Esox Only – Christian Drost

DFL 18-10-05

We’re proud of our Scandinavian roots, so hooks for Scandinavian saltwater were the first we released. Pike on the fly also has a long tradition in Scandinavia, and I know he’s not going to like this, but it has to be said – Morten was one of the pioneers over 30 years ago and has been very influential in developing the fishing and the flies, so pike hooks were just as important to us.

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Christian Drost lives in Holland – and he likes to catch pike and he catches a lot of big pike. Christian runs a website www.esoxonly.com, a YouTube channel and can of course be found on Instagram and Facebook Facebook.

We’re not that keen on saying too many nice things about ourselves and our products, but when these words came in from Christian, we decided to share them with you, because Christian knows what he’s talking about when it comes to big pike.

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When trying to catch big fish on the fly, a strong, wide gape large hook that will instantly hit flesh when a strike is made is really important. Still these days there are anglers who really underestimate this and think that they can get ”away” with using something smaller. Sure you can, but the catch ratio will do gown dramatically. Hook size matters! Now every company has different hook size numbers and a 5/0 with one brand can be a whole different size with another. That’s just how it is. I use Ahrex 6/0 hooks.

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Ahrex released a hook in collaboration with Andreas Andersson that has already created a revolution in the fly tying and fishing industry, and that is their  Trout Predator 610 or TP610. This hook, also available in sizes up to 6/0 has some serious wide gape and also a great razor-sharp point that will cause a direct hookset no matter how slow the fishing might be. It has actually become my number one favourite hook for when the fishing is dead slow because it will cause an immediate contact with the fish when contact has been made. The thin wire and razor-sharp hook point with a small barb will do just that. The TP610 has an extremely wide gape. It doesn’t matter what size fish you are after, this will get you hooked up.

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Originally designed for large trout patterns, the TP610 has proven to be an incredible hook for pike as well. It can be used to tie a wide variety of different patterns that could also excel in muskie fishing. I use it a lot for tying Deceiver-style patterns, and for that kind of fly this hook is absolutely deadly! I’ve caught countless big fish on it, and every single time the immediate hookset and wide gape give you the confidence you need when targeting these specimens that when the bite comes, you don’t ever want to ever miss!

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See what this hook is all about in the video down below!

Thanks, Christian, for sharing your thoughts on the TP610 and of course the kind words.