Ever fallen out with the hooks you use.

[sam vimes]

And to think it was all so simple thirty five years ago...

free photo hosting

Plenty of crystal bends in that little lot. It might go some way to explaining why I still prefer crystal bend hooks for an awful lot of my fishing. However, there are quite a few models that I have no recollection of. Any idea of the date of the guide?

P.S. I've still got a packet of Specimen Crystal and Sweetcorn hooks, in the really old packaging, buried amongst my gear. I would guess that they were bought in the late eighties, very early nineties at the latest.

 

[Aknib]

That advert appeared on the back cover of a 1983 copy of Coarse Fisherman, Chris... Makes me feel old lol!

 

[108831]

Plenty of crystal bends in that little lot. It might go some way to explaining why I still prefer crystal bend hooks for an awful lot of my fishing. However, there are quite a few models that I have no recollection of. Any idea of the date of the guide?

P.S. I've still got a packet of Specimen Crystal and Sweetcorn hooks, in the really old packaging, buried amongst my gear. I would guess that they were bought in the late eighties, very early nineties at the latest.

Yep Chris,I believe for maggot,caster,worm,hemp and tares a crystal bend offers a better presentation,but each angler has a different view...

 

[Mark Wintle]

That Drennan hook guide was not that long before we got chemically-sharpened hooks (1985). The hook patterns (numbers) if you can read them are Au Lion D'Or patterns.

When the first Kamatsu (now renamed Kamasan) hooks came out Dave Swallow had a sample size 14 barbless and he challenged us to blunt it and we couldn't. Those early Drennan/Kamatsu hooks were absolutely superb with tiny microbarbs, finer wire and points that stayed very sharp. I've still got a few from that mid 80s era and you can see the deterioration in quality with later hooks that are blunter, lose their sharpness, thicker, softer wire etc. and bigger microbarbs. To get similar quality to the early Kamatsu/drennan you need Gamakatsu. One brand that was absolutely top class but hard to find and their import was very short-lived was Katsuichi, the best hooks I ever saw. I had a couple of sample 20s and tied them up for a match which I duly won with skimmers and bream, not losing a fish and all with the same hook.

 

[sam vimes]

That advert appeared on the back cover of a 1983 copy of Coarse Fisherman, Chris... Makes me feel old lol!

That explains my lack of recollection. I was fishing, but I was still young enough to have to be grateful for whatever I could get. Getting picky didn't really happen until the late eighties.

Yep Chris,I believe for maggot,caster,worm,hemp and tares a crystal bend offers a better presentation,but each angler has a different view...

The vast majority of my fishing involves maggots. Therefore, the vast majority of my hooks are crystal bends. I have tried alternatives, but I always go back to crystals.

 

[108831]

I'm afraid from back then when I match fished I was wanting the best hooks,lines,reels and rods for the fishing I was doing,be it chub,bream,small fish,I remember well three ABC anglers walked the bank and stopped behind me taking the pee,saying that I'd spent a lot of money on a Normark Norboron(£126 at the time,they were using Amorphous's £110ish),I laughed it off and upon their asking why I'd bought it,I told them I was looking for a rod to reduce hook pulls,specifically chub and bigger roach,I had the last laugh that day,if I remember correctly I had five chub for over 20lbs on a twenty hook,1.7lb line,losing none for 2nd or 3rd,it was an open with around 120 anglers fishing so a fair amount of winnings were made,balanced tackle is vital whether it be rods,lines,or the subject of this thread hooks....

 

[rayner]

And to think it was all so simple thirty five years ago...

free photo hosting

I had been racking my brain trying to remember a round bend hook from back in the day. It was at least the mid to late 70s when I seriously considered the hooks I was using. I still can't remember using a round bend hook.
My use of wide gape round bend hooks now is centred around pellet baits, crystal bends are still a favourite for caster/maggot.
I use two brands, Gamakatsu and Kamasan. A number of patterns, just the two brands.

 

[108831]

I had been racking my brain trying to remember a round bend hook from back in the day. It was at least the mid to late 70s when I seriously considered the hooks I was using. I still can't remember using a round bend hook.
My use of wide gape round bend hooks now is centred around pellet baits, crystal bends are still a favourite for caster/maggot.
I use two brands, Gamakatsu and Kamasan. A number of patterns, just the two brands.

Mustad 39853/4 I believe were two,the guy in the tackle shop in Bridgenorth(Stuart something or other,really nice bloke) was telling me they were a great barbel hook on the feeder,not as good as the Mustad 31381 crystal bend though

 

[Mark Wintle]

Mustad also did a round bend fine wire caster hook; can't remember the pattern. VMC National Champion as well.

 

[steve2]

Looking at that hook chart interesting to see what ever the pattern the hook size was roughly the same. Unlike to day when hooks size to me is a totally meaningless.

 

[nottskev]

I used to have a liking for blued hooks, when I only had canal fishing available. One was Drennan Carbon Caster, and the other a fine, sharp crystal bend pattern in size 22 by VMC - can't remember the exact name/number of it. Does anybody make blued hooks these days? I used to think they looked unobtrusive, but maybe it made little difference.

 

[108831]

I'm not 100% Kev,but I think gamakatsu do,in fact I think they made hooks in several colours.

 

[108831]

Looking at that hook chart interesting to see what ever the pattern the hook size was roughly the same. Unlike to day when hooks size to me is a totally meaningless.

All down to commercial fishery rules,a way of beating size limitations...

 

[silvers]

I used to use the Mustad 39853 and 39855 (longer shank) for chubbing Alan ... back in the 80s. They had a slight twist to the bend (is that offset?) so that the point was not aligned to the shank exactly. They were forged, although I understand that they were more popular as bream hooks.

Before that I loved the round bend VMC special caster, round bend and fine wire. I now use the tubertini serie 2, which is very similar in shape and weight.

I like round bend and a longish shank for caster fishing.

For the OP, I fell out with B611 ... dunno whether it was a bad batch or not but they suddenly were as soft as anything ... bent them on pretty small fish.

 

[108831]

I find the Drennan red maggot hook the same,people I know love them for chub and I know Simon uses them,I find them soft(I've had several straighten whilst distorting fish and I mean straighten),plus they lose their points easily,unlike the Drennan carbon chub hooks,which Drennan stupidly discontinued,ridiculous....

 

[flightliner]

Au lion 'dor,when I was carp fishing in the eighties I was on a lake and suddenly I had carp feeding in my swim, first time I connect the hook comes back well deformed.
Three more takes resulted in three more lost fish. This was after I checked for sharpness, temper and good knot connection.
On previous outings I had lost an odd fish but that day it finally came home that my using them any more had come to an end.
They were in the bin as soon as I returned home, never looked back when I started using Drennan super specialist.

 

[rayner]

I could never remember model numbers of hooks even when I was using them, there's no way I could remember them now.
I do remember Mustad and Au lion 'dor. Never had a problem with Au lion 'dor, in fact they were my go to hook for worm on the Trent.
I can't for the life of me remember the straight shank hooks we used then before spades came in.

 

[silvers]

I find the Drennan red maggot hook the same,people I know love them for chub and I know Simon uses them,I find them soft(I've had several straighten whilst distorting fish and I mean straighten),plus they lose their points easily,unlike the Drennan carbon chub hooks,which Drennan stupidly discontinued,ridiculous....

I always found the carbon chub too lightweight myself ... but i play chub really hard to drag them out of snags. i've started using the Drennan Wide gape (not the lighter wide gape match) for smaller fish and swims with few snags and am quite impressed so far. It's close (on memory) to the carbon chub.

My go to for larger chub is the carbon feeder. The drennan web site states the wire gauge as same as the wide gape ... I think it's visibly heavier wire. I still managed to open up a size 18 on sunday on a chub around the 5 and half mark at Willington (luckily still landed it). :wh

the drennan fine match of the late 80s and 90s was my favourite maggot hook for roach and dace ... but the modern version is a completely different bend shape and shank length.

 

[Richox12]

My go to for larger chub is the carbon feeder. The drennan web site states the wire gauge as same as the wide gape ... I think it's visibly heavier wire.

They look the same to me so I've just measured my 16's and they are indeed the exact same wire thickness

 

[sam vimes]

I find them soft(I've had several straighten whilst distorting fish and I mean straighten),plus they lose their points easily,unlike the Drennan carbon chub hooks,which Drennan stupidly discontinued,ridiculous....

Try the Wide Gape Match. They've become my go to all round float fishing hook. If they did them in bigger sizes, I'd probably use even more.

I always found the carbon chub too lightweight myself ... but i play chub really hard to drag them out of snags. i've started using the Drennan Wide gape (not the lighter wide gape match) for smaller fish and swims with few snags and am quite impressed so far. It's close (on memory) to the carbon chub.

The Wide Gape Match is anything but lightweight. I'm not even convinced that it's a finer gauge wire than the Wide Gape, but it is a different pattern. When I first started to use the Wide Gape Match, I actually thought they were a little over the top relative to the sizes they make them in. After giving them a lot of hammer, I no longer think that. If you've seen me post it on the HDYGO thread, there's an 80%+ chance that I caught it on a Wide Gape Match, from 20lb carp to minnows, and all points between. I used to like the Carbon Chub well enough. I'd be very annoyed if the reinstated them at the expense of the Wide Gape Match.