Going Barbless vs Gambling...is it the same thing?
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Van_Cleaver
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I crush the barbs on my flies as I tie. Though I have been doing it for years another really reason was described in an above post: if you tie a dropper off your hook bend it will stay on way better than a factory barbless. I do that a lot when trout fishing but also for panfish as of late.
As already stated, just pinch down the barbs with needle nose pliers.
It makes the hook easier to remove from fish, clothing, and human flesh. And you will lose very few fish.
When tying flies, I have the pliers right there. Take the hook out of container, pinch down the barb, then put it in the vice and tie the fly.
Make that part of your routine, that you do automatically without even thinking about it.
Suppose you buy a dozen flies. Sit down at a table or desk with good lighting and pinch down the barbs on all of them.
This way you don't have to waste time pinching down barbs on your fishing trip.
It makes the hook easier to remove from fish, clothing, and human flesh. And you will lose very few fish.
When tying flies, I have the pliers right there. Take the hook out of container, pinch down the barb, then put it in the vice and tie the fly.
Make that part of your routine, that you do automatically without even thinking about it.
Suppose you buy a dozen flies. Sit down at a table or desk with good lighting and pinch down the barbs on all of them.
This way you don't have to waste time pinching down barbs on your fishing trip.
It is easy. There are some pliers used in electronics work that have very narrow jaws that work really well for this. Much better than typical needle nose pliers.
Flyfishers Paradise sells these. They seemed kind of expensive, but are high quality and are EXACTLY the right tool for the job. Especially for smaller hooks.
But if you are mostly using bass sized hooks, regular needle nose pliers should be fine.
Flyfishers Paradise sells these. They seemed kind of expensive, but are high quality and are EXACTLY the right tool for the job. Especially for smaller hooks.
But if you are mostly using bass sized hooks, regular needle nose pliers should be fine.
JMP
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I always pinch the barb before I tie a fly. This was the first lesson taught at the Trout Unlimited introduction class 35 years ago. Always pinch the barb before you tie the fly. If you happen to tie the fly on a defective hook and it breaks after completing the process, you just wasted your time. We were advised to purchase a pair of round needle nosed pliers. Supposedly better for pinching the barb. I do not have any flies that contain a barb.
Given that the Fish Commission is charged with managing the fishery, I have no idea why barbed hooks are not outlawed and barbless hooks required ....... at least in Urban and Suburban areas which have significant fishing pressure. Agreed that crushed barbs retain dropper knots better than smooth barbless.
I detest barbed hooks and their usage; it feels great to release fish unharmed and without the barb having torn flesh as it was backed out.
I detest barbed hooks and their usage; it feels great to release fish unharmed and without the barb having torn flesh as it was backed out.
Baron
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Its much better to leave government out of this. We can all spread the word. Personally telling people is a better way to get the word out. It is natural to want to please your peers and benefit from their wisdom and that is why i'm a convert to barbless. Thank you all for that. I guess we could also write to the manufacturers and ask them to expand their barbless offerings and to put more of their ad monies towards educating their flock and make their customers feel comfortable with it.
We could also ask the state to mention it moron their literature.
We could also ask the state to mention it moron their literature.
Barbless hooks used to be required in FFO areas.
Like other aspects of special reg limitations (leader length, night fishing etc.) the barbless rule was dropped as it was likely seen as unenforceable.
While also a devotee of barbless, I doubt that the PFBC is inclined to reconsider going back to barbless rules.
JerryC
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The three guys I fish with usually bring or give me their lures to replace hooks or dress the tail hook. I was just looking through the Barlow's catalog and they're carrying a VMC barbless treble hook which I plan to order. This is the most interesting barbless style I've seen. It's a Partridge Pike hook but I've never seen this configuration on their other barbless hooks.
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Baron
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I'm thinking that the barb was the result of peoples need to catch all and keep all and also to retain soft or live baits. With lures and with flies I see zero need. As time moves along other options might even erase the need for barbs as bait retention.
From the trout plan comments thread.... among my extensive comments on the plan I reiterated that with respect to fly fishing, a meta analysis of the scientific literature on the subject revealed a 1% difference between delayed mortality associated with barbed vs barbless hooks. It was statistically significant, but not biologically significant. The authors concluded that barbed vs barbless for fly fishing was a personal decision.
I am a fan of barbless. I buy regular hooks and pinch the barbs before fishing. I generally don't even touch a trout when it's caught. Just net it, the hook pops right out, then set it free.
Baron
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From Mike: "From the trout plan comments thread.... among my extensive comments on the plan I reiterated that with respect to fly fishing, a meta analysis of the scientific literature on the subject revealed a 1% difference between delayed mortality associated with barbed vs barbless hooks. It was statistically significant, but not biologically significant. The authors concluded that barbed vs barbless for fly fishing was a personal decision."
From Jif: "I am a fan of barbless. I buy regular hooks and pinch the barbs before fishing. I generally don't even touch a trout when it's caught. Just net it, the hook pops right out, then set it free."
I don't have any moral issues (especially with stockies) with wether I contribute to fish mortality as I am an eater of fish. I am concerned to not be wasteful or with being a poor steward of a resource. The more fish I return heathy (providing I'm not trying to acquire my dinner) the more my fellow fisherman can catch again.
So to that end are all fish as tender to being handled as are trout. It always seemed to me that Bass and Sunnies can take quite a bit of abuse. I'm hoping to get Gills off the hook quicker so I can fish more. Sometimes it is pretty tough to unhook a barbed hook from a Gills mouth.
So it would seem going barbless kind of helps with everyones goals, opinions and success. A fishy win win!
From Jif: "I am a fan of barbless. I buy regular hooks and pinch the barbs before fishing. I generally don't even touch a trout when it's caught. Just net it, the hook pops right out, then set it free."
I don't have any moral issues (especially with stockies) with wether I contribute to fish mortality as I am an eater of fish. I am concerned to not be wasteful or with being a poor steward of a resource. The more fish I return heathy (providing I'm not trying to acquire my dinner) the more my fellow fisherman can catch again.
So to that end are all fish as tender to being handled as are trout. It always seemed to me that Bass and Sunnies can take quite a bit of abuse. I'm hoping to get Gills off the hook quicker so I can fish more. Sometimes it is pretty tough to unhook a barbed hook from a Gills mouth.
So it would seem going barbless kind of helps with everyones goals, opinions and success. A fishy win win!
Cosmic_Nick
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I’m really surprised to hear the mere 1% delayed mortality between barbed and barbless Mike thanks for sharing! I’ll just echo what others have been saying that they certainly in my hands at least make releasing a fish (and various other things) much easier. I’ve never really had any issues tying off the bend with barbless hooks but will say that dropper tags have greatly reduces my tangling rate when using dry dropper approaches. Also it makes changing your dry a breeze when conditions warrant. Fish getting off seems to me to be part of the game and I don’t have any problem not being able to touch a fish still a thrill either way. Anyone have anything to add about using claw style barbless hooks? I hear that they can decrease lost fish but haven’t tried them yet.
I am too. And I don't buy it, I'm not saying Mike is inventing bad info or misquoting. Maybe just fly fishing just drys just size 16 & smaller .... but I can't buy that ..... if 100 fish are caught by various means & released .... it makes so little difference. Maybe those badly hooked with barbs weren't released to begin with because they were so badly injured, maybe the original source has an objective to convey, I donno.
Fishing is an industry and the Commission Leadership plays to that. Like I said, no offense to Mike intended in any way but I just don't buy it.
It's really difficult to devise a method to measure the result of using barbed vs barbless hooks.
Suffice it to say, using barbless hooks makes hook removal easier and faster for the angler and fish.
That fact in itself will result in less handling and quicker release most times which will result in lower mortality rates.
How much lower is anyone's guess, but the bottom line is it has a positive effect, and that's really what counts.
Suffice it to say, using barbless hooks makes hook removal easier and faster for the angler and fish.
That fact in itself will result in less handling and quicker release most times which will result in lower mortality rates.
How much lower is anyone's guess, but the bottom line is it has a positive effect, and that's really what counts.
