Live bait hanging off the end of a single hook where you have pierced the lip of a small baitfish is also a great technique for luring in some great fish. Sizes vary but anything from size 8 up for the fly is perfect.īread flake molded around a single hook is deadly for trout in farmed or public waters where people feed ducks or similar as the trout are used to this type of food in the water. What size hooks for trout flies?Īll my fly fishing is done with single hooks and while I may have up to 4 flies on the line they will all be on single small hooks.
I use scented prawns on these rare occasions and a longer single hook shaft allows me to present the prawn beautifully to the fish, resulting in some awesome catches. When in season and I get the chance to get to the river I use longer shank hooks on the end of a floating fishing line for Salmon. Longer shank hooks come out of the bag in some rivers for larger brown trout if I use worms or some of the manufactured baits on the market. I use standard pattern hooks for fly and small presentations such as maggots and sweetcorn. As mentioned single hook barbless is my preferred choice especially for trout fishing. Something like a maggot or sweetcorn will sit nicely on smaller-sized hooks, like size 10, but as you go up in target size and bait size your hook will also have to get bigger.Ĭhoosing the right size trout hook – for fly, bait, or spinningįor normal fishing, I always use a single barbless hook but let’s look at some of the different options available to you:īait fishing with something like a salmon egg and fly fishing always calls for a single fishing hook. In my experience, different waters and baits will also dictate the type of hooks you use and the size of the hook. The only other hook type I will use for trout fishing is when I fish something like freshwater prawns for Salmon returning to spawn, which is a longer size hook so I can hold the bait in place during longer casts. This allows for a more natural bait presentation and tends not to spook the swim. When float fishing with bait I also stick to smaller hook sizes. I mainly use smaller hooks when going for trout as I tend to fly fish a lot and most freshwater patterns are tied on smaller hooks. You might use something like a size 10 (great for salmon eggs), size 12, or 16 hook size for smaller brook trout or lakes with smaller stocks.Īs this guide is about fishing for trout we are going to use the second scale. As the numbers go up the hook size gets smaller. Normal Scale: The opposite can be said for the normal size hook numbering system. for example, you might use a 5/0 circle hook for tuna but as the numbers go up so do the hook sizes.
Each hook is measured with a /0 at the end of it. The first scale is the Aught scale and the second is the Normal scale.Īnd just to confuse you the numbers mean very different thingsĪught Scale: This mainly focuses on a larger size hook used in saltwater and sport fishing. Trout hook sizing is broken down into two different scales. What size hook do I need? Choice, Brands & Options The size hook you use comes down to the species you are targeting, the type of bait you are using, the conditions you are in, and the size trout you are targetingįor example, if you are using live bait you will need a slightly bigger hook to hold it in place. What is the best hook size for trout fishing and what products would we recommend?Ī great question and one with many different ways to answer it…