If you bought the flies from guns n stuff they probably were of cheap metal quality. You should always check where the hooks are coming from- out of the country hooks usually have hook metal inperfections from mixed hook pours. For example some companies melt lead for sinkers and steel for hooks in the same tubs. It only takes a very small amount of a soft metal to weaken a hook. I buy through the fly shop and I am very happy with there hook quality. Mostly made in the USA- really depends on what type of fly it is. Just my 2 sense what you all think???
I have seen little mini-marts and hole-in-the-wall sporting goods have high quality flies. It's a matter of which supplier is sourcing the flies.
I had a conversation with a former colleague who is now a sales rep in the sporting goods industry about fly sourcing. He said that most flies are sourced from Asia. The trout flies that usually sell around $1.95 in fly shops use either TMC or Daichi hooks. The Asian fly tying factories follow strict quality control standards set by the vendor. I was told that some vendors, like Idylwilde and Montana Fly Company, own fly tying factories in Asia rather than contracting the work out to other tying factories. Inexpensive flies that are sourced from lesser known suppliers usually use inferior hooks and materials as stated in the above quote.
A practice that might be done still is mixing named brand flies with cheaply sourced flies. A store might source Umpqua Adams dry flies. It might mix in six dozen cheaply sourced Adams for each dozen Umpqua sourced Adams. The flies may look the same, but upon closer inspection, differences in quality are noticable. With this kind of practice, a retailer can claim it has Umpqua flies and make an obscene profit margin on the mixed lot of Adams dry flies.
I constantly get offers from companys wanting to sell me flys for cheap,tied to my specs ect ect,but these flys are cheaply made and made with poor quality hooks, I guess you get what you pay for. The flys I sell are all tied by me and are all on tiemco hooks GUARANTEED. I am currently in the process of setting this up through pay-pal and will let everybody know when they are ready to roll.Thanks again for every ones interest. Greg