So I accidently picked up a pack of Tiemco dry fly hooks (TMC 100BL) size 18 instead of the TMC 3761 which I usually tie on, when I went back to the store they were out of the TMC 3761 size 18's. My question is: Has anyone ever tied nymphs on dry fly hooks? I imagine the only down size is that they are lighter and take longer to sink... any thoughts?
The 3761 is one of my favs for RS2 and other nymphs. As far as the dry fly for nymphs I follow the Micro may recipe by using a 921 which is a parachute/thorax dry hook.
Randall Kaufmann ties a couple nymph/wet fly patterns on the 100bl. It will work for smaller nymphs such as baetis, but the hook is much lighter and has a longer shank than most nymph hooks used for putah patterns. The 921 is a good example of a dry fly hook that works for nymphs. It has a nice wide gap and the hook is heavier than most dry fly hooks. Dave Sloan uses 921's on a lot of his patterns like the mighty may and the mighty mite. chuck
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"when you put your hand into a flowing stream you touch the last that has come before and the first of what is still to come" -DaVinci
The late Gary LaFontaine, the caddis fly guru, said in one of his videos that he prefers to tie his nymphs on dry fly hooks. His thought was that the thinner wire gave him more hook penetration when setting the hook. Personally, however, I stick to nymph hooks for my Putah creek flies. It's too easy for the "pigs" in Putah to straighten out a light wire hook, especially on small flies.
I mostly use dry fly hooks even for nymphs due to the penetration effect, but another benefit is simplification. It is annoying to have to dig through too many different kinds of shapes and sizes to find the right size 18 hook.
I've never straightened out any Tiemco thin wire hook (I generally use TMC 100's), even on 20"+ fish. I usually fish a 4-wt rod with 6x tippet and I figure that the light rod protects both the hook and tippet.
One day, however, I bought a bunch of Cabelas hooks (thinking to save money) and straightened 2 of them in 2 successive hookups on 18"+ fish. Aaaarrrrrgggghhh!!! Had a 5wt rod and 5x tippet at that point. The hooks went in the trash the next day.
Had a 5wt rod and 5x tippet at that point. The hooks went in the trash the next day.