liked, I don’t recall the brand name at the moment.
Tried to look them up on 3RT website, assuming he might still offer them, and was surprised to see he has closed the business. Sorry to see 3RT is no more. Anthony always provided good quick service with good communications about order received, shipped, etc. However, the website front page states he has a few spare parts for rods, while they last.
I’ve used Hanak jig hooks for some time, however this last year I switched completely over to their dry fly hooks. I think they are great. I found that I had really good hook sets and didn’t seem to lose many fish on them. I’ve used a variety of hooks prior. The hooks I’ve used for dries are mainly Firehole, Fulling Mill, TMC, etc. I’d say out of the barbless hooks I didn’t feel like there was a whole lot of difference from any other hooks I’ve used. I think they are all great and it’s hard to go wrong. I’ve been trying the Firehole 315’s and other Hooks Jason Klass recommended for Kebari and those are fun. I like the way those look, however I don’t think it makes a functional difference from the flies I’ve tied with regular dry hooks.
I used to use Hanak hooks pretty much exclusively. They are certainly excellent hooks and if you are buying smaller amounts of them at a time, the extra money for them isn’t a big loss. But if you are going to continuously buy a certain brand or do larger orders, there are other companies that offer comparable hooks for a better price. Fulling Mill, Firehole, Moonlit, and Hends all offer quality hooks at good prices.
You can see that I still have a lot of Hanak hooks, but as they are run out they are being replaced with Fulling Mill whenever possible.
Wow, I’m not such an organized guy. Hooks tend to be stashed in a box or bag, if I’m lucky they get placed in the same container as my vice, or tying materials or tools. Which isn’t always the same box. And varies if I travel light and want to take a few things on a trip, but stuff never seems to get returned to the same case when I return.
Decided to give a few of them a try : H 130, 230, 260, 300 BL.
Just for trying something new. But mostly I will get hooks I like at the nearby Cabela’s, if they’re in stock. But haven’t really looked at the fishing department since they were absorbed by Bass Pro.
I have been to the Dakota fly shop and I also like their jig hooks and the fair price. I also use fulling mill and fire hole sticks (supporting the local MT company).
