Old Partridge Hooks

[Greenwell]

Those look like older E1A dry fly hooks, circa 1975-80. The pic from Whitetail is a modern hook and isn't anywhere near the original. Partridge is now owned by Mustad and the hooks are no longer made in England.

The older Partridge boxes like those posted were changed about 1980 to a more descriptive box. Partridge made many of the older Veniard hooks and the designations on the Partridge boxes and packets from that time period followed the Veniard's models. Partridge also made many hooks that were marketed by Orvis, such as the Orvis "Supreme" and others.

Partridge hooks have been the standard by which I measure all other hooks. There are many good hooks, both older and modern, but I have used Partridge since the late 1970's and with the exceptions of the TMC 3769 and a couple of other patterns, I still tie the majority of my flies on Partridge hooks. Partridge hooks have a much harder temper than modern hooks, which can be a little springy. Many tiers don't Partridge hooks because of this but I find them to be be very strong and reliable. Because they were actually hand made there could be variations in bend and temper from batch to batch so you have to look at each hook.

One of the smarter things I have ever done was to buy up Partridge hooks whenever I could find them. Like Pearsalls silk, no one else seemed to want them until quite recently.

[bearbutt]

Those look like older E1A dry fly hooks, circa 1975-80. The pic from Whitetail is a modern hook and isn't anywhere near the original.

Yes, John, agreed: I made the same two points when I replied to Jay's query on the Bamboo Boards, and posted some relevant pics too--we're also in general agreement about dating the hooks:

http://classicflyrodforum.com/forum/vie ... p?t=141303

The member named "slw" also made some good comments about how the E1As in the 1970s were competing with Mustad 93833s and 94831s in the 3x and 4x fine department, riding on the wave of no-hackle patterns that were popular at the time.

I love the springy temper of Partridge hooks--it is a fine line between Mustad's softer temper and Tiemco's harder and more brittle temper--. They're one of my favorite hooks, alongside some Allcocks.

bb

[tworod]

Partridge hooks were indeed good until the early to mid-80's. After that the quality control was lacking and you never knew what you were going to get. Their primary value became that their profiles were unique. Truly, it seemed that some of the models were made specifically for some pattern types. The finished fly just looked best on certain Partridge hooks. Alas, your next batch of the same model too often was either too long or too short and the pattern just didn't look the same.
The quality control of modern day hooks is so much better. You will get what you previously had. Still, certain flies look better on certain hooks. The result is that have over fifteen brands for different applications and will most likely add to that.

[scgamac1]

I'm having a devil of a time getting more Partridge L3A/S hooks. You can find some here and there, mostly outside of the US. I contacted Dette which had been my go-to source and they said they were "no longer carrying the brand".

[letumgo]

Bummer! Dette was where I would buy those hooks. I guess I’m on the hunt now too.

[Fishnkilts]

I'm having a devil of a time getting more Partridge L3A/S hooks. You can find some here and there, mostly outside of the US. I contacted Dette which had been my go-to source and they said they were "no longer carrying the brand".

I asked Dette to at least keep the Partridge Patriot series hooks and they said they would consider it. But saying it and doing it are two different things. So I have gone on the hunt for hooks similar to their L3A/S hooks, and I think I found them from Fulling Mill. The FM 50 27 hooks are pretty close. Firehole has some hooks that will work too, but I think I'll go a size smaller than normal with that brand.

[wsbailey]

Roger Fogg, in his 1988 "A Handbook of North Country Trout Flies", popularized the Drennan Specimen carp hook for spiders. When Daiichi started selling their 1640 hooks a lot of tyers gravitated towards them. They are now being marketed as tube fly hooks, When Partridge started making the L3A/S that became the go-to hook for many. In his latest video Rob Smith, a leading NC fly tyer and author, tied a Partridge and Orange on a PARTRIDGE SUD2 IDEAL STANDARD DRY FLY hook.

[DOUGSDEN]

Bob,
Thank you for posting the site above "troutandsalmonhooks.com" by Richard Jefferies! Very interesting! I wrote down a couple hooks for future purchase!
Also, your Golden Plover and Yellow Silk (with peacock thorax) spiders are fantastic! I to like the look of the hook you have tied these on! Wow! These irons look stout!
Doug

[Mike62]

Doug, you had me at "stout iron..."