Mustad is a Norwegian company that started making fish hooks in 1870. Mustad has two series of hooks designed for flyfishers, the Signature Series and the Classic Series. The Signature Series was recently developed from input from a number of leading fly tiers. It is a chemically sharpened point with micro-barbs to produce a very strong and very sharp hook. Mustad uses an Alpha Code with this series to describe the hooks. The first letter refers to the bend, C for curved and R for round bend. The next two digits refer to the wire diameter and the length, using the R50 dry as a standard. With regard to wire guage, a R30 will be 2x finer than the 50, and the R70 will be 2x heavier than an R50. In addition, and R48 will be 2x short of an R50 but have the same wire guage. A R72 is both 2x long and 2x heavy of a R50 dry hook. Confusing??? Hey, it's better than the classic designations. The Classic Series are also chemically sharpened retaining the popular designs that many fly tiers had become accustomed to. Visit their website at: Mustad Hooks
