Hareline Sunken Barbell Eyes

What it is

Hareline Sunken Barbell Eyes are recessed dumbbell-style eyes made from brass. They add weight to a fly and help it swim with a jigging, up-and-down motion. The recessed sockets are built to accept adhesive eyes for a more realistic finished head, and the metal holds up well.

What to tie with it

Use them when you want to put weight up front for faster sink and a hook-point-up attitude, then lock them in with figure-eight wraps and a solid thread dam. The recessed sockets let you set adhesive eyes into the metal instead of sticking them onto a flat head. They’re also a good choice on tubes and heavy shanks where you want dumbbell eyes rather than hourglass-style eyes.

Flies and the fish they're for

These are a natural fit for dumbbell-eyed baitfish and jig-style streamers fished for species that respond to a hop-and-drop retrieve. That includes smallmouth and largemouth bass in rivers and ponds, trout in higher, faster water when they’re keyed on sculpins and minnows, and inshore saltwater fish like redfish and seatrout where a weighted, jigging fly stays in the strike zone.

How it compares

Compared with lead or tungsten eyes, brass gives you the same style of weighting but with less total weight. Compared with Double Pupil Eyes, these are made to take adhesive eye inserts, and compared with Hareline Aluminum Eyes they share the same recessed design but brass is heavier while aluminum is lighter.