[racine]

I haven't decided one way or another unless it's local custom or law. I have actually compromised as I see some fish with very hard mouths that require a struggle to remove these barbed anchors. I actually only pinch down the tip of the barb thus leaving a small hump that still extracts easily but leaves enough of a stop to retain the hook. Use a good set of hemostats. I've found many store varieties made of soft steel in Pakistan that have too much give. I bought a pair of surgical grade "needle drivers" that can both finesse or manhandle a hook out of a tough mouth. They're just a little pricier.

[ezamora]

those "little humps" that may be left on a hook after pinching down a barb...

i was fishing a local river up in a national park with a stimulator. i had pinched the barb down as i always do at home but since it was a size 10 or 12 hook it had been tough. that hump was left on the hook. the rod was leaning against a rock as i sat next to an adjacent rock. reaching out to grab the fly to change it, the rod slipped, pulling the line and fly right across my outstretched hand, jamming the hook into the top of my right hand near a knuckle. it didn't hurt going in but i could not pull the hook out because of that little hump and let me tell you, i felt very noticeable pain in attempting to do so. in the end, i used a knife and sliced into my right hand with my left (and i'm righthanded) around the hook cutting enough skin away to lift the hook out.

those humps are to be reckoned with.

eric
fresno, ca.

[Joni]

Originally Posted by ezamora

those "little humps" that may be left on a hook after pinching down a barb...

i was fishing a local river up in a national park with a stimulator. i had pinched the barb down as i always do at home but since it was a size 10 or 12 hook it had been tough. that hump was left on the hook. the rod was leaning against a rock as i sat next to an adjacent rock. reaching out to grab the fly to change it, the rod slipped, pulling the line and fly right across my outstretched hand, jamming the hook into the top of my right hand near a knuckle. it didn't hurt going in but i could not pull the hook out because of that little hump and let me tell you, i felt very noticeable pain in attempting to do so. in the end, i used a knife and sliced into my right hand with my left (and i'm righthanded) around the hook cutting enough skin away to lift the hook out.

those humps are to be reckoned with.

eric
fresno, ca.

Ouch!....with me, it was a windy day, warm so in shorts and I felt a BAMB! in my right thigh. The old man couldn't watch, but then he almost passed out getting the blood test when we got married LOL. The hump wouldn't go through, so pushed the other way, cut the whole bend off and slid right out.
Must of been a sight however. Me bend down like that!

[MTskibum]

Originally Posted by ezamora

those "little humps" that may be left on a hook after pinching down a barb...

i was fishing a local river up in a national park with a stimulator. i had pinched the barb down as i always do at home but since it was a size 10 or 12 hook it had been tough. that hump was left on the hook. the rod was leaning against a rock as i sat next to an adjacent rock. reaching out to grab the fly to change it, the rod slipped, pulling the line and fly right across my outstretched hand, jamming the hook into the top of my right hand near a knuckle. it didn't hurt going in but i could not pull the hook out because of that little hump and let me tell you, i felt very noticeable pain in attempting to do so. in the end, i used a knife and sliced into my right hand with my left (and i'm righthanded) around the hook cutting enough skin away to lift the hook out.

those humps are to be reckoned with.

eric
fresno, ca.

I had to remove an unpinched hook from my dads nose with a pair of plyers when i was 12. Ever since then i try to use barbless if possible, or pinch, and i always fish in glasses.

[racine]

These all sound downright medieval guys! I have always debarbed my hooks up until the last 2 years I've been fishing for LMB when I decided not to. I'm sure I'm bound to take a hook one of these days but I can only hope I can suck it up. Kinda sounds like the dues you pay for your passion. I shoot also and last year I took some shrapnel on my forehead from a metal target ricochet, 230 gr slug. Fish safe guys...
Racine

[John Kumiski]

Here in FLorida saltwater, barbless hooks hold some fish like reds and bones very well, and don't hold others like seatrout and snook at all. I think it has to do with both the physical structure of each species mouth (redfish are tough and rubbery, seatrout have lots of thin tissue) and the way they fight (runs vs. headshaking). So it depends on the situation.

[jstub]

Originally Posted by irish greg

I PERSONALLY Never use barbless hooks for two reasons firstly they penertrate further in a fishes mouth or throat and do more damage.secondaly a barbless hook in my experince will destroy a fishes mouth through movment.i have had fish with near 1 inch tears in the mouth from barbless hooks.never happens with barbed hooks.when the go in they stay in place.

The first question you have to answer is, are we talking meat or sport? If meat is your goal then fish with barbs. You will kill more fish and won't lose as many due to poor technique or bad luck. In either case if you have a conscience you will cut off any fly that is too deep to be quickly extricated. Even a barbless hook swallowed deeply isn't worth killing a fish over.

I only fish Atlantic Salmon and after fishing in Newfoundland and Labrador where barblesss or crimped hooks are mandatory I have begun using them exclusively. Here are some things to consider: you kill a great many parr and fingerlings with barbed hooks. It is such a pleasure to be able to just lift up your fly and let a young fish slip back into the water without even it touching it. It's even more rewarding to be able release a larger fish unharmed. If you play a fish with a barbless hook too hard or too long most likely the hole will enlarge and the hook will slip out.
Just consider how much pleasure and pride you will have when you release your first fish on a barbless hook. And think how happy you'll make the fish.
-------------------
"I can think of no mistake I might not have made myself."

[Pocono]

Pinched down barb. I'd go totally barbless if I could source the same local patterns in a barbless hook. Catch and release is the only approach that makes sense to me; unless the fish that you catch is the fish that you eat.

[Davo]

As a guide a spend a bit of time every year removing flies from various parts of the human anatomy. Sometimes from the client, more times than I like from myself. I've also floated several miles with a fly in a spot I can't reach looking for another guide to do the surgery for me. Some clients get squeamish!!

If not barbless then I go pinched. It just makes life less painful for all involved. Fish, client, and guide!!!

[Yukon Jack]

Davo, It sounds like you need to wear some leathers while guiding, although it sounds like the chaps would not have helped much in the last case you stated

I pinch all my barbs down before I put them in the vise.

When I was a kid we went to visit my Grandparents in North Dakota. We went Northern Pike fishing using live minnows. My sister hooked me in the finger on a cast, and the hook went under the bone, had to take me to the hospital to have it removed. I still have hook they removed in a plastic jar. hehe (not to worry, I payed her back a couple years later while playing baseball)

Yukon Jack