Ahrex Hook Review

Ahrex hooks are a relatively new company in the fly tying world but seem to have already taken it by storm.

The Danish-based company mainly specialise in saltwater and predator hooks but recently, they have branched out with a wide range of freshwater hooks and already the feedback has been very positive.

Personal experience

When I first picked up a few packets of these hooks, they were from the Ahrex predator hook range, in 2/0 and 4/0 sizes. At first glance, these hooks are of thinner gauged wire compared to other brands on the market and I wasn’t initially sold on them. Anyway, I tied a few up for testing and WOW! How wrong I was. I fell in love with them straight away.
They might be made on a thinner gauge wire but in the vice, they are strong and very sharp. They have a black anodised finish and are chemically sharpened. The shank length is good and the eye of the hook is closed up perfectly, making for a good tying hook.

The Ahrex hooks are tempered, so expect a good bit of flex from them. Don’t let that put you off though, they keep a very good shape while flexed/under tension. It’s beneficial to have that sort of flexibility in a hook as it then has the ability to absorb sudden lunges from fish. No flex in a hook at all could possibly result in hook failure (snapping) due to the brittle design.
When tying on these hooks, the length and shape is perfect whether your tying standard patterns of realistic patterns.

Upon field testing, I hooked a few snags which I managed to pull out of no problem. On checking the hook point, I was surprised that the hook point was still sharp. I even managed to hook and land a few fish that day and they performed exceptionally well.

After that, I put an order into a UK stockist to get more of their predator range of hooks, some of the trout streamer and some of the shrimp hooks.

The trout streamer hooks are of a heavier gauge of wire compared to the Aberdeen style predator model with a shorter shank. This will appeal to some tyers as it will naturally add weight to the fly. All three styles of hooks have outperformed all of the brands of hook I have used in the past.

I have tied a few thousand flies on these and sent them all over the world to anglers targeting all sorts of species including: pike, muskie, murray cod, catfish, barracuda, bonefish and peacock bass to name just a few. I have not received any complaints in regards to their performance…..surely that’s a testament to their quality?

It has taken Ahrex awhile, but they have now introduced a freshwater range in both barbed and barbless models. Maybe they were just taking their time to ensure the new range meets the same expectations of their already popular predator range.

This new range is specifically targeted at dry fly, wets, nymph and salmon fly tyers. They all come with the signature anodised black finish like the predator hooks and again are very sharp and strong.

I haven’t tried every model of the freshwater range yet but I am very impressed with the ones I’ve tried and tested so far.

I have now changed 95% of my hooks to the Ahrex range due to their reliability.

I have every bit of confidence in them and more and more of my customers are requesting their fly orders to be tied on them, which speaks for itself!

They might not be the cheapest hooks on the market but I don’t mind paying a little bit extra on a great reliable product. Remember the hook you tie your fly on is one of the most important pieces of equipment you can buy.