OPST Swing Hooks – Why We Like Them

Deneki Outdoors

When swinging for anadramous fish, we really like fishing flies with trailer hooks. Whether tied on tubes or ‘articulated’ style, flies rigged with a trailer hook offer a number of advantages over flies tied on a traditional long shank streamer hook.

However, there’s a lot of debate over the best trailer hook out there. In fact, we’ve ran a post in the past asking what your favorite trailer hook is, and several of you weighed in on the matter!

Well, we recently had the chance to test out a new stinger hook from our friends at OPST called the Swing Hook. We really liked them, and today we’re going to tell you why.

Why We Like Them:

  • They’re Strong. Big fish require strong hooks, and while we’ve seen just about every model of stinger hook straighten sooner or later, we honestly haven’t been able to bend these out. Although we’re going to keep trying.
  • They’re Sharp. Like most premium hooks, right out of the box the swing hooks are extremely sharp. However, for some reason these hooks just feel extra sticky. Seriously!
  • They Hold Well. Of our guides and guests who have used the swing hooks, we’ve heard a number of comments about how few fish they lost once hooked on the swing hooks. We’re not exactly sure why, but we think the slight circle shape of the hook and offset bend have a lot to do with it.
  • They’re Barbless. We always crimp down our barb anyway, so it just makes sense to use hooks that are already barbless. Plus, not only are they easier on the fish, we think the make for a better hook set as well!
  • They Come in a Size 3. While it might not sound like a big deal to the uninitiated, we’re actually pretty excited about this.. Why? Because we think it will make for the perfect steelhead size hook. Smaller than a size 2 for better hook penetration, but larger than a size 4 for more assurance on bigger fish. Brilliant.

Thinking about swinging up some chrome in the bear future? We’d highly recommend giving the OPST Swing Hooks a try. The hooks are available in sizes 6, 4, 3, 2, 1, and 1/0, and retail for about $4.95 per package. For more information, check them out at OPST’s website here.

Originally published here.