All I can tell you is what works for me

All I can tell you is what works for me. A big part of this comes down to confidence in each pattern, rather than any hard facts, so a good many of you may disagree with my findings. What are the general criteria I look for in all hooks? Well, the hook should be strong enough for the job (i.e., balanced to the line strength being used) I also want the wire to be as thin as possible to make the hook as unobtrusive as I can make it. I look for a small neat barb and for most hooks a chemically sharpened point. Normally I also use eyed hooks, as in my experience it is easier to tie a strong knot with an eyed hook at three in the morning when the rain is pouring down! The one exception I make to this rule is when fishing maggot and caster. Then I will tend to revert to the neater spade end hook.Hook shape really depends on the application. Generally I tend to use short shank hooks as these are not only stronger, but are less likely to pull out. I also tend to use hooks with an in-turned point. I tend to use quite small hooks and I find that the in-turned point is less likely to work it’s way out during the fight. This mainly comes down to some experiences many years ago while carp fishing. I will admit that hooks pulling out are something that carp are prone to, much more so than tench and barbel for example, but it was a lesson hard earned. Round bend hooks are stronger than other shapes in most cases, so once again I tend to use these for most of my fishing. The only exception again is maggot fishing, where a crystal bend gives a better presentation. So, starting from the smallest, here are my personal favourites. For most maggot fishing I will use Drenna’s forged maggot hook. This will be too strong for the match angler in most situations, but when fishing for big roach and dace it is the ideal shape and strength. Next up is the Kamasan B983. This is an odd little hook with a round bend and deeply turned in point. In many ways it replicates the action of the American circle hooks and is ideal for fish with hard mouths, such as grayling, which are notorious at being able to twist off the hook. I also use this hook in the larger sizes for small worms, such as Dendrobenas. For bigger worms, and general fishing I love Drennan’s boilie hook in sizes down to a twelve. This is a lovely strong hook which I use for most of my barbel and chub fishing, as well as for light carp fishing in the bigger sizes. For heavier stuff I switch to the Hutchinson vice hook which is very strong indeed. Finally, for real animal fishing, for big catfish and the like I use either Owner gorilla hooks or Mustard Hooligans. These really are outrageous hooks though which only get an airing once or twice a year. The only other pattern I use regularly is Mustard’s method feeder hook. This looks incredibly light in the wire, but I have found them quite strong and I use them for most of my method fishing. Only stepping up to the boilie hook when using lines of about 6lb.

There are many other hooks which I keep for specific purposes, but telling you about all of them is beyond the scope of this article. I will return to the subject of hooks in the future when talking about specific methods and species. Once again, as I said at the beginning, hooks are a very personal choice, but these are the ones that work for me and if you are looking for a few pointers you could do worse than giving them a go.