Fire Hole hooks

[Northern]

Hook sizes are completely arbitrary, regardless of manufacturer. Two packs of Gami saltwater hooks, side by side. That SC15 is absolutely tiny.

 

[Jacob Watrous]

Hook sizes are completely arbitrary, regardless of manufacturer. Two packs of Gami saltwater hooks, side by side. That SC15 is absolutely tiny.View attachment 9455

Indeed. Which is why I was amazed that only Ahrex makes their actual dimensions publicly available.




Attached, also, is a comparison chart of Ahrex vs other companies’ hooks. Helps compare apples to apples.

Personally, due to their transparency, aside from their hook quality, I think they’ve made me a lifelong convert.

 

[October Caddis]

While I've used Fireholes here and there in the past, I recently used them to a large degree to tie up bulk chironomids for a stillwater trip with a big group. They performed well (this is the place where you fish from a ladder) and caught plenty of fish, but the sizes seemed so arbitrary compared to hooks I've used previously (I thought larger than expected in a given size, but others seem to have found differently) that' I'm not sure I'll use them for my day to day nymph production.

 

[MoreQuestionsThanAnswers]

I know a lot of people here love Firehole hooks. Sharp like nothing else. Well, I recently tied up a couple of my favorite patterns with them. Unfortunately, I’ve been experiencing two issues with fishing them live.

First, because they are as sharp as they are, they have a knack for snagging hard to anything and everything on the bottom in an unforgiving way. Second, I’ve found that just about all, if not the vast majority of trout I’ve hooked have managed to quickly slipped free.

I suppose I need to change up my game, when it comes to striking back. However, I can’t help but wonder if the long, thin taper of the point makes it easier for fish to throw the hook.

Any thoughts about this?

I have not noticed increased hook ups with the bottom, or losing fish, but I do know my dropper knot slides right off the point. Never had this happen with other hooks.