Ahab wrote:
.............Out of interest, Kev, how do you rate the good old 34007 Mustad? |
Hey Tom,
Ah mate, it's a love/hate relationship with these things.
I have literally thousands of 34007's that are the
old hook before they changed to Chinese manufacturing.
Not long ago I had a dummy spit because a big snapper crunched a hook and I ended up losing it.
In having said that, they were the go to hook for many many years in salt water and some great fish were caught on them. As with most things in life, technology goes forward and better hooks get designed and made.
The hooks are fine for most species if you know the limitations of the hook and fish within them, then they don't open up. I love fishing light tippets in general - 4 and 6kg being my favourite.
The newer hooks are definitely weaker than the originals and open up - no sugar coating it.
You can also see the quality of the finish on them - almost tinny.
(I was sent some new ones just recently and did my own unscientific tests.) Connected them up to strong dacron and a set of scales and pulled in different angles to mimic the
fight.
The size was 2/0 as this is my go to size really - most opened up at about 4.5 kg or thereabouts.
The older ones are fine for Kahawai and a range of other fish, but if you're hooked up to a fish of a lifetime, I would like to know I'm connected with something decent.
Everyone is going to have their own opinions, so what is good for one might not be for the other or vice versa.
34007's work great for Creasies though in my humble opinion.
What I also do like about the 34007's is that they are easily available, relatively cheap and you can put an edge on them that you'd be able to shave with.
You can also retouch them up time and again unlike the chemically sharpened hooks.