Ahrex NS105 Streamer Down Eye Barbless Hooks

The Ahrex NS105 is a fine wire, down eye streamer hook built barbless from the factory, with a point that bends slightly inward toward the shank. It's a down eye streamer hook in a fine wire and barbless design with a bent-in-point. That fine wire is the whole point - it keeps small and mid-size streamers riding light instead of sinking like a stone, which matters when you're swinging soft, sparse baitfish flies through shallow water or over fish that spook easily. Ahrex, the Danish hook maker, designed the NS series for the Scandinavian sea trout scene, but the NS105 has long since become a trout streamer staple on this side of the Atlantic.

The barbless point and bent-in geometry are what set this hook apart from a standard streamer hook. Because it's barbless, it penetrates the fish's mouth even easier and can be removed much more gently, and the tip of the hook is slightly bent inward, so the fish hooks itself when turning. That inward-bent point solves a real problem with light flies: thin wire hooks can lose purchase on a hard head shake, and the bent-in design buys you a better hold without a barb to do the work. If you fish catch and release, that's the practical win here - clean hookups, faster releases, less damage to fish you plan to send back. It's perfect for light flies and a great hook for practicing catch and release with streamer flies.

Why We Like It

This is a hook that does one job and does it without drama. The hook steel springs slightly and it is bend and break resistant, so a 16-inch brown that buries into a logjam isn't going to straighten it out, even at the lighter wire diameter. No matter if you're targeting big brown trout, sea trout or other predators, you can rely on its strong wire and chemically sharpened tip. That's a fair amount of backbone for a fine wire hook, and it's the reason the NS105 punches above its weight on small to mid-size streamers.

The other thing we like is range. The shank length in combination with the down eye is suitable for a wide range of different fresh and saltwater flies, and it's the ideal hook for tying many different streamer and nymph patterns. It comes in a black nickel finish across sizes 2 through 12, so you can tie everything from a chunky sculpin down to a sparse trout minnow on the same hook style. With 18 hooks per pack, Ahrex offers a very fair price-performance ratio. For a barbless streamer hook that holds fish this well, that's hard to argue with.

Comparisons

Ahrex NS105 Streamer Down Eye Barbless Hooks vs Ahrex NS110 Streamer Hook:

These are siblings in the same Nordic Salt series, and the choice comes down to wire and eye. The NS110 is a straight eye streamer hook made in strong wire that will hold even the biggest seatrout. If you're tying heavier saltwater patterns or fishing for the biggest, hardest-pulling fish, that beefier wire and straight eye is the call - most classic saltwater streamer patterns will look beautiful on this hook. The NS105, with its fine wire and down eye, is the better pick when you want a lighter-riding fly, a gentler sink rate, and the cleaner releases that come with a fully barbless point. Reach for the NS105 on trout streamers and lighter flies, and the NS110 when you need to muscle bigger fish.

Ahrex NS105 Streamer Down Eye Barbless Hooks vs Sprite S2200 Barbless Streamer Hook:

Both are barbless streamer hooks, so this is a value-versus-design decision. The Sprite S2200 is the budget play and often shows up in larger 50-piece packs, which is appealing if you tie streamers in volume. But the NS105 earns its slightly higher price with that bent-in-point geometry that helps the fly grab and hold without a barb, plus a fine wire that's been tuned specifically to keep light flies fishing high. If you're churning out dozens of practice patterns or stocking up cheap, the Sprite gets it done. If hook hold on a head-shaking fish matters - and on a barbless hook, it really does - the NS105 is the one we'd tie on.