HOOKS

I have always been a big fan of a wide gap, straight shank hooks for all of my drift fishing needs. I like the straight shank because it stays right in line with your leader without any bend or curve, which I like better especially running beads and sacks (just personal preference mostly). And the micro small sizes are perfect for single eggs with that shorter shank; a virtually hidden hook within a Poor Richard's cured egg is a deadly combination. My favorite hooks have been the Raven Specimen hook, which was often hard to come by. Now, thankfully, FishUSA offers them in all sizes. However, I wanted to mention this find that I came across while I was browsing at the DiksSportingGoods in Cranberry yesterday. To my surprise, I came across these Trout Bead Hooks. They are pretty much the same design and shape as the Specimen, but with a slight more curve on the point and slightly even shorter shank. They're also flat edge forged for more strength. I look forward to giving these a try and figured I'd pass along the find since I had several inquirries at the outing last year about the hooks I was using.