Hook Tier

[bracket]

Hook tiers seem to fill a niche and some people are happy to use them and satisfied with their performance and results. Out of morbid curiosity I have tried them and personally find them tedious to use. I am with trotter 2 on this and prefer to tie spade end or eyed hooks by hand. Truth to tell I can tie half a dozen hooks by hand in the time it takes me to find my hook tier. However for those with limited dexterity I agree they are a convenience. Pete.

 

[metalmicky1944]

I fully agree with "bracket", I am 75 this June and have hand tied my spade end hooks since my grandfather spent hours teaching me when I was 10 years old sitting on the front step of his Coronation Street style house in Salford Manchester in the early 1950's.
I lived in fear of one of my hand tied size 22 Mustard wire hooks ever coming loose when fishing the Bridge Water Canal that ran parallel with the railway line between Altringham and Sale on Summer evenings, I used to wait for him outside the Navigation Pub with the sandwiches my Gran had made for us after he had finished work at Churchill's engineering in Atlantic Street. We would sit on the canal bank fishing for a couple of hours every Tuesday and Thursday evening from me being 8 years old until sadly his passing away when I was 13, before we walked home along the bank of the canal as the electric trains want thundering past on the opposite bank.
I still hand tie my spade end hooks but size 16 is the smallest my old eyes can manage, but I still have a hook tier my late Gran gave me that Granddad had that I had never seen, it is hand made from a round piece of wood with a slot in it to trap the hook I'm guessing it was from long before any shop bought ones came out.
While he was alive I never saw him use it, he insisted I learned to hand tie my hooks, but if there is a life after this one I shall be having a word with him over a pint of Guinness about the threat of no glass of Dandelion and Burdock and packet of crisps in the navigation courtyard if my hooks aver came undone :guinness: :fish::fish:

Tight Lines and Happy Memories

Mike

 

[trotter2]

Nothing against lads that use a hook tier people like bracket and me are lucky we can tie small hooks by hand others can't. I am 53 tied hooks by hand from age 11. I know my eye sight is not as good as it was need glasses,that's life. If I do find it difficult one day I will use one why struggle on.

 

[nottskev]

I learned to tie hooks by hand, like most anglers of my generation. But once I'd seen what a beautiful job the matchman tier made of it, even with tiny hooks, cold wet hands, semi-darkness, there was no good reason not to use them. If I have a "thing" about hooks and knots, it's that I never buy pre-tied hooks. I know they're likely to be as good as any I tie - but I like to tie my own knots.

 

[sam vimes]

I didn't ever learn to tie by hand, and had no one to show me. Hook tiers, of any type, were a revalation. Since those early days, I have tied the odd spade end by hand. However, I never became remotely practiced at it. For that reason, I'll stick to a hook tier than I'm well practiced with. There's not much point in persisting with something that isn't as quick and doesn't produce the required result. I'm sure that'll apply equally to those that tie by hand.

 

[mikench]

I found a matchman in a car park but couldn't get on with it! Mind you it had been run over!

I'm too old now to practice so will buy ready tied!

 

[tinca49]

I've tied my spade end hooks by hand since I was 11, I turn 70 this year and, for me, the Matchman was a revelation last Thursday, using it to tie size 18's on a cold and windy river bank was so much easier than fumbling about with my arthritic fingers!

 

[dalesman]

I fully agree with "bracket", I am 75 this June and have hand tied my spade end hooks since my grandfather spent hours teaching me when I was 10 years old sitting on the front step of his Coronation Street style house in Salford Manchester in the early 1950's.
I lived in fear of one of my hand tied size 22 Mustard wire hooks ever coming loose when fishing the Bridge Water Canal that ran parallel with the railway line between Altringham and Sale on Summer evenings, I used to wait for him outside the Navigation Pub with the sandwiches my Gran had made for us after he had finished work at Churchill's engineering in Atlantic Street. We would sit on the canal bank fishing for a couple of hours every Tuesday and Thursday evening from me being 8 years old until sadly his passing away when I was 13, before we walked home along the bank of the canal as the electric trains want thundering past on the opposite bank.
I still hand tie my spade end hooks but size 16 is the smallest my old eyes can manage, but I still have a hook tier my late Gran gave me that Granddad had that I had never seen, it is hand made from a round piece of wood with a slot in it to trap the hook I'm guessing it was from long before any shop bought ones came out.
While he was alive I never saw him use it, he insisted I learned to hand tie my hooks, but if there is a life after this one I shall be having a word with him over a pint of Guinness about the threat of no glass of Dandelion and Burdock and packet of crisps in the navigation courtyard if my hooks aver came undone :guinness: :fish::fish:

Tight Lines and Happy Memories

Mike

Wow that's a blast from the past Bridge Water Canal. I learnt to fish on there circa 1965 fishing bread and catching roach.

 

[S-Kippy]

I've always tied my hooks by hand and though I've tried hooktiers out of curiousity they utterly defeat me. I would never trust a hook I'd tied using one of those things. The Devil's work IMO and should be banned.

My eyesight is also not what it was but I can still hand tie a size 20 which is as small as I've ever gone or ever will go......not that I do much fishing where I think I need a 20 any more and sheer bloody laziness means I usually use ready tieds....assuming you can get them on fine nylon which you increasingly cant.

Any amount of size 14 to 7lb around but theres no 20's to 1.1 which was my go to standard during my " canal" period.

 

[Mark Wintle]

I've tied mine at home with an Esi-Tie bench tier since about 1975. It's better and quicker than a Matchman tier which I carry for on the bank. I was shown how to tie by hand in the late 70s but never mastered it. The Esi-Tie will tie down to 30s and the finest of lines with the correct tension.

 

[shane99]

I have tried both the Matchman & the Drennan & found the Drennan easier but no quicker than tying my own which I have always done.

 

[Tee-Cee]

To you folk who are capable of tying your own hooks by hand, or using a tier :

If you tie a number of hooks, how do you store the finished product to keep them in good nick??

Because my eyes are no longer capable of tying my own by hand, I intend (during this non fishing cold spell) to give my matchman tier yet another go, and if I have confidence in the finished product.

QUESTION: In using the matchman, can anyone put forward any tips that might make things easier, please?

I cannot tell you how frustrating it is to lose the capability to tie ones own hooks ........................I now use ready tied, but they are not the same, even if they catch me plenty of fish!

Thanks

 

[seth49]

Rig Cases | Baiting Systems and Accessories | Fishing Tackle | Korda

I use these, they do the job well, no problem if you are ok with a lop tyer.
The taller posts give you the correct measurement.

 

[rich66]

I use a stonfo hook length case,

Stonfo Portafinali 300 - Hook Length / hook to nylon box takes over 100 hooks | eBay

 

[markcw]

Another straight answer......fingers and thumbs ;.)

And cheaper. :wh

 

[markcw]

Wow that's a blast from the past Bridge Water Canal. I learnt to fish on there circa 1965 fishing bread and catching roach.

same here.i started around 1963 when I was 9. Fished the stretches around Warrington and I still do. When I lived in Lymm,the canal was a couple of hundred yards from my house.I knew if I did not catch from one peg in half an hour I would struggle, so I used to move a few pegs further along the canal. The fishing hasn’t changed over the years,only the methods.

 

[nottskev]

QUESTION: In using the matchman, can anyone put forward any tips that might make things easier, please?

I cannot tell you how frustrating it is to lose the capability to tie ones own hooks ........................I now use ready tied, but they are not the same, even if they catch me plenty of fish!

Thanks

I've used one of these for decades, so I'll try - but the danger is that I'll make it sound harder than it is, just as a set of instructions for tying your shoelaces - or breathing - would make it seem a big job!

I've had to tie a hook just now, to remind myself what to do - it becomes just a matter of habit once you start.

There are videos on youtube that demo the process.


Anchor your spool of line about 1m away - that gives you a nice length to get the right tension.

Clamp your hook in the jaws - point to the left, for me. If the proportions of the hook allow it, ie the shank is long enough, set the hook so the point is just inside the jaws. If not, no problem - just avoid hitting the point when whipping.

Moisten the last few inches of line before you start.

Give yourself a "tag end" of 3 or 4 inches to work with.

With a bit of tension - you'll work out what it needs - between tier and spool, and between tag end and tier, twist the tier so as to whip around the shank+line, from the bend towards the spade. A bit of an angle on the tag-end line you are holding will make sure the turns sit next to each other and don't bunch or cross each other. I aim for 10/11 turns; others differ.

That done, put the tag end under the open-ended wire loop and press the wire loop down with the thumb of the hand holding the tier.

Next set about drawing the knot tight. Moisten it again and using a bit of "feel", pull the line to tighten it down. I've found that backing the line off half a turn, in the direction I've been twisting the tier, stops any slight tendency for the knot to "stick" as you begin to pull it down tight. Getting a feel for this bit will stop any possible pig-tailing to the line above the hook.

Undo the clamp and pull the hook away and the tag-end through the knot.

Like any gadget or gizmo, it feels alien at first, but you soon get it. I've used one for decades, and whilst I've made every cock-up an angler can, I can say I've never had a knot tied with one of these fail, and I can use it with cold hands or even in the dark.

 

[108831]

I only ever the hooks on the bank,I don't like leaving hooks tied up for weeks,don't trust them,I feel happier with a fresh tied hook that I've tested before use,fussy,maybe,just what I do...

 

[S-Kippy]

I only ever the hooks on the bank,I don't like leaving hooks tied up for weeks,don't trust them,I feel happier with a fresh tied hook that I've tested before use,fussy,maybe,just what I do...

Me too....when I used to do that....and there were no gizmo boxes to store hooklinks in anyway so tying hooks to order bankside was a practical necessity as much as anything. I'm sure those that use them swear by a hooktyer but I just never could figure the damned things out whereas I learened how to hand whip a spade end hook when I was a slip of a boy.

Still reckon I could tie one by feel if I really had to. Fortunately I dont.

 

[trotter2]

Short hooklenghts in a wallet long hooklenghs on spools like these

8pcs Foam Fishing Winding Board Fishing Line Bobbin Spools with Plastic Box for 192948963735 | eBay