Making hooks since 1877, O. Mustad & Sons (O. stands for Ole) was founded in 1832 as a wire maker under another name, I learned in a long conversation with Mustad US exec. Steve Tagami of Auburn, NY. Tagami is visiting in the LA area, and he's a southern California boy raised in fishing.

"Mustad makes its own wire," Tagami told me. "The reason they seldom if ever break are because we use a slower drawing process in manufacturing the wire. We use special alloys, and a tempering process that determines strength.

"All the wire is made in Norway," continued Steve, "and at the next tackle show we'll be releasing some brand new circle hooks. We were the first to bring circle hooks, to commercial fishing back in the 60's. In the 70's we brought them here to the US.

"These will be the latest design in circles, modified over years. They have the right shape, the right wire and the right strength. We talked with many of the San Diego skippers in coming to these, consulting Roy Rose, John Grabowski and Tim Ekstrom among others.

"The new hooks have proportional sizing, which starts with the wire. That means the gaps will be the same with 1x, 2x, 3x, and 4x hooks. They've all been redesigned for strength, proportion and holding power."