Hook anatomy and hook types
Hooks for all purposes
By Martin Joergensen
Let's look at a hook, and try to put the right terms on the right parts. This picture shows a hook (note that it actually is a rare vertical eye hook, great for this purpose).
The letters represent:
- Eye width - a good measure to use when indicating small distances in the pattern, especially in the front
- Overall length. The hooks 'outer' horizontal dimension
- Shank length. The length of the part we normally tie the fly on
- Bend - it can be difficult to determine where the shank ends and the bend begins, especially on curved hooks.
- Barb length - sometimes use to measure out tag/butt placement on salmon flies
- Gap (or sometimes gape) - almost the same as the hooks' overall height
Read more about hook selection for salt water flies
Read more about salmon fly dimensions
I have selected a straight shank, straight eye hook for this example, but hooks can be very different from this scheme as you see here:
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A Global FlyFisher Publication
Submitted January 23rd 2010
I have to depend on mail order when buying hooks. The problem is the length of the body, in variable "long shank" type hooks one never knows what this is when ordering Today we have much more information on the size of the insects than in the past, most given in mms. Example; if I wanted a hook for a stonefly nymph of 20mms body length, or a dry fly in 12mms, what do I order? I know which are heavy and light wires and the gape size, but not the length.
I think it would be helpful, especially for new fly tiers, if we had some additional spec like a #6/20, the 20 being body length in mms, rather than say 4X, which can be confusing.
Then again what is wide gap hook? Surely it is only a larger size gap, or gape, on a shorter size body length 2 or 3X short, which again is not clear as to the actual body length.
Add to this the variables between hook manufacturers, it would seem time to perhaps review this system and bring it up to the present day?