Tying a spade end hook ?
- Thread starter shane99
- Start date
B
binka
Guest
Line off the front, in front of the 'kick back' at the top of the shank to avoid cut offs under pressure
thames mudlarker
Well-known member
I only ever use spade end hooks nowadays, the easiest way to tie is by using the snell knot,
Basically create a loop in yer line and place on the back of the shank of hook with the loop about 1/2 " over the end of the bend of the hook,
Now with thumb and index finger pinch the bend of the hook, take the small tag end and wrap several times or more around the shank of the hook,
Now change hands by pinching the spade of the hook and make sure that you firmly keep the wrapped line tight to the shank when you pinch the spade, at this point MOIST the bend of the hook.
Now pass the tag end through the loop and with the other hand now pinch with thumb and finger once again on the bend of the hook keeping a little pressure whilst pinching and now start to pull the main hook length line,
You'll feel the line slipping tightly as yer pinching the bend of the hook and then it will become tight
One last little tweak on the line and by gripping the hook with some small pliers and this should be job done
Basically create a loop in yer line and place on the back of the shank of hook with the loop about 1/2 " over the end of the bend of the hook,
Now with thumb and index finger pinch the bend of the hook, take the small tag end and wrap several times or more around the shank of the hook,
Now change hands by pinching the spade of the hook and make sure that you firmly keep the wrapped line tight to the shank when you pinch the spade, at this point MOIST the bend of the hook.
Now pass the tag end through the loop and with the other hand now pinch with thumb and finger once again on the bend of the hook keeping a little pressure whilst pinching and now start to pull the main hook length line,
You'll feel the line slipping tightly as yer pinching the bend of the hook and then it will become tight
One last little tweak on the line and by gripping the hook with some small pliers and this should be job done
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I only ever use spade end hooks nowadays, the easiest way to tie is by using the snell knot,
Basically create a loop in yer line and place on the back of the shank of hook with the loop about 1/2 " over the end of the bend of the hook,
Now with thumb and index finger pinch the bend of the hook, take the small tag end and wrap several times or more around the shank of the hook,
Now change hands by pinching the spade of the hook and make sure that you firmly keep the wrapped line tight to the shank when you pinch the spade, at this point MOIST the bend of the hook.
Now pass the tag end through the loop and with the other hand now pinch with thumb and finger once again on the bend of the hook keeping a little pressure whilst pinching and now start to pull the main hook length line,
You'll feel the line slipping tightly as yer pinching the bend of the hook and then it will become tight
One last little tweak on the line and by gripping the hook with some small pliers and this should be job done
ML - didnt know it was call a snell knott & had to check but this is what I use
mikench
Well-known member
Wish I could do that Stuart but I know my limitations I bought some hooks for maggots( recommended on here) and I bought spade end in error. The pack contained 8 or 10 hooks I recall but only one of which managed to be tied after a fashion to my line. The rest disappeared in the mud, between the planks on the peg or about my attire
And I do have glasses!
I bought some hooks for maggots( recommended on here) and I bought spade end in error. The pack contained 8 or 10 hooks I recall but only one of which managed to be tied after a fashion to my line. The rest disappeared in the mud, between the planks on the peg or about my attireAnd I do have glasses!
thames mudlarker
Well-known member
Wish I could do that Stuart but I know my limitations
And I do have glasses!
In reality Mike although I can tie by hand I'm now probably more comfortable at tying say from a size 14 wide gape and bigger with the size 12 being my easiest to tie, I could probably tie a 16 wide gape at a push but me eyes are not as good now
and I now need plenty of light to see To be honest nowadays with the quality pkts of hooks to nylon that are available IE kamasan, Drennan etc I'm just as happy to use these and especially in the smaller hook sizes and not forgetting that these are all tied using spade hooks, so the overall presentation is generally gonna be better with small hooks and baits than eyed hooks :thumbs:
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I only ever use spade end hooks nowadays, the easiest way to tie is by using the snell knot,
Basically create a loop in yer line and place on the back of the shank of hook with the loop about 1/2 " over the end of the bend of the hook,
Now with thumb and index finger pinch the bend of the hook, take the small tag end and wrap several times or more around the shank of the hook,
Now change hands by pinching the spade of the hook and make sure that you firmly keep the wrapped line tight to the shank when you pinch the spade, at this point MOIST the bend of the hook.
Now pass the tag end through the loop and with the other hand now pinch with thumb and finger once again on the bend of the hook keeping a little pressure whilst pinching and now start to pull the main hook length line,
You'll feel the line slipping tightly as yer pinching the bend of the hook and then it will become tight
One last little tweak on the line and by gripping the hook with some small pliers and this should be job done
That's the way I do it have done for 40 yrs
I can tie a size 24 in me hands same way :thumbs:
thames mudlarker
Well-known member
Jeez size 24, blimey you must have short finger nails
.....lolsI can tie very small hooks with a Drennan tyer but to be honest I don't actually like the tyers because I've noticed that on very light lines the tyers can at times kink the line and because of this I done away with me tyers years ago and now just tie by hand to about 16 wide gape at a push, if me eyes were better I'd probably be able to tie smaller,
As I've just mentioned to Mike that nowadays I'm just as happy to use the quality hook to nylons now in the smaller sizes and these are obviously all spade tied :thumbs:
B
binka
Guest
I bought one, the Matchaman, not because I was struggling to tie by hand but more out of a fear that I may need to use it in years to come and thought it would be a good idea to get familiar with it.
I was useless with it and it's resigned to the drawer of shame.
I'm fine tying down to a 22 by hand and don't use any smaller so I'm covered for the foreseeable future at least.
thames mudlarker
Well-known member
I mentioned about drennan hook tyers in me last post
Can't stand em because I've experienced where they can actually kink the line on very light lines, because of this I binned mine years ago,
I tied an awful lot of hooks with the tyers over the years and whilst probably OK with heavier lines I certainly wasn't happy the way it actually kinked light lines,
I did actually try 2 different Drennan tyers and they both done exactly the same and is why I bined them both,
I now much prefer to tie by hand nowadays and on the really small hooks am just as happy to buy the quality machine tied hooks to nylon :thumbs:
You mention about tying with wet cold hands on the bank but in fairness nowadays no one should have to do this now as most of us tend to already have loads tied up in pkts or in the hook box before we normally set out for a days fishing
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The bad one
Well-known member
Only ever used the Snell knot from being a kid after I'd learnt it and stopped tying multi single knots on top of one another That's about 50 years ago.
Once had a race with a match angler at work, fastest to tie two hooks, one his choice (24s) One my choice, 4s eyed, I still whip my eyed hooks up the shank. I'd done both of mine by the time he'd completed half of his with his hook tyer
For me there's only one way to tie a hook and that's by hand using the Snell Knot.
That's about 50 years ago. Once had a race with a match angler at work, fastest to tie two hooks, one his choice (24s) One my choice, 4s eyed, I still whip my eyed hooks up the shank. I'd done both of mine by the time he'd completed half of his with his hook tyer
For me there's only one way to tie a hook and that's by hand using the Snell Knot.
thames mudlarker
Well-known member
Only ever used the Snell knot from being a kid after I'd learnt it and stopped tying multi single knots on top of one another
Once had a race with a match angler at work, fastest to tie two hooks, one his choice (24s) One my choice, 4s eyed, I still whip my eyed hooks up the shank. I'd done both of mine by the time he'd completed half of his with his hook tyer
For me there's only one way to tie a hook and that's by hand using the Snell Knot.
Absolutely, couldn't agree more :thumbs:
steve2
Well-known member
Use mostly eyed hooks but buy ready tied small spade hooks these days, dearer but the quality is now far better.
thames mudlarker
Well-known member
Yep I'd definitely go along with that,
The quality of hooks to nylon years ago I honestly thought were schit but nowadays with companies like , kamasan, Drennan, Preston, Tubertini etc the quality machine tied hooks of today are far more superior,
And I use em all of the time in the small hook ranges :thumbs:
rayner
Well-known member
When I was a kid the only hooks I whipped were dubbed straight shanks tied by hand. After seeing what I considered a clumsy mess of a spade knot used by friends I vowed never to use spade ends.
That all changed when I had a trip to the river Wharf. I was watching a bloke catching big quality roach when I walked back to my mates car, I sat down as I was interested in his shotting pattern.
When he finished we had a chat. One thing he explained was his spade end that I noticed when he was showing me his rig. He convinced me that the spade with what I called an untidy knot was actually far stronger and worked just as well as dubbed if not better. That was world cup year 1966.
I've not used a dubbed hook since. If I was capable I would tie hooks by hand instead of a hook tyer, a far superior knot.
Spend time to make sure every knot is perfect whatever hook or method you use.
That all changed when I had a trip to the river Wharf. I was watching a bloke catching big quality roach when I walked back to my mates car, I sat down as I was interested in his shotting pattern.
When he finished we had a chat. One thing he explained was his spade end that I noticed when he was showing me his rig. He convinced me that the spade with what I called an untidy knot was actually far stronger and worked just as well as dubbed if not better. That was world cup year 1966.
I've not used a dubbed hook since. If I was capable I would tie hooks by hand instead of a hook tyer, a far superior knot.
Spend time to make sure every knot is perfect whatever hook or method you use.
thames mudlarker
Well-known member
Absolutely mate, totally agree :thumbs: