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[Nicole]

Birdman, you don't need to use Gammies, too expensive!!

Try the 50 pack of Eagle Claw lazer sharps, normally around 12 dollars (could be more, it's been awhile since I've bought any).


L182B
Size: 2-4 for coho, size 1-2 for steelhead and springs
Lazer Sharp®
Bronze
Barbless
Salmon/Steelhead
Extra Strong
Forged
Offset
Up Eye

Not sure if that's the exactl model number, but it's what most shops sell for salmon/steelhead.

Good luck! It's great to see you getting started on your own so young.

Cheers,
Nicole

[dennisK]

Gamakatsu are the best and worth the money. The hooks are the least bendable and sharpest. You want to catch more fish, use Gamakatsu. I trust them like I trust Maxima.

[Nicole]

But when you're 13, and losing a TON of gear because you are learning, why bother spending all that money?

I had 40 coho days when I was a teen, and I did not use Gammies (well they didn't exist back then either )

I agree they are of superior quality, but not really necessary.

Cheers,
Nicole

[dennisK]

Well Nicole back in the "old days" you could sharpen a bone and catch a fish - not as many now so as best gear as you can afford it is worth  it...I did not realize the thread was from a 13 yr old though.  Best invest in a hook sharpening stone or file and LEARN how to use it properly then....btw, aren't those eagle claw hooks chemically sharpened thus making conventional sharpening with a stone/file very difficult?

[Nicole]

Yep, once they lose their edge, you have to dispose of them (preferably in the garbage at home and not in the river).

In most cases, you break off before the hook is too dull to continue fishing it.  The biggest issue is snagging up on rocks, they do not fare too well with that, but shortening the float length so the presentation is not dragging bottom will take care of that.

It comes down to confidence I guess...

Cheers,
Nicole

[Nicole]

How much are Gammies? How many in a pack?  Bear with me, I'm a flyfisher

I never knew the eagle claw hooks have gone down in quality... The fact that they do become dull after a snag up on rocks is known though.

Cheers,
Nicole

[dennisK]

Bear with me, I'm a flyfisher

Nicole, your avatar does not look like a fisher

[The Gilly]

How much are gammies...let me put it this way...my wife bought me some for my stocking last christmas.  She was shocked at the price.  I believe in them and have used noithing else for 5-6 years.  I hear that the "viking" (I hope I got that right) is also a good hook and cheeper.  Anybody have experience with them?

Also, my hook file has paid for itself in spades.  Push some surgical tubing over the pointy end and attach it to a lanyard on your vest.  You'll use it every time you strike a rock.  There's not hook like a sharp hook!

[Nostro]

I'm with you, Nicole. Gammies are a waste of money, as testified to by the fellow fisher beside me the other day. His gammies kept bending or breaking every time he hooked into a chum or a snag, while I kept fishing and catching fish with the same eagle claw. I have straightened out and sharpened eagle claws, and no problem.

[joedavis]

$15 divided by 25 is 60 cents per for Gammies. That's a lot of money for a 13 year old to be spending on hooks. Gammies are not as good as they used to be as the hooks are now made with softer steel.  Use the black finish Eagle Claws. You can buy 50 hooks (size 1 or 2) for $9, which works out to 18 cents per. They are plenty sharp for coho and steelhead.

[Sterling C]

When it comes to smaller hooks size 2 and smaller I definitly an eagle claw guy. I used to use the gammies but I just bent far too many of them. I dunno about larger sizes but for small hooks, eagle claws just seem to bend less.

[Spudcote]

For salt-water (2/0-5/0), Gammies can't be beat. I've never had a problem with them breaking or bending, I used to use eagle claws, but would get Gammies whenever I had enough cash. You can see and feel it in the hooks that they are better quality, and bloody sharp !!! I've impaled myself too many times, and don't even feel it sometimes (not due to dull nerves...), I'm not sure if that's a good thing though.

As for fresh water, I'm a spoon/spinner/fly guy, I don't like drift fishing as much, but have never had problems with Gammies breaking. Eagle claws are good hooks, but not as good as Gammies.

All in all, Gammies tend to maintain their sharpness more than any hooks I've ever used. I recently found a few pre-tied leaders I'd done up a few years ago, and they were still as sharp as the day I tied them 3 years before. I've been meaning to have a look at their circle hooks, apparently they make them now, anyone else seen them for sale ? Eagle claws have rusted on my over time (natural barb...hehe) and I've stopped buying them (dad still buys them because he doesn't believe me). The population of ECs in my box is starting to dwindle and I'm not going back.

[TtotheE]

I've used mustad,  I've used eagle claw,  and gammies.  I think gammies are overpriced.  I have a diamond stone for sharpening,  and it does the trick no matter which hook I use.  I've only used "octopus" gammies,  so I'm not sure about any other style they have,  but have noticed the octopus have shorter points and larger gapes compared to their competitive counterparts of the same size.  An eagle claw 3/0 has relatively the same gap as a 1/0 octupus.  I find the longer point keeps the fish from spitting the hook better.  But I must agree the octopus initially gets the fish hooked better,  especially when you're not paying attention.  Right now I'm a mustad guy.

[DaN ThE MaN]

I have to agree with most of the people that gammies are by far the best. I've been using EC 4 ever they stay sharp for a long time but are hard to sharpen. Right now i am using vision hooks they are super sharp but dont start very sharp if u hooks snags they seem fairly easy to sharpen to. I got 2000 vision hook size 1 and 2 for around 140 bucks guess ill be using vision hooks for a while!

[Matuka Jack]

For sockeye fishing in the Fraser, nothing could beat the sharpeness and sticky points of of Octopus Gammies.  I think the wide gap and offset is the best design for this kind of fishing.  I get quite a number of this hooks from some of the fish that I land.  Sometimes fish are impaled on the body with this kind of hooks.  The ones I collect, I use for next sockeye season.  Octopus Gammies is the best flossing hooks I ever came to use.   I do not use this for coho simply because of it potential to body snag the other salmon (chum and white chinook).  When this happens --you loose expensive hooks.  It is unethical to body snag a fish.

For river coho, I like to use Eagle Claw circle hooks.  It does not catch and snag into the rock as much.  It very seldom accidentally snag a fish.  The hook point is quite well protected since it is bent inward.  I do not have to worry about the point getting dull.

For salt water, I use Mustad for the strength.  It is the strongest hook that I know.  It will not straighten out even by the strongest running fish.  Sometimes I have to sharpen them even when they are brand new, right out of the package.

For tying flies, I use Tiemco and Daiichi.  They have the sharpest and most durable points.