Gear

Some cool "new" hooks have landed on my desk this week thanks to AHREX HOOKS from Scandinavia. There is a constant evolution in flytying materials, especially for the predator tier. New flashes, new fibres, new heads and the list goes on. But the hooks generally remains the same. So i was very happy when the guys at Ahrex contacted me to send me some samples of their predator range.

First, before i get into these hooks, let me tell you my views on pike hooks. And it's simple: stay sharp and DO NOT open! I often get strange eyes on me when i play a pike, as i like to play them quick and hard. Now we have to make the distinction between stupid brute force and playing a fish hard.You still need finesse, especially with big pikes.If ever the fish is fought with the reel, my drag is set tight. I fish a lot in confined spaces, rivers with hidden logs and roots, heavy strong vegetation in summer.So i cannot afford to let a fish dictate the fight. Always try to stay in control of your fish. I have been lucky to get many memorable pikes , some dirty fighters, other using just pure force, but i never had one (yet) that took me into the backing.
Why play a pike hard? Two reasons, one the fight is shorter.The fish is less stressed, conserve energy and you can be assured of a strong release. The second is not to loose a fish , in snags, under the boat or other catastrophic situations.
 I have tried many hooks , and many did let me down. Some are too soft and open too easily others dont keep their quality and sharpness. Usually  hooks that get blunt easily are very hard to sharpen back with a file as the steel is too soft and a diamond file just melts the hook away.
Some other hooks held very well...Until the day where you hook a big , fiery pike and the bast@*d opens just enough to loose its grip. My favorite hooks have been the same for a long time now, the Gamakatsu SL12S,from 2/0 to 8/0. It's only downfall is sometimes it's short shank .These primarily saltwater hooks are just amazing, some i've reused three, four times, tying new flies over and over them.
The second is the Sakuma Manta XL , usually the 6/0. This is an other solid hook, one slightly open on me one day but i never lost the fish.
So my first impression from the Ahrex hooks, they look very good straight out of the pack, sharp, nice shapes, black nickel , eyes are well finished,(maybe they could have a slightly larger eye, but thats just me) the quality of the built is high standard.
On this picture we can see the range that they sent me, the two hooks on the far left are the ones that most of my flies are made of for comparison. Two types of very strong stingers, one barbed, one barbless. Perfect for those  wiggle tails flies. The Ahrex aberdeen in 3/0 feels a lot to the sakuma 540.( i had 540's opening on me some as big as 5/0's...)A nice little hook, but i tend to go for the stronger stuff. I'll keep them for my trout flies ... ;)
A texas one, nothing new here, looks good, will be useful this coming summer.

As you can see in this picture, these are the two hooks that really caught my eye. On top the Sakuma manta xl and under the two Ahrex, the PR350 and the PR320.The one one the left (PR350) is lighter than what i'm used to, but it does feel strong, i forced it by hand and on the vice and it feels good.I love the slightly raised point and that slow drop on its back, one thing that the sakuma doesn't have being an Aberdeen shape.

Now this was a very brief look at some of these hooks, i will soon start using them in my next ties, but the true review will come in a few months when i had time to tame a few big Irish girls. Again thanks to Ahrex, my first impressions are very good, and first impressions are always important.See you next winter for a more hands on review.