Hi all,
Just beginning to stick my toes into the world of fly fishing. I have a question on flies… I have read about the different numbers (sizes) but the book I have does not elaborate. What is smallest size fly and what is the largest? How are they sized? What do the numbers mean? Is a #10 is that bigger than a 12 or an 8? I appreciate any information so I can determine what to start with.
Thank you,
Hopefully Rootski chimes in.He is the fly fisherman on here.
The smaller the # the larger the hook Vise versa. In CO midges as small as 24 s. I can’t fish anything less than a 20 Heading to ID next week where we will be using large salmon flies both dries and nymphs. Have fun learning all about fly fishing. Great journey
Mann4ducks is right on, kinda like common wire sizes, the smaller the number the larger the fly size. The size of the fly is actually just stating what the hook size is. For example, a #14 fly is a fly tied onto a #14 hook. Obviously, the larger the hook the larger effective fly size is since you don’t want a big chunk of metal/hook shank sticking out.
I wouldn’t worry too much about the largest or smallest. Depending on what you’re targeting, I’d mainly stick to basics and get the same fly in a couple sizes on either side so you’re covered. The best way to judge what will work is to match the hatch- see what bugs are on the water or below and try to mimic their size and style. Also, don’t give fish too much credit, sure some giants are picky but for the most part it’s like floating a doughnut in front of a fat guy- chances are they’re gonna eat! If you’re in the Midwest, don’t look past using them for warm water species too. Panfish and bass are a blast and readily bite.
What are you fishing for? Trout can get particular about size, most other species not so much. For example, all the flies I have for panfish are tied on #6 or #8 hooks. Bass flies are on big hooks like 1/0 or 2/0.
Trout get focused on the bugs that are hatching at the moment, so flies that are the same size work better. You can get a lot done with #14 and #16 for starters. The smallest I’ve tied is a #20. They’re darned hard to see!
Have fun, and let me know if you have my other questions.
SR
The hook numbers are really related to size of the hook gap. As others have pointed out the larger the number the smaller the hook gap. Smaller hook gaps generally translate to smaller flies. What doesn’t get represented in the hook number is the length of the hook shank of which there can be a lot of variation.
Get some Wooly Buggers, in 4,6,8, sizes in black, brown, and olive they catch just about anything.
Catmando is right on. 95% of the time I have a small black wolly bugger on. If they’re biting on something else they’ll probably still hit the black wolly bugger
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
