Forum Home › Fly Tying › Substitute for TMC 5262

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    • June 19, 2018 at 8:30 pm #5748
      Tim McCoy
      Participant

      I am going to tie flies at the Fly Tiers Expo in Branson at the end of July. I have chosen to tie Dave Whitlock’s,”Red Fox Squirrel Hair Nymph”. Why? Well, you can tie this fly in many variations: it can be tied with a bead-head, with rubber legs, tied as a Caddis pupa, tied as a October caddis and even as a stone fly. I chose to tie this pattern out of economy, less investment in materials, and I don’t have to carry 14 rubber maid containers to Branson. This recipe calls for TMC5262 hooks. There goes the economy. The hook needs to be 2XL. Firehole does not have anything I can sub. So, does anyone have a suggestion for a substitute hook.

      • This topic was modified 6 years ago by Tim McCoy.
    • June 20, 2018 at 5:32 am #5750
      bkbying89
      Participant

      Hi, Tim, the Daiichi 1760 heavy curved hook may work for you. It is 2x long and 2x heavy. It has a slight bend that I think would make a nymph look lifelike. I found it at J Stockard.

      Bill

    • June 20, 2018 at 12:12 pm #5752
      Kenny Klimes
      Keymaster

      Tim,
      As we talked about during our recent phone conversation, not all hook companies are created equal. Well, we all know that some hooks are better than others and some hooks are made “cheaper” than others, but that’s not what I mean by being “created equal”. The lengths of the shanks are not all equal. In other words, a 2x or 3x shank isn’t the same length for each hook company. I guess there isn’t a set standard on shank lengths that I have found anywhere ( the same goes for gape size).
      If you are a fly tier, I feel it’s important to find a good hook company and know their hooks, i.e. sizes, shapes and gauge of the wire used to make the hook. I guess what I’m saying it’s wise to stick with one company. I use barbless hooks and have converted to the Firehole Outdoor hooks. They are a new company (give our FATC a discount) and they are developing hooks of different sizes, lengths and gauges as they grow. Their hooks are very shape (important), they are barbless (important to me) and they have wide gapes (again, important to me).
      Remember, you can always tie the fly the size you want on a longer hook by just tying it smaller on that longer hook.

    • June 20, 2018 at 12:52 pm #5754
      Tim McCoy
      Participant

      Thanks to those that responded. Last night I chatted on line with Joe at Firehole. He suggested I go with their 633 or their 839. The 839 is a 3XL, but I figured I can tie small. I also order the 633, because a tier can never have too many hooks. Actually, I think in the future the Firehole brand will become so popular that they will become impossible to get. If you haven’t tried Firehole hooks, well, get some. I placed an order around 11 o’clock this morning, I was notified shortly before lunch that my order had shipped. Supper fast service and with a FATC discount.

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