(Reader): Hey, what about the free Indian crow?

I'll say something about each hook in the hope that it will be of some help to you when choosing hooks for fishing or exhibition tying. I won't be pulling any punches; but remember, it's only my opinion.

1) #2 SEB Partridge, sizes range from #2 to #6. Price estimated at $22.00 per hundred. Availability in stores is rare. Overall good quality, but I wish it was made in larger sizes. Best down eye I have come across and Atlantic salmon flies for fishing tied on this hook look fine.

2) #2 Wilson (salmon dry-fly hook by Partridge), sizes range from #2 to #16. Priced at $22.00 per hundred. Quality control might be a problem here, as hooks can vary from package to package. A larger size is needed for exhibition flies. Hook shank strength could be stronger. I wouldn't use this hook for Chinook or large fish in heavy water, nor does the lightwire shank sink well. Small Speys and Dees look fine on this hook and the very small size makes them lovely dry-fly hooks.

3) #4 Partride Double (Wilson Double not shown), sizes range from #2 to #10. Price estimated at $50.00 per hundred. Flies ride nicely in the water on double hooks, but beware, they are illegal to fish in many areas. The Wilson Double has a longer shank than the Partridge Double, and the General Practioner looks handsome on it. Availability of double hooks in the United States is rare.

4) 3/0 Partridge M Single Salmon (regular), sizes range from #4/0 to #10. Priced at $22.00-$30.00 per 100. A strong and heavy hook. During winter it is one of the very best hooks, in its largest sizes. This is the model that Bill McMillan uses for his Winter's Hope.

5) 3/0 Partridge N Single Salmon (low-water style), sizes range from #3/0 to #10. Priced at $22.00-$30.00 per 100. My favorite fishing hook in its largest sizes (#3/0 to #1/0). They are sharp, strong, and they sink well.

6) #l Partridge Bob Jones 6X Long Streamer Hook, sizes range from # 1 to #8. Priced at $5.95 per 25. Though not a salmon hook, it can be used for Dees and Speys (finished in black). This hook is also sharp, strong and a good sinker.

7) #4 Turrall Double. An English double I believe is no longer available in the United States.

8) 2/0 Tiemco 7999, sizes range from #2/0 to #8. Priced at $23.00-$27.50 per 100. A strong hook, but only satisfactory in appearance. The barb is very low and the point sharp, but difficult to resharpen once dulled.

9) 1/0 Tiemco 700 Down Eye, sizes range from #1/0 to #8. Priced at $15.00-$20.00 per 100. The simple ball eye detracts from the hook's appearance. Compare this hook with the #2 SEB hook (see number 1). It is a strong, sharp hook.

10) #4 Tiemco 7989 Dry Fly Style, sizes range from #2 to #8. Priced at $23.00 per 100. I don't care for its looks and I am suspicious of the strength of the wire.

11) 2/0 Sprite (English). Absolutely the worst hook I've ever used. The only time I used it (and it figures that most of the hooks I had that day were tied on Sprites), the hook cost me a minimum of five silver salmon. The point is brittle and breaks easily.

12) 2/0 Rational Hook (copy of Pryce-Tannatt's hook made for Fabbeni). Not attractive at all. It looks to me as if many of the hooks used in Classic Salmon Flies: History and Patterns by Mikael Frodin, are tied on these hooks.

13) 5/0 Partridge CS6 Blind Eye, estimated size range #5/0 to #2/0. Priced at $7.60 per 10. An ugly hook with occasional file-scarred points.

14) 1 1/2 Alec Jackson Spey Hook, sizes range #1 1/2 to #7. A fine hook for fishing Speys and Dees. They did come in various finishes: black, blue, bronze, gold, and silver. They are sharp and strong. Their current status is in question.

15) #2 Partridge Bartleet (original McNeese run). No longer made due to the shank's penchant for releasing fish. An attractive style that can give a Spey or Dee a wicked appearance. I miss the look of this style.

16) 3/0 Bartleet Salmon CS10 (Partridge), sizes range from #3/0 to #6. Priced at $24.00-$30.00 per 100. Like the above two hooks, it is sharp, strong, and hooks fish well. Getting the fish off the hook can be difficult due to the angle of the barb and the point.

17) A hook I look forward to using in the future, when it is in production, is "Lil" Davey McNeese's Blue Heron Spey Hook. Sizes will be from #3/0 to #6. Estimated price is $23.00-$30.00 per 100. When will it be available? You all know "Lil" Davey. 1992 at the earliest.

Not Shown: Mustad 36890, sizes range from #6/0 to #12. Priced at $7.50-$13.50 per 100. If you cut off the eyes of the larger hooks (#6/0 to #2/0), you can improve their looks. The turned-up eye is probably the ugliest in the business, and the looped eye isn't tapered, resulting in a loser for an area to tie the head.

Not Shown: Mustad 90240 (low-water, salmon-fly hook, also used for dry flies), sizes range from #4 to #10. Priced at $6.50 per 100. The shank is weak, and the point is the weakest I've encountered; even your fingernail can bend this point. I recommended to a friend to give the toss to his two boxes of 90240s. Not only did he refuse, he went so far as to fish with them. Every fly came back straightened or with a damaged point. He got the message.

Not Shown: Mustad 7970, sizes range from #1 to #10. Priced at $6.50 per 100. A bronzed, down-eye, 5X stout, salmon- steelhead hook. A hook that gets down deep and its strength is legendary. Start sharpening the larger sizes weeks before you are to go fishing; the job takes awhile.

CAUTION: Casting a large (#6/0 to #1/0) hook can be dangerous to your health. My weapon of choice is an 11-12 weight rod and my tippet ranges between 8 pound and 20 pound test. These make casting the large hooks somewhat easier. If you take a #3/0 hook in the head or back, you'll know how Custer felt at Little Big Horn.

Well, that's all. Hope it might help.

(Reader): Whoa!! After all that, aren't you going to give us the low down on the free chatterer, Indian crow, and bustard?

(Author): One born every minute!