8-cents a fly...

No, I'm not selling flies for 8-cents each.  When I was working in a "fly shop" (a polite euphemism for the fly fishing section --as separated as it was-- at a sporting goods store) we had all types of folks come in.  From hard core fanatics (only a few, really) who've been avid fly fishermen for years, to complete beginners who needed to be walked through the process.  I enjoyed it all, mind you, but there was always something that irked me.

The cheapest fly tying hooks we sold were about $4 for a package of 25.  I'm not going to name brands, but you can use your imagination.  The tempering process was not as good, the hooks made in China rather than Japan, and just in general were more inferior to other brands, which I happen to prefer.  Now, these "other" brands, with my personal choice of Daiichi, based on our options from all the fishing shops in Edmonton, each having prices, generally, from $5-6 depending on the exact hook style.

Now, there are some hook styles in the cheaper brand that I like, and actually tie with, so I'm not just being pompous or elitist or anything...  I'm just talking in general.

So lets think about this.  Even at $6 for 25, that is only $0.08 extra per fly.  Why buy inferior materials, just because it looks a bit (and I mean a small bit) more appetizing when buying an entire package?  Are you going to buy bad tippet to save 8-cents?  What about a bad line?  Or what about your morning coffee for that matter?  I didn't think so.

No, so why be chincy (how do you spell that?) with the business end of your gear?  If it really (and I mean honestly, people) comes down to budget, I'd  recommend lowering the cost of the rod you want to get buy 50 or 100 bucks.  That'll let you get up to 50 packs of high quality, strong hooks (that's over 1200 individual ties...) that won't bend under extreme pressure from big trout --the last time you'd ever want to have cheap, soft hooks attached to your expensive, highest-breaking-strain-for-the-size tippet, $80 fly line, and $700 fly rod.

So do yourself a favour.  Spend the $0.08 extra on each fly, and be thankful that you did when a large trout is on the line.

Nick