A Hook Never Gets Old

Personally, parting with my several hundred Mustad 3406AC hooks last manufactured in the 1990s would be more painful than giving up a favored fly rod. There are too many memories of when the high-carbon, thin-wire, sharp-as-all-get-out hooks (thank you, Mr. Dremel) have made tarpon fishing look easy.
This week Keith Barton discovered a trove of old fly-tying hooks on EBay, sparking yet another obsessive and educational essay, this time on why hooks that are no longer manufactured (and available at $0.20 per 100) are a tiers dream come true. “As I watch and bid, I’m surprised at the brainwashing that’s occurred. Traditional fly tying hooks without kirbed point and equipped with the familiar down eye are moving smartly, but most of the other hooks are loved only by the occasional odd duck like myself.”