Hooks have been around for a while. An excavation in Palestine has turned up a hook-like object, believed to be the oldest, that’s been dated to 9,000 years ago. Ancient hooks have also been discovered in Egypt and among late Paleolithic remains in Czechoslovakia.

Neolithic man certainly utilized them, fashioning his from bits of bone, flint, turtle shell, or whatever else could be found. Out of the Stone Age, the appearance of hooks became more widespread and the process of building them more uniform. The first Western text that provides detailed instructions on their manufacture came in 1496, when Juliana Berners penned a contribution to a tome that should be familiar to every fly fisher with a taste for Esoterica, The Boke of Saint Albans. Her chapter: The Treatyse of Fysshynge wyth an Angle.

By the mid-sixteenth century, just 50 years after Dame Juliana’s work was published, it was possible for anglers to purchase commercially fabricated hooks, and that’s where the trouble started. It seems the anglers of the day held little faith in the hooks they could buy. The tempering process was in its infant stages at the time and the hooks that were produced were less than reliable.

Almost five hundred years later, tempering is not a problem. Nor is availability. And anyway, few anglers are probably prepared to forgo a tackle shop purchase and instead set to forging their own hooks. Still, uncertainty manages to rear its confidence-shattering head more often than not, for instead of issues of overall quality, anglers are now presented with a bewildering array of choices, a good many of which are guaranteed to be dead wrong for whatever method is to be employed.

Add a line-burning, reel-wrecking Alaska king salmon to the equation, and making the right decision becomes even more important. There are octopus-style hooks, nymph hooks, live bait hooks, jig hooks, circle hooks, siwash hooks, treble hooks, and probably a hundred more. Some are finished in red, some in black, while others retain the chrome of their stainless steel construction. There are upturned eyes, down-turned, and straight. Pick an octopus-style hook for your plug and you’ll upset the proper angle and miss fish after fish. Pick a light-wire design and an ocean-fresh Chinook will straighten the hook like it was a paper clip. Pick one that won’t hold an edge and you too can sing that sad song of regret when your trophy spits the hook right back at your boat.

So, what are the best hooks for fishing Alaska’s king salmon? Well, there are many suitable designs put out by many different manufacturers. And for the most part, the initial choice should be dictated not by size but by application.

For instance, anglers planning to back-troll plugs on the Kenai will have to heed the river’s single-hook regulations and replace the treble hooks. Here, the siwash hook is appropriate, as the open eye style ensures easy replacement. If drifting roe, anglers might prefer octopus-style hooks, which enable a higher percentage of hookups via an extra-wide gap and a rounded shape. Plus, octopus-style hooks are fabricated with a forged, reverse offset and can handle the largest of fish. The upturned eyes on these hooks also make them perfect for tying snells on mooching rigs.

Another fairly recent design is the circle hook. Mandated in some salmon fishing areas—like San Francisco Bay—circle hooks have considerable merit, especially for catch-and-release anglers. When used with natural bait, most J-hooks have a tendency to be swallowed, often fatally injuring fish. Circle hooks differ in that they don’t catch on the first irregular surface they contact, but only as they are pulled out. As a fish turns (and resistance is held), the hook will slide and seat, most often in the corner of the mouth.

Once the design of the hook has been decided upon, there are still a number of choices for the king salmon angler to make. For fly-tier Rich Johnson, the first requirement of a good king salmon hook is the ability to penetrate the fish’s notoriously tough mouths.

“I look for sharpness first, which is why I’m a fan of chemically sharpened hooks,” Johnson explains. “After that I look at wire or hook strength.”

The thickness of the wire used in a hook’s construction, which along with forging, stamping, and a few other factors, determines the strength of the hook, also affects the hook’s penetration qualities. Very fine wire hooks, like dry-fly models, usually have reasonably short points, as they penetrate more easily. Heavier-wire hooks, like most king salmon hooks, require a more tapered point, both for optimal penetration and to allow re-sharpening to occur without the point becoming too eroded.

Naturally, most of Alaska’s veteran salmon anglers look for the best of both worlds in their hooks. “A lot of times, people purchasing hooks don’t think about the fact that the great majority of king salmon fishing takes place right on the bottom,” says Kenai and Kasilof river guide Greg Brush. Anyone who has ever waded an Alaska freestone stream, however, should be able to recall the rocks, boulders, logs, and other debris that litters a river’s course, all of which can serve to dull hooks as they are bounced along on their drifts.

“I don’t use anything but Gamakatsu hooks for that exact reason,” Brush continues. “They’re sticky sharp right out of the box, but never brittle. Sometimes hooks can be too hard, and then they can’t be sharpened. Others are soft enough to sharpen easily, but they tend not to hold an edge for very long at all. In the end, it’s about finding a compromise that you as an angler can live with.”

Rich Johnson agrees, adding a warning that the best hooks for Alaska’s kings might end up costing a little more. “I buy premium hooks for their sharpness, but also because they’re forged. Forging allows for the use of smaller wire in hook construction, which penetrates quicker and easier, while actually increasing strength in the bend radius.”

Because it’s an extra step in the process, forged hooks cost more. Still, says Johnson, the higher prices are worth it. “I remember floating an entire day once and only hooking into two fish. At times like that, you really value a quality hook.”

After design, sharpness, and strength, there’s the matter of size to consider, which can become complicated when talking about hooks. With no true standardization within the industry, each manufacturer is free to base size scales in any manner they choose: maybe shank length, maybe overall length, or perhaps the width of the gape. In the U.S., the measurements go from size 32 (the smallest) down to a size 1 hook. At this point, the numerical description changes over to a designation of ‘aughts’ or zeroes. A 1/0 (pronounced ‘one aught’) hook is the next larger size, and the system continues on through the largest, a 19/0.

For large, strong fish like the king salmon, where large baits are sometimes used, anglers are necessarily advised to use larger hooks. “You wouldn’t want a gob of roe the size of a quarter with a 3/0 hook buried inside it,” Greg Brush explains. “For average-sized kings, 4/0 to 6/0 hooks will work fine. However, on the Kenai, where a 70-pounder might be around the corner, most guides use 6/0 to 9/0 hooks.”

Scott Miller of Soldotna Trustworthy Hardware confirms Brush’s advice. “One of the most popular setups you’ll see on the Kenai is a K-16 Kwikfish with a 7/0 Gamakatsu siwash trailing right off the tail. Gamakatsu has a new hook, the 510 Assist,” Miller adds, “that actually outsold the siwash towards the end of last season. It’s a real solid hook with an outside barb and a short shank.”

Though Miller noted Gamakatsu was by far the hook of choice in the area, out-selling other models nearly 15-to-1 by his estimation, he had much praise for a second premium salmon hook. “The Owner hooks are the second best sellers right now, but I highly recommend their cutting point hooks. I’ve personally been using them for a couple of years now,” he continued, “and I can definitely say it’s a phenomenal hook with phenomenal penetration.”

In other areas of Alaska, the story on king salmon hooks reads much the same. “A 5/0 Gamakatsu Octopus is the preferred hook for drift-fishing for Chinook in the Susitna River tributaries,” says Mike Hudson of 3 Rivers Fly & Tackle in Wasilla. “But if a Kwikfish or other plug needs a new treble hook, I use the cutting point hooks from Owner, which is an octopus-style, stinger treble with a cutting point on it—a fantastic hook.”

For fly-fishing applications, Hudson says the Tiemco 7999, a black, upturned eye salmon hook, is a good choice for a variety of patterns. However, as Hudson explained, fly-tiers need to remember that the same size hooks that are used for all-tackle application don’t necessarily translate to the fly world. Quite often, smaller sizes are preferred.

Another thing to keep in mind for anglers who might target saltwater one day and freshwater the next is the deteriorating effect seawater has on most metals. “Saltwater just eats hooks,” says Rich Johnson. “It gets in there and ruins the strength of the hook, usually in places you can’t see.” To that end, stainless steel hooks are recommended for use in the salt and for those tying multi-purpose flies.

“The stainless steel Mustad 34007 is an affordable hook that works well for kings in sizes 1/0 or 2/0,” explains Hudson. “It sharpens easily and is very durable. Plus, it has great strength. Another great stainless steel hook is the Tiemco 811S in the same sizes. This one is sharp right out of the box and is highly recommended.”

Gamakatsu
www.gamakatsu.com

Gamakatsu hooks are not only Alaska’s most popular salmon hooks, but they can also be used for salt or freshwater application and by both fly and all-tackle anglers. Each Gamakatsu hook is made of premium grade high-carbon steel and is tempered to precise tolerances. Their conical points are chemically sharpened.

Recommended in this article: Gamakatsu siwash and octopus-style hooks in sizes from 5/0 to 9/0; Gamakatsu 510 Assist.

Mustad
www.mustad.no

Widely utilized by Alaska’s fly-tiers, Mustad hooks are put through a unique three-stage, computer controlled tempering process known as Nor-Tempering. According to the company, this advanced heat treatment is responsible for increasing the strength of each hook by as much as 30% over hooks that were tempered by conventional methods. Mustad’s Signature fly hooks are chemically sharpened and feature a quick-piercing micro barb.

Recommended in this article: Mustad 34007 in sizes 1 through 2/0.

Owner
www.ownerhooks.com

Owner hooks are almost universally known for their patented Cutting Point technology. Unique to each Owner Cutting Point hook is a triple-edged cutting blade led by a needle-sharp point, which grabs and then penetrates almost immediately. With the Cutting Point’s triple-edged blade, the amount of resistance actually decreases as the hook penetrates.

Recommended in this article: Owner SSW with Cutting Point in sizes 4/0 through 8/0 (note: sizes only run to 6/0 in red finish; 7/0 and 8/0 sizes are available in the black chrome finish only).

Tiemco
www.tiemco.co.jp/english/

Another staple of the salmon fly-tying community, Tiemco hooks feature a new SP point series. These hooks have an edged and hollowed point that’s designed to lower resistance and increase the speed of penetration. Since the points are triangular, they can easily be re-sharpened. Plus, in larger hook sizes, the points can act like a ship’s keel and stabilize the drift of a salmon streamer.

Recommended in this article: Tiemco 7999 and Tiemco 811S, both in sizes 1/0 and 2/0.