Straightened Hook

[browntrout27]

Hey all -

Quick question on an experience I had yesterday fishing in PA. I was fishing a TCA stocked stream and doing fairly well with fish in the 10-14" range. I started fishing a fairly deep pool with a weighted copper john, and set the hook on a big fish - guessing it was one of the breeders placed a few weeks back.

After a 20 or so second fight, line went slack and I thought maybe I pressured too much and broke off or I pulled the fly.

When I checked my fly, the hook had straightened. I have heard of this happening, just never experienced it first hand. My question(s) - Did I apply too much pressure or is this more of an issue with a defective hook. Also is this relatively common?

Thanks and Tight Lines...

 

[Mike Ridolfino]

What size was the hook? Did you tie the fly yourself? The most likely scenario is that the fly was tied on a cheap hook or an improper hook(i.e. nymph on dry hook). The only hooks I've ever straightened were hooked on snags, not fish.

 

[JeffK]

I would say poor hook. Sometimes the heat treatment is off , the hook is weak, and there isn't enough QC to check. It has happened to a couple of lots of hooks I have, although they were older hooks I bought at shows. Quality control has really improved for current hooks.

 

[sstasiak]

I had a similar experience once. I had tied up a few caddis larva the night before a fishing trip. The next day it turned out that I had the right fly, but had tied it on a hook that just wasn't up to the task of handling the size fish that were being hooked. This happened to me not once, not twice, but three times with the same pattern in a 2 hour timeframe.

Nothing else was working and I kept going back to the larva thinking I could finesse the fish with a lighter drag, but the hook just wasn't strong enough. Here's one from that day that didn't get as mangled as the others:
<a href="http://s46.photobucket.com/albums/f103/sstasiak/?action=view&current=IMGP0314.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f103/sstasiak/IMGP0314.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

 

[miserjoe]

small hook+big fish=straightened hook.

I often like to fish for salmon and steelhead with trout pattern such as a caddis larva or stonefly nymph around size 14 and often even if the hook is tempered correctly, I'll straighten the hook, granted that is an extreme example, but still, fits the bill.

I can understand the whole cheap hook deal. South Bend hooks have straightened out on me on plenty of eels in my life when I was young and poor. Never again.

Just know, the more that 10 pack of hooks cost, the better the chance the hooks have been tempered properly and inspected.

I've also learned no to try and finese a fish on cheap or tiny hooks by the drag alone. Lighten up that leader and you are forced to finese that fish much more than on a drag alone. I know on a creek here in Allentown, I fish midge pattern or tiny nymph patterns for 8 pound rainbows - often I'll go down to a 7x tippet to force myself to play it right. Lose a lot of fish to snaps but can't ever be accused of straighteneing a hook. I do the same for salmon or steelhead, go down to 4x and let he!! break loose.

Dr. JM

 

[afishinado]

"I fish midge pattern or tiny nymph patterns for 8 pound rainbows - often I'll go down to a 7x tippet to force myself to play it right. Lose a lot of fish to snaps but can't ever be accused of straighteneing a hook."


You'll never be accused of straightening a hook, but you will be accused of playing a fish to death……………

 

[theartoflee]

Small hooks dont always mean straightend hooks. You just need to be mindful when selecting the hooks. I have yet to have a TMC 2488H straighten out you could tow a truck with those hooks and that is probably why they discontinued them.

 

[Andy]

The next time that happens check for scales on your hook. Sometimes the fish turns away at the last minute and becomes lightly hooked in the side. That added leverage, plus the bent hook, oftentimes make the angler think he lost the fish of a lifetime!

 

[browntrout27]

Thanks to all - I think the consensus is I have to pay a little more attention to what I am tying to my leader....

I am not tying my own flies (yet!), and what I typically use have been purchased in a fly shop near my house in Chester Springs, PA. I won't name the fly shop as to not 'bad mouth' them on something that may not be their fault, but I will go in and ask some questions. Perhaps some follow up questions ....Again thanks !!

 

[browntrout27]

The next time that happens check for scales on your hook. Sometimes the fish turns away at the last minute and becomes lightly hooked in the side. That added leverage, plus the bent hook, oftentimes make the angler think he lost the fish of a lifetime!

Understood Andy - and I have foul hooked fish before and that is definitely a possibility in some cases. In this case, I raised the fish out of the hole and caught a quick glimpse. It was a bigger fish, and I am not going to say how big I thought it was. In my mind it was a 28 incher