# How About Barbless Hooks?



## fisheater (Nov 14, 2010)

I despise gear restrictions. I firmly believe they are simply one group of fisherman seeking to exclude other fisherman from "their" water. I was talking about this today with a friend, as we were fishing. I was commenting that many times even lip hooked fish are difficult to release quickly, but also there are many times mouth hooked trout don't come unhooked quickly enough to ensure quick safe release.

One thing led to another, including how when fishing spawn bags it is generally necessary to set the hook immediately or the fish will be gone. Then the comment was made that we never see a dry fly drifted on a totally tight line, so how could Great and Mighty fly fisherman ever claim quicker hook setting than us? That led to the barbless hook idea.
So here it is, since gear restricted water is about preserving the resource, henceforth all gear restricted water should become barbless hook only. Why would you need barbs if your are releasing the fish???

This isn't a joke, I am as serious as can be. If these waters are "special conservation waters", let's treat them as such. If you are going to have gear restrictions at all, let's have one that has a biological impact and not a social one. I look forward to any comments.
Regards, 
Bob


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## Mike (Nov 26, 2000)

Most of my gear is barbless, including most everything I own with treble hooks. Don’t see why this is a fly fishing vs non fly fishing debate. Bored today?

Mike


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## kzoofisher (Mar 6, 2011)

Here's the thing about barbless hooks: the studies out there are pretty inconclusive on how much of a difference they make. For a long time it was thought they did because of how quickly the hook _can_ be removed if it's in the right place. Trouble is it isn't always in the right place. Another issue is that barbless hooks can penetrate deeper than barbed hooks and cause damage that way. Barbed or not barbed is well down the list of factors causing mortality.

What factors are at the top?

How deep the fish is hooked. A swallowed hook is very bad and should be cut off. Pulling it out makes it worse. Set the hook as soon as the fish strikes to help prevent deep hooking. If you do deep hook a fish think about counting it towards your limit even if it's under sized.

Water temperature. High temps stress trout (and other fish) and make recovery from a fight much more difficult. Basically, if the water temp is over 70 you should plan on keeping any fish you catch even if you caught it from a cold seep where it was taking refuge. This is a major problem on many of our streams, especially those with dams and the southern ones.

Handling. Getting a fish back in the water quickly or better yet never taking it out is a plus. Use a net designed to protect the fish's mucous coating (rubber or rubber coated), wet the net before use and your hands before touching the fish. Use hemostats to help get at the hook quickly. Don't drop the fish, lay it in the boat to get a measurement, hold it by the gills or squeeze it to keep it from scooting away.

These are some basic techniques for successful releases. Plenty of helpful sites on the web if you want more detail or to see factors that effect other fish like depth. Some places mandate that fish never be removed from the water. Others, like Manitoba, require barbless hooks on all hooks no matter what type of lure or bait. I think that's mostly to protect big musky and pike which take some doing to unhook, and walleye which lots of folks chase with bait.


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## fisheater (Nov 14, 2010)

Mike said:


> Most of my gear is barbless, including most everything I own with treble hooks. Don’t see why this is a fly fishing vs non fly fishing debate. Bored today?
> 
> Mike


Hello Mike, I'm not bored. I was fishing non-restricted water today and had a good time. Gear restrictions just get under my skin, they really irritate me. I don't trout fish a ton. In spring my first choice is fishing the big water in my solo canoe. I also enjoy small river walleye fishing. However I do enjoy a little trout fishing during the year. I kill and eat trout when I go out, but I don't fish for the freezer, just dinner, maybe another dinner if I put them on ice for a day or two.
I salute you for protecting the resource with barbless hooks. I think I would go to barbless if I managed to fish so often that I just wasn't catching a dinner or two. I do process salmon by canning and enjoy those throughout the year.
It isn't about flyfishing, it's about gear restrictions. Since I was talking about fish caught in the mouth, I still advocate that barbless hooks would protect the resource to a greater degree than flies only.
Kzoo, I was speaking of mouth hooked fish. Thank you for the information.


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## Stubee (May 26, 2010)

I pinch barbs on everything from tiny dry flies to my biggest pike lures and everything in between, whether for stream, lake or saltwater. I truthfully don’t know if it “helps” fish vs a regular barbed hook but it sure makes it easier for me to release a fish of any type, hooked anywhere. I fish with plenty of guys who never pinch barbs and watch them struggle with a hookset I could pop out in a jiffy. And that’s the second reason I pinch ‘em. 

The first reason? Was it because of the Hula Popper I stuck in my blue jeans crotch when I was 11 years old and frantically cut out with my pocket knife to get back into those largemouth? Maybe it was the No. 22 Adams I embedded in my cheek just below my eye on the North Branch, and as I couldn’t see it my hungover friend went at it with his shaky pliers? No, it was actually a last ‘event’, the morning I took my boat out with my wife and coffee, only to discover the drain plug was out right after we’d wet a line. I hurried to get the boat up on plane and back to my hoist and in my haste embedded a Tadpolly through my palm. That was the last straw. I’ve pinched every damned barb since, even each treble set on a Rapala. I also have rods for kids to use and if you’ve seen some of their casts go whizzing by somebody’s body parts you’d pinch those, too. 

I do wish lures and flies came barbless because it would save me a lotta plier time!


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## Mike (Nov 26, 2000)

fisheater said:


> Hello Mike, I'm not bored. I was fishing non-restricted water today and had a good time. Gear restrictions just get under my skin, they really irritate me. I don't trout fish a ton. In spring my first choice is fishing the big water in my solo canoe. I also enjoy small river walleye fishing. However I do enjoy a little trout fishing during the year. I kill and eat trout when I go out, but I don't fish for the freezer, just dinner, maybe another dinner if I put them on ice for a day or two.
> I salute you for protecting the resource with barbless hooks. I think I would go to barbless if I managed to fish so often that I just wasn't catching a dinner or two. I do process salmon by canning and enjoy those throughout the year.
> It isn't about flyfishing, it's about gear restrictions. Since I was talking about fish caught in the mouth, I still advocate that barbless hooks would protect the resource to a greater degree than flies only.
> Kzoo, I was speaking of mouth hooked fish. Thank you for the information.


Fisheater - I pinch barbs for the same reasons as Stubee. Easier to release fish I’m not keeping, and easier to get hooks out of things I don’t want them in. You mentioned dry fly fishing in your first post - I pinch barbs on my flies as well. I’ve never noticed a difference in hook sets with or without barbs. 

I’m also not a fan of the gear restricted water. Our regulations have become far too complicated.

Mike


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## lodge lounger (Sep 16, 2005)

I'm with Stubee. Pinching barbs down is a good choice for me. Yeah, it's generally easier to safely unhook a fish you want to release, but a quick return to fishing and (relatively) painless hook extraction from my tender flesh are the two that finally convinced me. I experienced both advantages while fly-rodding for gills last week. The other thing is, I don't see much disadvantage to going barbless. I can imagine situations where it might make a difference, but can't say I've experienced many if any.


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## BMARKS (Nov 6, 2017)

Gear restrictions are part of outdoor sporting activities, all of them have some gear restrictions.


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## 22 Chuck (Feb 2, 2006)

Mr Stubee--

Somewhere there is a video of releasing oneself from fishhooks w/ a rubberband. Ive not seen it on a few years.

One summer when I was about 12-14 I was caught twice in about 3 weeks.
First I was setting on a rock at the creek )more like a lake there) and my buddy swung his rig to cast and stuck the wormy hook in my rt cheek. Quick trip to ER and doc had it out in couple minutes. Just had to wash the worm off.
Second was not even fishing. Was helping an older friend 
pick pears in his orchard and he just had to show me his new casting rig. He had a spreader and snelled hooks on it. I cast and of course snagged a tree limb. I pulled it couple time and pretty soon it is headed right for my face. I leaned a little and the hook got me less than 1/2" from the outside edge of my LT eye. Doc did his magic again and wow I was lucky. I could have had a dog all these years.


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## Benzie Rover (Mar 17, 2008)

Fisheater -

Sounds like you generally don't like restrictions or rules of any sort. Many people would prefer no limits, seasons or licenses. Obviously people are far too self-interested for this to work out with a shared natural resource and growing human population. Yes, this means gear restrictions. Whether it be shotgun plugs, no deer hunting with dogs, bothering to check with species duck you just shot, or what gear you use fly, worm or soft plastic on the end of your line. All the same situation IMO. I am sure you don't feel this way and would rather focus all your 'rule-rage' against fly fisherman. If that makes you feel better, fine. I fly fish, gear fish and last night I collected 8 doz crawlers with my kids in the rain. Removing barbs makes a big difference. I have not seen too many mixed data on this. Most all studies I have read find de-barbing reduces hooking damage and subsequent mortality. I also know that the larger the hook the more dangerous the barb is to you when handling landed fish. I have had 2 trips to the ER due to lures getting lodged in my hands during landing. 

All I know is that fish have less ripped flesh with out a barb. That has to be better for them. My personal opinion is that we should have no bait, no scented plastics, no barbs, max hook size (for the streamer dudes throwing musky flies at trout) and 1 fish creel limits in place on all flies-only waters. That's my preference.


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## B.Jarvinen (Jul 12, 2014)

There is one thing I don't understand about barbless hooks - why are they so hard to find for sale, retail, in stores - even in areas near waters with barbless regs?

I mean, I would buy some, if I could...


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## BMARKS (Nov 6, 2017)

B.Jarvinen said:


> There is one thing I don't understand about barbless hooks - why are they so hard to find for sale, retail, in stores - even in areas near waters with barbless regs?
> 
> I mean, I would buy some, if I could...


i think they run on the assumption that a guy can bend the bard down with pliers or hemostats pretty easily, no need to set up a whole new production line for a small minority of fisherman.


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## B.Jarvinen (Jul 12, 2014)

Sure, we _could_ do that, & pretty easily. But if I could get someone else to do it for me...


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## BMARKS (Nov 6, 2017)

If thats the case.
https://www.cabelas.com/product/Gam...VgobACh0viA5wEAQYASABEgJb6fD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds


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