Hook size ?

Festus I fly fish for Bluegill here in Idaho. The size 12 threw 18 are under a spider fly which floats. Bass hammer the heck out of the spider. I miss a lot because of the smaller hooks but its a blast having them surfice after that fly.

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Originally Posted by deathb4disco

I match the hook to the bait I'm using. For gills, I'm generally using maggots, so that means dry fly hooks from #14 to #20.

I skimmed the article you posted. IMO, it misses the mark on deeply-hooked fish. Bite indication is the key, not hook type or size.

Most people use huge bobbers that stick half way out of the water and wonder why fish swallow the hook. It's because floats like this are very poor bite indicators. I've been using the European-style floats exclusively for over 15 years. With them, you see bites very quickly so the fish don't have time to swallow the hook.

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That is a true statement. Use the smallest indicator you can get away with. For Bluegill fishing I do not use anything over a #10 myself. They have some monster 'Gills and Shellcrackers here in the South.

My cousin has some of these #10 Salmon Egg hooks and I would like to have some #8's like those. But I use #6 Aberdeen's, even though I don't like them.