Post
by Bamboozle » Wed Oct 25, 2023 9:59 am
I recently upgraded my old Eagle Claw 181 Baitholder hook stash to the Gamakatsu version in sizes 6 – 14; with 14 being the smallest size offered.
When I went to swap out the old hooks, I also found these really small baitholder hooks, identical to the Eagle Claw 181 that to this fly tiers eye look like a 16 and DEFINITELY smaller than the size 14 Gamakatsu and some old size 14 181’s I had lying around.
When I emailed Eagle Claw and asked them if they ever offered a 181 smaller than a 14, they said no however, the person responding might be talking about recent history. So I looked on line at old Eagle Claw cached webpages going back 20 years and there is still no 181 smaller than a 14 yet I have about 50+ hooks that are smaller...
Someone on another board threw out the suggestion they may have been Mustad bait holder hooks however at present, the Mustad version only go down to a size 12.
Anybody out there have any recollections, catalogs or magazines older than 20 years with Eagle Claw or Mustad ads that might shine some light on this mystery?
It may seem trivial but with some obscure fly hooks going for $10 apiece, I may be able to find someone willing to fork over stupid money for these dinky bait hooks. I thought about sending one to Eagle Claw or Mustad but it might just be a waste of time.
Thanks for any insight anyone can offer!!
