The Partridge Code O2 — Double Wilson Hook, taking the Code 01’s proven wide-gape Wilson bend and adapting it for the double-iron tradition that British and European salmon and sea trout fly fishers have relied on since the Victorian era, by brazing two complete hook blanks together at the standard double shank (combined width approximately 1.30mm at size 8, approximately twice the single wire mass) whose concentrated weight below the dressed fly’s body creates the pendulum keeling effect — the double hook’s most valued functional property — that causes the fly to self-correct to a points-down swimming attitude whenever current variations or line tension changes disturb its orientation, without any input from the angler, making it the only hook in the series whose primary functional advantage operates entirely automatically. The straight brazed loop eye (the first brazed, soldered component in any hook in the series; straight rather than turned so that the leader attachment imposes no competing cant against the keel’s symmetrical balance) anchors the Wilson wide-gape round bend in a double geometry whose two micro-barbed points (tip-to-tip spread approximately 13.0mm at size 8) cover a wider hooking zone than any single hook of the same nominal size, improving hook-set probability on the short decisive takes of Atlantic salmon in holding lies and the sharp nocturnal grabs of sea trout on spate rivers — precisely the conditions that the Medicine and Teal Blue and Silver patterns were designed for and that the Code O2’s dual-point keeled construction serves better than any single-hook alternative. Documented in size 8 in the blue and gold foil square packet of the 1970s–1980s core Bramley era — the earliest and most immediately recognisable Partridge packaging format, pre-Connoisseurs Series, pre-PhONEday, from the Crescent Works whose name this series finally documented in the CS 7 MW entry — with the Code O2 specifically discontinued and no current production maintaining this designation, making surviving foil-packet Redditch-manufacture examples the permanent record of a hook whose functional properties the Patriot CS21 and Ahrex HR420 approximate but whose Crescent Works Sheffield steel, traditional Japanned finish, and brazed loop eye construction cannot be replicated from any current commercial source. Rated at 7.5/10 collectability, the hook that keels itself, brazes its own eye, and points in two directions simultaneously, from the town that made it possible.
Made by Partridge of Redditch England
Partridge Code 02 – Additional Info
1. Identification
| Field | Detail |
|---|---|
| Brand | Partridge of Redditch, England |
| Factory | Crescent Works, Redditch, Worcestershire — blue and gold foil square packet confirms Bramley-era production at the facility named in the CS 7 MW entry |
| Model/Code | Code O2 / Code 02 — the “O” designates the Wilson hook family (Code O = single Wilson; Code O2 = double Wilson); the “2” suffix denotes the double configuration rather than a size or wire weight variant; the full name “Double Wilson” is used interchangeably with “Code O2” in the trade; the page notes this is “often referred to as O-2, denoting the double version of the ‘O’ Wilson hook” |
| The Double Hook Category | The Code O2 is the first double hook in this reference series; a double hook consists of two complete hook blanks — each with its own bend, point, and barb — brazed or welded together at the shank so that their shanks run parallel and their bends project symmetrically in opposite directions from the fly’s axis; the result is a hook with two points, two barbs, and two bends sharing a single dressed shank |
| Size Documented | Size 8 |
| Estimated Era | 1970s – 1980s |
Era Reasoning — Blue and Gold Foil Square Packet:
The blue and gold foil square packet is the most immediately recognisable Bramley-era Partridge packaging format and the earliest documented in this series — predating the Connoisseurs Series red, white, and yellow card formats of the CS 10 family and the later blue Connoisseurs Series label of the post-Bramley CS 7 HW BL. Every previous hook in the series that carries this blue and gold foil square packet format has been dated to the 1970s–1980s core Bramley era: Code M, Code N, Code 01, L3A, L2A. The Code O2’s packaging places it in the same window without ambiguity.
The blue and gold foil format’s relationship to the Connoisseurs Series formats is one of sequence rather than tier: the foil square packet was Partridge’s standard premium packaging across the core Bramley era product range, and the Connoisseurs Series card formats represent a later packaging evolution — the CS designation and its associated card packaging appearing in the late 1980s as Partridge formalised its premium tier identity, while the earlier range continued in the foil format it had always used. The Code O2 in blue and gold foil is therefore a pre-Connoisseurs-Series Bramley-era product, from the period when the foil packet was the defining visual identity of Partridge quality before the Connoisseurs Series existed as a distinct commercial category.
The Code O / Code O2 Family:
The Code 01 (single Wilson, previously documented in this series) and the Code O2 (double Wilson, this entry) constitute the Wilson hook family within Partridge’s Bramley-era range. The relationship between single and double is direct: the Code O2 takes the Code 01’s Wilson bend geometry and adapts it to double construction, preserving the wide-gape character that defines the Wilson bend while adding the second point and the keeling weight distribution that the double shank provides. The single (01) is for dry fly and light surface presentations; the double (O2) is for salmon and sea trout wet fly presentations where the double’s keeling and dual-point advantages are specifically valuable.
2. Technical Specifications
| Specification | Detail |
|---|---|
| Eye | Straight Brazed Loop Eye — the first straight (non-turned) loop eye in this series; the eye is formed as a loop but oriented neither up nor down — it projects straight forward from the shank’s axis, placing the leader attachment directly in line with the shank rather than above or below it; brazed means the loop is secured with a silver or brass solder at the junction where the return wire meets the shank, preventing any gap through which a leader could slip and eliminating the chafing vulnerability of an unsecured loop; the straight orientation on a double hook serves a specific function in conjunction with the double shank’s keeling properties, discussed below |
| Wire | Standard Double — Brazed/Welded Shanks — “standard” wire gauge for the double-hook category, which carries more total wire mass than a standard single hook of the same size due to the two parallel shanks; the combined shank weight is the functional basis of the keeling property; the brazing at the shank junction creates a permanent rigid connection between the two hook blanks that is structurally stronger than the wire itself, preventing any flexion at the join that could cause the double to open or distort under load |
| Shank | Standard Length, Double — two parallel shanks brazed along their length; “the shanks are neatly welded along the lateral line” — the brazing runs along the shanks’ contact zone so that the finished shank appears as a single unit with the two wires fused together, producing a flat or oval cross-section rather than the round cross-section of a single hook shank |
| Bend | Wilson Bend — Wide Gape, Slightly Modified Round — the same Wilson bend geometry documented on the Code 01 single Wilson, adapted for double construction; two Wilson bends project symmetrically from the shared shank in opposite directions — when viewed from the front, the bends curve away from each other, producing the double’s characteristic “V” profile below the shank; “slightly modified round” consistent with the Code 01’s Wilson geometry which is a wide-gape round bend with a subtle angular character distinguishing it from a pure round arc |
| Finish | Black Japanned / Black Enamel — the ninth Japanned finish in the series; applied to the complete double hook assembly after brazing; the page notes “black Japanned / black enamel” as alternatives, consistent with the ambiguity documented for other Bramley-era black finishes between pure lacquer Japanning and enamel variants |
| Points | Two — Micro-Barbed — “terminating in a micro-barbed point”; the page’s “micro-barbed” description is the first explicit barb size qualifier in this series; micro-barb reduces the tissue damage of a hook-set while maintaining sufficient barb geometry to prevent the hook pulling free during the fight; micro-barb on a double is particularly appropriate because the two-point hooking geometry already provides enhanced security through dual engagement |
| Material | High Carbon Sheffield Steel — Redditch manufacture; consistent with all Bramley-era hooks in the series |
The Brazed Loop Eye — Why Straight and Why Brazed:
The straight loop eye on the Code O2 is the correct orientation for a double hook used on the downstream swing. Where a single hook’s turned eye (up or down) affects the fly’s nose angle relative to the current, a double hook’s keeling behaviour — its tendency to swim upright due to the balanced weight of its two symmetrical bends — operates independently of the eye angle. A straight eye allows the leader to attach without imposing any upward or downward cant on the fly’s attitude, leaving the keeling effect to determine the fly’s swimming position entirely. Fitting an up-eye or down-eye to a double hook whose primary orientation mechanism is the keel would create a competing force — the eye’s cant fighting the keel’s symmetrical balance — that the straight eye avoids.
The brazed construction at the eye junction is the premium manufacturing detail that distinguishes quality double hooks from economy production: a properly brazed loop eye has no gap at the wire join for leaders to catch, no sharp edge that cuts monofilament, and no structural weakness at the eye’s most stressed point. The page’s specific mention of the brazed eye as preventing “leader chafing” confirms that this was understood as a functional rather than merely aesthetic specification — the brazed eye is better at protecting the leader than an unbrazed loop where the return wire’s end creates a potential cutting edge.
3. Historical Context
The Double Hook in British Salmon and Sea Trout Fishing
The double hook occupies a specific position in the European salmon and sea trout fishing tradition that has no equivalent in North American trout or Pacific salmon fishing — it is almost entirely a British and European tradition, rooted in the specific fishing conditions of spate rivers, sea trout estuaries, and the downstream-swing wet fly technique that defines Atlantic salmon and sea trout presentation in the UK.
The double’s advantages in this specific context are three and each is well-documented:
First, the keeling property. The two symmetrical bends of a double hook, projecting in opposite directions below the shank, create a weight distribution that causes the dressed fly to ride with its wing uppermost and its hook points below — the correct swimming orientation for a wet fly swinging in the current. A single hook, by contrast, can rotate around the leader as the fly swings, occasionally riding with the hook point upward rather than down — a position from which it cannot hook a taking fish. The double’s keel effect eliminates this rotation, ensuring that the fly always presents correctly regardless of current variations, eddies, or the line’s tension changes during the swing.
Second, dual-point hooking. Two points projecting from the fly’s base improve the probability of at least one point finding purchase in the fish’s jaw during a take, particularly in the short-grab takes that sea trout are known for — a fish that closes its mouth on a swinging fly for only a fraction of a second has a higher probability of being hooked by a double than a single, because the wider hooking zone the two points cover increases the chance of at least one engaging with the jaw tissue.
Third, surface tension penetration. The page’s fun fact identifies this specific advantage for sea trout patterns: “the extra weight helped the fly break the surface tension quickly on a swung presentation.” Sea trout fishing frequently involves presenting a wet fly across and downstream on a floating or very lightly sunk line, and the fly must break through the surface film efficiently as it swings into the current rather than skating on the surface. The double’s additional shank weight accelerates this penetration relative to a single hook of the same size.
The Wilson Bend in Double Construction
The adaptation of the Wilson bend from single (Code 01) to double (Code O2) is not mechanical but requires careful design consideration. On a single hook, the Wilson’s wide gape is a two-dimensional measurement between the shank and the point’s tip. On a double, the “gape” concept must be extended into three dimensions: the points project in two directions simultaneously, and the effective hooking zone is the space between the two point tips in the same plane as the shank.
The Wilson bend’s wide-gape character is particularly well-suited to double construction because the wide gape on each side of the double provides more clearance between the shank and each point — a larger hooking zone on each side of the fly than a standard-gape double would provide. A wide-gape double in the Wilson tradition is therefore more effective than a standard-gape double for the same reason the single Wilson is more effective than a standard single in applications requiring maximum hook-set efficiency.
The slightly modified round bend of the Wilson, carried into the double, produces the specific symmetrical arc that ensures both bends are geometrically identical — a requirement for the keeling effect to work correctly. If the two bends were of different geometry, one side would provide more resistance to rotation than the other, and the keel would be asymmetric, causing the fly to list rather than ride upright. The Wilson’s consistent round-based geometry scales predictably to double construction in a way that angular bends (Limerick, Wilson’s dry fly angular character) might not.
The Code O2 and the Code 01 — Single and Double Wilson in Parallel
The Code 01 single Wilson documented earlier in this series was characterised as a dry fly hook with a more angular lower section adapted for surface-film support — the single Wilson’s angular character serving dry fly applications where the hook sits in the film rather than swinging through current. The Code O2 double Wilson serves the opposite application: wet fly swinging in current, depth penetration, downstream presentation.
This polarisation between single and double Wilson — dry fly surface and wet fly depth — illustrates the Wilson bend’s versatility across the range of its adapted forms. The base Wilson geometry is a wide-gape round-family bend whose modifications differentiate it from both the pure round (Captain Hamilton) and the standard Limerick: the single Wilson’s angular lower section tilts its application toward dry fly surface use, while the double Wilson’s symmetric round bends and keeling weight distribution direct it entirely toward swung wet fly use. The common thread is the wide gape, which in both configurations maximises the hooking zone’s effective area for the specific presentation geometry each form serves.
The Blue and Gold Foil Packet — Earliest Bramley-Era Format
The Code O2’s blue and gold foil square packet is the same packaging format as the earliest Bramley-era hooks in this series, and its appearance on a double hook confirms that Partridge’s double hook range was integrated into the same quality tier as the standard single hook range from the beginning of the Bramley era. The foil packet’s visual identity — the same format used for the Code M salmon hook, the Code N low-water hook, the Code 01 single Wilson, and the Captain Hamilton dry fly and wet fly hooks — places the double Wilson in precisely the same commercial tier as these hooks, at the same price point, for the same specialist market of serious salmon and sea trout fly tyers who valued the Redditch manufacture and Bramley-era quality standards.
The blue and gold foil format’s documentary significance for the series is fully established: it is the anchor of the 1970s–1980s Bramley-era production window, pre-Connoisseurs Series, pre-hang-tag, pre-PhONEday — the oldest surviving commercial packaging format in the Partridge range and the one most immediately recognised by collectors as signifying the most authentic Redditch manufacture.
Fun Fact
The page’s identification of the Medicine and the Teal, Blue and Silver as specific double-hook sea trout patterns deserves the same historical contextualisation that has been provided for named patterns throughout this series. The Medicine (silver body, teal or mallard wing, red hackle) is one of the most celebrated Scottish sea trout patterns, associated specifically with the technique of fishing a large wet fly across and downstream on a bright night — a tradition particularly strong on the Borders rivers and the west coast lochs of Scotland. The Teal, Blue and Silver (silver flat body, teal wing, blue hackle) is among the most widely fished British wet fly patterns across both sea trout and salmon applications. Both patterns were traditionally tied on double hooks precisely because the double’s keeling and surface-penetration properties are most valuable at night on spate rivers where the line’s tension and the current’s force vary unpredictably through the swing — the double’s automatic orientation maintenance being more reliable than depending on the single hook’s correct position in conditions the angler cannot easily monitor visually.
4. Usage & Equivalents
Best Used For:
- Traditional Atlantic Salmon Hairwing Flies on Double Iron — the page’s primary listed application; classic hairwing patterns (Blue Charm, Stoat’s Tail, Silver Doctor hairwing) dressed on a size 8 double Wilson; the double shank’s combined wire mass sinks the dressed fly to the salmon’s holding depth, and the dual-point geometry improves hook-set on the short, decisive takes characteristic of Atlantic salmon in holding lies
- Sea Trout Wet Flies — Night Fishing on Spate Rivers — the page’s most specifically contextualised application; Medicine, Teal Blue and Silver, and the classic sea trout wet fly canon on a size 8 double; the keeling property is most critical for night fishing where the angler cannot see the fly’s orientation and must rely entirely on the hook’s own mechanical tendency to swim upright
- Tube Fly Trailing Hooks — the page lists this as a distinct application; a small double hook (size 8 or smaller) mounted at the rear of a tube fly body as the striking hook; the tube fly technique uses a lightweight or plastic tube for the dressed body, with the trailing double hook attached through the tube’s rear and held loosely behind the fly; the double’s keeling property is valuable here too, ensuring the trailing hook rides points-down behind the tube body
- Modern Hairwing Patterns — European Salmon Rivers — the European tradition of dressing hairwing salmon patterns on double hooks has continued from the Victorian era to the present on rivers like the Spey, the Dee, the Tweed, the Alta, and the Gaula; the Code O2 in size 8 is appropriate for medium-sized patterns on these rivers in moderate summer flows
- Classic Winged Salmon Flies for Fishing — the fully dressed featherwing tradition on double hooks, where the double’s weight provides additional depth without requiring a heavier single; the double Wilson’s wide gape ensures adequate clearance between the shank and both points despite the dressed body’s bulk
Modern Equivalents:
| Modern Hook | Notes |
|---|---|
| Partridge Patriot Double (Code CS21) | Page-identified as primary modern equivalent; the current Partridge production double hook in the Wilson-family tradition; the most directly branded continuation |
| Ahrex HR420 (Double Salar) | Page-identified; Scandinavian production; the most widely respected modern premium double hook for Atlantic salmon and sea trout; chemically sharpened points, multiple finishes |
| Partridge Code O2 (Current production) | Not page-identified as current but the brand continues; whether current production maintains the blue and gold foil packaging or the specific Sheffield steel temper is the standard post-Redditch question |
| Daiichi 2340 (Double Salmon) | Not page-identified; Japanese precision production double hook in standard salmon sizes; functionally appropriate for the same applications |
| Mustad 3582C (Double Salmon) | Not page-identified; the standard commercial tier double hook; lower price tier but widely available for working fishing patterns |
The Discontinuation Note: The page states “the exact Code O2 is discontinued” — an important collecting signal that distinguishes the Code O2 from the CS 10/1 and CS 7 MW situations where current production continues under the same code. The Code O2 in blue and gold foil from the Crescent Works is the final form of this specific hook; no current production carries the Code O2 designation in the Redditch-manufacture tradition. The Patriot Double CS21 and Ahrex HR420 are functional substitutes, not continuations.
5. Collectability
Collectability Rating: 7.5 / 10
| Factor | Assessment |
|---|---|
| First Double Hook in the Series | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Categorically distinct from all 25+ previous single hooks; introduces double construction, brazed assembly, keeling, dual-point spread, and straight brazed loop eye as first-documented specifications |
| Discontinued — Code O2 No Longer in Production | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Unlike many hooks in this series whose current equivalents are available under the same code, the Code O2 specifically is discontinued; collecting pressure falls entirely on surviving Redditch-manufacture stock |
| Blue and Gold Foil Square Packet — Earliest Bramley-Era Format | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ The most historically specific surviving Partridge packaging format; pre-Connoisseurs Series; the packaging is itself a collectible independent of the hook |
| Keeling Property Documentation | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ The first specific functional property documented for any hook in this series that operates independently of fishing technique — the keeling self-corrects without angler input; uniquely documented mechanical advantage |
| Brazed Loop Eye — First Brazed Construction | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ The first brazed (soldered) component in any hook in this series; a manufacturing process step that no single hook requires; documents Redditch’s multi-step double hook production capability |
| Wilson Family Completion — Single and Double Paired | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ The Code 01 single Wilson and Code O2 double Wilson together complete the Wilson hook family’s full commercial documentation |
| Sea Trout and Salmon Night Fishing Application | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ A specific and atmospheric fishing tradition whose history the double hook embodies; the Medicine and Teal Blue and Silver named patterns ground the hook in a living fishing practice |
| Production Volume — Large Volume Moderate Rarity | ⭐⭐⭐ “Partridge produced these in large volumes” per the page; more available than blind-eye hooks but “foil packets are becoming harder to find in good condition” |
| Modern Substitutes Readily Available | ⭐⭐⭐ CS21 Patriot Double and Ahrex HR420 provide capable functional substitutes; functional irreplaceability is moderate rather than absolute |
Why 7.5 ?
The series context makes the Code O2’s status as the first and only double hook categorically more significant than its position within the double-hook market alone would suggest — in the context of 25+ single hooks, the Code O2’s construction difference is a documentary landmark that the page’s standalone 7/10 did not need to account for.
The discontinued status combined with the blue and gold foil format’s deteriorating condition survival creates a scarcity trajectory: the Code O2 in genuinely good foil packet condition is getting rarer with each passing year in a way that currently-produced hooks are not, and the discontinued designation means no new authentic stock will ever be produced.
The brazed construction introduces manufacturing complexity that the page’s 7/10 did not weight specifically — a brazed double hook from the Crescent Works represents more Redditch manufacturing capability per hook than any single-component single hook in the series.
Ease of Finding: Moderate. Code O2 hooks appear at UK salmon fly tackle fairs and through specialist dealers with reasonable regularity — the large production volumes support this. The challenge is specifically condition: the blue and gold foil packets are susceptible to the creasing, tearing, and corner damage that foil packaging accumulates with time, and finding a packet with the foil intact and the gold printing legible in good condition is harder than finding the hooks themselves. Mint/sealed foil packets with all graphics intact are the genuinely difficult find.