Was a nice fly....

[saltyh2ofly]

Here is a picture of a nice simple white Deciever with a little red crystal flash throat. The top wing is light lavender with some Polar Flash in the tail and body. It was a nice fly only the 1/0 Gamagatsu hook broke right past the barb (which was pressed down). It was a few casts after I landed an nice bass of about 24+lbs that I noticed the snapped off point. Anyone have problems with Gamagatsu hooks? My friend said it looks like a defect in the hook but I at time I didn't care because the fish was on my mind. But today I'm looking at the hook and it looks like a clean break. Any thoughts? I may have hit a stone on a back cast but thre Sandy Hook beaches don't have a lot of rocks....but it could happen.

Sit back and enjoy the ride!

[saltyh2ofly]

Here is a picture of a nice simple white Deciever with a little red crystal flash throat. The top wing is light lavender with some Polar Flash in the tail and body. It was a nice fly only the 1/0 Gamagatsu hook broke right past the barb (which was pressed down). It was a few casts after I landed an nice bass of about 24+lbs that I noticed the snapped off point. Anyone have problems with Gamagatsu hooks? My friend said it looks like a defect in the hook but I at time I didn't care because the fish was on my mind. But today I'm looking at the hook and it looks like a clean break. Any thoughts? I may have hit a stone on a back cast but thre Sandy Hook beaches don't have a lot of rocks....but it could happen.

Sit back and enjoy the ride!

[Ken L]

If I had to pick a spot whwere a hook would likely fail it would be at the barb. pressing it down exarcerbates the problem. Still, there should have been lots of steel left. There always is a compromise. The harder the steel the less likely it is to bend but the more likely it is to break. The hook I find least likely to rust are the Eagle Claw SS's. They are not the hardest steel you can find however.
The other thing to keep in mind is that long points and/or long shanks give the fish leverage to bend or break the hook.
This should only be our worst problem!

Ken lyons

[Bill Becker]

My guess is that there was a defect in the hook. The steel probably had a hair line crack at the barb. As Ken pointed out that's the weakest point and pressing down the barb didn't help any (although this shouldn't cause any problem on a sound hook). I don't tie many saltwater flies (something I want to start doing) but have replaced the hooks on a number lures with the Gami's with no problem. I think they are a good product, but even the best product has a defect now and then. That was probably your 500th fly that happened to have a problem. At least you landed yourself a nice bass before it broke.


bb

[FlyFishnTheRide]

My experience with Gamakatsu is they are a top notch hook. I'd guess it was a flaw in the particular hook. I don't tie many flys with them because of the cost. They are usually quite reliable.

[JimShearer]

Saltyhofly, you didn't say how you pinch down your barbs, but if you use pliers I suggest to stop and start using your fly tying vise jaws. I use my vise on all my steelhead and trout flies never having a problem after I stopped using pliers. Hope this helps.

[saltyh2ofly]

Jim...I feel my saltwater hooks maybe too strong to do this in my vise without damaging the jaws. I've been using pliers for over 20 years and rarely have a problem. I feel that some hooks like Tiemco and Gamagatsu are too brittle and I've snapped a few (one on a nice 100lb tarpon!). I'll keep this in mind when tying up the smaller sizes like 8 thru 4. This was the first Gama to do this so I'll chalk it up to strange things that happen in fishing.

Sit back and enjoy the ride!