Hooked!

 

Over the years I have tried a lot of hooks, both for sakasa kebari-styled fies and western flies. Some hooks seem to work better that others. For a while I tried offset hooks since they are purported to have a quicker hookup than a straight set hooks. But, I am not too sure about this when it comes to my fishing experience.

My latest favorite hook for use on sakasa kebari-style flies is the Tiemco SP (Super Point) barbless 2499. Here is what Tiemco says regarding this hook:

This new SP point series hooks are the embodiment of the perfect harmony of the penetration power and hook strength. Its edged and hollowed point lowers the resistance of penetration and thus it will increase speed of the penetration. Then these hooks pierce a fish's mouth easily. Biologically speaking, when a hook pierces a fish's mouth in a flash, the wound will be constricted. That is one of the reasons why these hooks have true stable holding ability. When SP point comes in barbless, those features will be more prominent. The basal part of the point has "apron" on both sides. These tiny swelling will work as barb to some degree. Those hollowed triangular points are practical enough that can be sharpened easily on the spot. The SP point will also contribute to let streamers stable in the water because it will work like keel of a ship as the size of the hook get bigger.
SP stands for several words like Sport Point, Super Point or Special Point. We think these new SP point, especially SP-Barbless point are representing the sport aspect of fly fishing well. SP Straight, SP Rolled, SPS-Barbless, SPR-Barbless

SPS-BL

TMC2499SP-BL

This new curved short shank hook based on TMC2488 has 2X heavy wire same with TMC2457 for added strength. This features SPR-Barbless point. Great for emergers, pupae & larva, shrimp, eggs, parachute patterns, terrestrials and so on. Truly versatile.

TMC2499SP-BL Dry Fly & Nymph, Straight eye, 2X Heavy, 3X Wide, 2X Short curved shank, Forged, SPR point, Barbless, Bronze Size: #6-18

 I really like this hook. It seems to give me better hookups and fewer thrown hooks, resulting in more fish to the hand. The point is wickedly sharp and the gape is wide. I mainly use sizes 10 and 12, but I am sure it would work well in the other sizes. The heavy wire helps the fly sink and I prefer a straight eye like this hook has. The downside, however, is that these fancy TMC hooks do cost a little more than regular TMC hooks.

JuJuKebari tied on a #10 TMC2499SP-BL

I have been using these hooks for a while now and I am convinced they hookup better and hold more robustly than the previous hooks I was using. Give them a try. Let me know what you think.