Had hooks snap in half that have a tiny rust spot on the shank, mostly 6/0 EC stainless.

I have had 5/0 Eagle Claw SS O'Shaunessy hooks that were on lines that got swept away by the flooding Navasota River, and find & retrieve most one to 3 years later. The SS hooks still looks super clean & ever so bright, as if brand new still (no sign of rust or bronzing). However, obviously the minerals in the water or mud, does something to the metal. If you have or eventually get a slightly bent hook, it will snap (as if brittle) easily if you try to straighten it out. So SS is not forever.