Photo: Kubie Brown
Written by: Kubie Brown
When I first started tying flies, I thought I was a genius. Instead of spending hundreds of dollars on individual flies, I was going to tie everything I could ever need without spending a single cent in a fly shop. I figured that with just a bag of basic materials and a few good hooks, I could set myself up with flies for life. Of course, I had no idea how wrong I was going to be.
Most of the time your plans for tying a certain nymph, dry fly, or streamer are immediately derailed because you don’t have the exact thing that you need to make a fly perform. While this can happen with feathers, fur, and flash, the principal offenders, at least for me, are hooks. Even when I have the right size and shape hook that I need to tie a certain fly pattern, it always seems like the hook is just a little too thick or a bit big or small for what I want the fly to do. Honestly, I’d resigned myself to buying a dozen different hook brands and types just so I could always have the exact hook I needed. Then I found Firehole Sticks fly-tying hooks and realized I only needed one brand.
Sharp and Strong
Firehole Sticks are made with tempered steel so they’re thin and light and strong. They also have chemically sharpened points which stay pointy and sharp no matter what abuse you put them through.
I’d used similar thin, barbless hooks before but none of them performed as well as Firehole Sticks. The first time I used Firehole Sticks was on a trip to Pyramid Lake, and I absolutely fell in love with them. The water was low and the fish were being finicky and wouldn’t take anything except for skinny Chironomids. I had a few suitable Chironomid patterns, tied on another brand of hook, which worked for the picky fish. However, when I hooked anything sizeable, the hooks would bend and straighten. That night, a buddy gave me a box of Firehole Sticks 317’s to tie my nymphs on and the next day, I landed several double-digit fish on the same fly without the hook bending even slightly. After that, Firehole Sticks became my go-to favorites for all my fly-tying needs.
A few examples from the Firehole Outdoors website.
A Hook for Everything
Firehole Sticks have a wide array of hook styles and sizes, assuring that you’ll have a quality hook no matter what you’re tying. Overall, there are 28 different hook models to choose from.
Firehole Sticks 300 series are perfect for everything from stonefly patterns, to Klinkhamers and other emergers, to long skinny nymphs. They also work for basic dry flies, nymphs, and scuds. Firehole Sticks 400 short-shank hooks are ideal for foam stonefly or hopper patterns. Firehole Sticks also make some fantastic jig and streamer hooks—the 500 series is great for jig-head nymphs and streamers, and the 800 series working perfectly when you’re tying bigger streamers.
Tie One On
Perhaps the best selling point for Firehole Sticks is that you get a lot of bang for your buck. Most packages of Firehole Sticks hooks contain 36 hooks and only cost $8.35. Other brand may offer a dozen hooks for the same price. This means that you can set yourself up to tie your favorite patterns, in multiple sizes, for under $100. It’s frankly a ridiculous deal and makes Firehole Stick hooks a great way to fill up your fly boxes without draining your wallet.
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