Saber Hooks?

[letumgo]

Welcome aboard Ed. Nice to hear from you, and your experience with the Saber hooks.

[Rscconrad]

Wholesale fly company is another source of 7 per 100 hooks. I have been using a bunch of their styles for the last couple years. I have never used saber but wanted to offer another option. I never really bought into the laser sharpened hook trend. These are chemically sharpened like the mustads I learned to fly fish on.

[Bazzer69]

Cheap hooks are precisely that, cheap. If you tot up the general cost of a single fishing trip it makes no sense to use a hook that cost 2.5 cents over one that cost 25 cents. I’ve had many a client loose what could be the fish of a lifetime because of a cheap broken hook. I tie many flies for my clients and I only use the best hooks available regardless of price. My tips depend on it!
B

[Greenwell]

Cheap hooks are precisely that, cheap. If you tot up the general cost of a single fishing trip it makes no sense to use a hook that cost 2.5 cents over one that cost 25 cents. I’ve had many a client loose what could be the fish of a lifetime because of a cheap broken hook. I tie many flies for my clients and I only use the best hooks available regardless of price. My tips depend on it!
B

Well said, B!

I've never understood why anglers/tiers will spend money on rods, reels, trips, etc. and then scrimp on what is arguably their most important piece of tackle, namely the hook. Fishing success depends more on the hook than any other item but for some reason saving a few pennies on a hook often seems to be a vital concern. As many of you know, I'm a hook fanatic and could go on for hours about everything concerning hooks.
Just last week I lost a very good West Branch fish to a light wire hook. Notice I said "light wire" and not inexpensive. I had found three good browns feeding in a quiet bankside backwater. I could see that all were large fish and I should have known better than to use a light wire hook in that situation but I had just landed a 19" brown on the fly I had on and was too lazy to change. Long story short, I targeted what I thought was the best fish and he takes the fly first cast. I set into him and he rips up-stream. Everything is going fine but before I can get him on the reel a loop of slack line catches on my vest and comes tight, but not too tight, just a bit of pressure. When I cleared the loop the fish was off and I thought he had broken the 6X. Nope, he had opened the hook just enough to get off. Moral of the story is 6X tippet is stronger than a Varivas 981 size 12 hook.

[Greenwell]

Cheap hooks are precisely that, cheap. If you tot up the general cost of a single fishing trip it makes no sense to use a hook that cost 2.5 cents over one that cost 25 cents. I’ve had many a client loose what could be the fish of a lifetime because of a cheap broken hook. I tie many flies for my clients and I only use the best hooks available regardless of price. My tips depend on it!
B

Well said, B!

I've never understood why anglers/tiers will spend money on rods, reels, trips, etc. and then scrimp on what is arguably their most important piece of tackle, namely the hook. Fishing success depends more on the hook than any other item but for some reason saving a few pennies on a hook often seems to be a vital concern. As many of you know, I'm a hook fanatic and could go on for hours about everything concerning hooks.
Just last week I lost a very good West Branch fish to a light wire hook. Notice I said "light wire" and not inexpensive. I had found three good browns feeding in a quiet bankside backwater. I could see that all were large fish and I should have known better than to use a light wire hook in that situation but I had just landed a 19" brown on the fly I had on and was too lazy to change. Long story short, I targeted what I thought was the best fish and he takes the fly first cast. I set into him and he rips up-stream. Everything is going fine but before I can get him on the reel a loop of slack line catches on my vest and comes tight, but not too tight, just a bit of pressure. When I cleared the loop the fish was off and I thought he had broken the 6X. Nope, he had opened the hook just enough to get off. Moral of the story is 6X tippet is stronger than a Varivas 981 size 12 hook.
[/quote]

PS. I have not seen nor used Saber hooks so please don't take this as a condemnation of a product I have no familiarity with. For all I know, they may be a very good hook at a good price.

[Rscconrad]

I agree with you guys on cheap hooks, who needs them. Same with overpriced hooks. What we are all looking for is good hooks we can afford that get the job done. There are more and more hooks on the market, some are junk some are good.

[Theroe]

HI, I'm new to Flymphfourm, my name is Ed I live in east central Pa Schuylkill County to be exact, I tie flys and fish for trout, and naturally I'm always looking for new patterns .
Now about Saber Hooks, I use to use Mustad hooks, then I switched to Daiichi hooks, a buddy of mine use to sell them for $9.00 a hundred, the bad news he retired after 30+ years, so I checked on line for them when I saw the prices they wanted I started looking for a replacement.
When I found Saber hooks for $7.00 I though they cant be any good, but I'm open minded and tried then, after my first fishing trip with them I was sold, I've been using them ever since, yea sure you find one bad one in a box of 100 but you'll find a bad one or two in any brand hooks.

ED - Welcome aboard!!

Are you the one I met on the Brodhead??

Dana

[Theroe]

Wholesale fly company is another source of 7 per 100 hooks. I have been using a bunch of their styles for the last couple years. I have never used saber but wanted to offer another option. I never really bought into the laser sharpened hook trend. These are chemically sharpened like the mustads I learned to fly fish on.

++1 for wholesaleflyhooks!

He also has all sorts of beads, cheaper than anywhere else, at least that Ive found.

I wholeheartedly agree with the cheap hook vs expensive hook argument(s) - but at the same time,, I will NOT pay $6-8 for 20 "extra-super-powdercoat-stealth-everything-with someones name on it" hook.

Plus, old Partridge, Allcocks and Mustad hooks work just fine

Dana

[Bazzer69]

My first choice in hooks are Tiemco, not cheap but other than a bad batch ten years ago I’ve never had one break or straighten on steelies up to twenty five inches. Really sharp as well. Plenty of broken tippet or, I’m ashamed to admit, knots that have come apart. I like some of the older hooks as well, but I have had problems with them breaking when I try to pinch the barb down. Those are just too brittle.
B

[daringduffer]

I like some of the older hooks as well, but I have had problems with them breaking when I try to pinch the barb down. Those are just too brittle.
B

You have to 'roll' those brittle barbs down by 'squeezing' them from the tip towards the bend of the hook in order to avoid breaking them. The easiest way to do this is to use pliers with bent jaws. The difficult part is to find such pliers that are fine enough. You probably need to modify a pair.
When you grip the hook with the pliers the lower jaw is supposed to be still and the upper jaw should move towards the hook bend, squeeezing the barb down in the process.

Clear as mud??

dd