OPST just came out with some new Swing Hooks! With a slightly upturned eye and shorter shank, they make a great trailing hook. Some people prefer upturned eyes for their tube fly hooks, and this would be a great hook to use because of the shorter shank. Size 3 is a great, fish friendly steelhead hook. It comes in a small, minimalistic, hard plastic case that is great for throwing in your hip pack or backpack so you can easily switch out your trailing hooks when they get too worn.
OPST also has an awesome Dubbing Spinner that won the Fish Alaska Magazine’s 2015 Editors’ Choice Award. It just makes sense. It’s heavy enough to spin dense composite loops and whatever else, easy to insert and extract from a loop, and won’t roll off the table. It also comes with two interchangeable hooks to suit your preference, both of which are easy to insert in and extract from the dubbing spinner. No flimsy wire, no irritating double loop setups- just a perfectly balanced, properly heavy dubbing spinner that will make your tying more fun.
By now everyone probably knows about how amazing their Pure Skagit Lazar Running Line is, and if not, it is. Virtually no memory, extremely hydrophobic, durable, consistent, all the good things you want to hear about a running line. It’s won awards and been voted the best, and we tend to agree. It’s what we recommend most of the time for those not looking for a fly line based running line. They’ve got a neat video too.
They also have great Ostrich Plumes that can be overlooked. What’s unique about OPST’s Ostrich is that they sell what they call a “drab” feather. “Drab”sounds bad, but is anything but. It’s perfect for tying intruders because the fibers are long, more stout at the base, and thin out to a nice pointy tip so you end up with a full profile and a slimmer base. The Speckled Ostrich is unique in that it’s thought to mimic certain molting patterns. Videos featuring these feathers can be found by clicking one of the hyperlinks above.
Their Intruder Shanks are perfect if you prefer a simple, single shank (as opposed to something like Waddington or MFC’s double shank) for tying. You don’t have to destroy a hook to get a good shank anymore.
OPST has top-quality products, but they’re not just in it for the sake of business. They take responsibility in protecting our wild fish and make a contribution of $1 from every item sold to the Wild Fish Conservancy.