Touchy subject:Barbless or barbed

[ROVER]

We'll i searched briefly hopefully this is the first poll on barbed vs. barbless hooks.

It's a very contraversial subject for many, but I wanted to get an accurate measure of hook practices the fly fishers use on this forum.

So what do you do about hooks?

VS.

 

[ROVER]

Don't be afraid to speak up people. Just because someone does something different than you doesn't mean your wrong. No one is going to condemn you for saying you use or don't use barbs.

Personally, i like to pinch the barb when going for smaller trout or panfish. However, when i go for steelhead or larger river fish like catfish or bass, i like to use a barbed hook.

 

[jimw]

I always pinch down the barbs it makes them alot easier to pull out of the back of my neck. I am not really meat fishing and practice C&R 95% of the time and when i do keep fish it is only enough for a nice dinner for 2 people

 

[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.

 

[AnglerJS74]

Well since I've never used a barbless hook or even a pinched down version I would have to say 'barbed', however I voted 'depends on' since I now plan on trying the pinched down version. I do on occasion keep fish to eat but only on an extended camping/fishing trip and even then I'll only keep one for myself per dinner.... releasing the rest. That being the case I plan to make it easier on/less damaging on the fish I catch. I would have started this practice sooner but to be quite honest I had never even heard of using a barbless/pinched hook until I moved to California.

 

[AnglerJS74]

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.

Now I'm really confused....

 

[fyshstykr]

I always pinch the barbs or use barbless hooks.

If you keep proper tension on the fish your chances of losing it are small, they do come out so much easier and cause much less damage to the mouth of the fish.

 

[irish greg]

js74
you are confused a barbless hook can move in a fishes mouth while you are playing it and rehook it self in another part of the mouth.sometimes while moving it tears the mouth of the fish.i probaly have not explained it properly.a lot depends on the species of fish and the softness or hardness of the mouth tissue.but after seeing the damage it can do.if i owned a fishery i would never allow barbless hooks to be used.

 

[fyshstykr]

I also totally disagree with this theory.

In my opinion you cause more damage to a fish trying to dislodge a barbed hook, it take more force and if you do hook a fish deep your in for a chore more often than not.

 

[ezamora]

i don't understand, how does a barbed hook not penetrate more (or less) than a barbless hook? and once the fish is hooked, the part in contact with its mouth is the same bend of the hook whether barbed or barbless. with correct tension on the line, the barb shouldn't play a role in "fighting" the fish. if slack occurs and the hok backs out a minute amount, wouldn't the barb cause some bodily damage to the fish?

in my flyfishing over the past 5-6 years, i can't recall anytime a fly has been taken into the throat by a fish. granted, i fish for trout in streams and rivers and most of the time with dries or emergers but have started using nymphs. the dozen or so LM bass i've caught with streamers, nymphs and poppers have all been at the lip of the fish or corner of the mouth.

i generally buy my flies and 98% or so are barbed and i pinch them down with smooth needlenosed pliers as soon as i open the package or container at home. if there's a bit left, i'll use a small file if i can. i once had a large stimulator embed in my right hand with a pinched down barb and the ever so small slightly discernable remnant was enough to cause a problem and had to do minor surgery cutting through my skin with my left hand which cemented for me the need for barbless. and once i hook into a fish, if it comes loose (rarely) good for him or her. i consider that part of the challenge and need for skill on my part.

i've started tying a couple of patterns myself and always go for the barbless version. they're the same price as the barbed version and are so much smoother in releasing. i just don't see the need for barbs in my case.

eric
fresno, ca.

 

[irish greg]

generally
when you hook a fish with a barbed hook penetration is normaly up to or around the barb.but with a barbles hook it can penerate right up to the bend of the hook.if the fish has engulfed the hook serious damage can be done by the deeper peneration into the tissue.

 

[zerolimit]

This is kind of a tough poll to answer as constructed. For those who go barbless, I'd say most (unless they tie all of the flies they fish) would want to answer both barbless and pinched. It's not easy to find commercially tied flies on barbless hooks at your average shop.

I'd say there are a half a dozen or so fisheries that I frequent where barbless is the law. For those who don't or never have used barbless, do you avoid those fisheries which require them?

 

[fyshstykr]

Great post Eric.

 

[fyshstykr]

generally
when you hook a fish with a barbed hook penetration is normaly up to or around the barb.but with a barbles hook it can penerate right up to the bend of the hook.if the fish has engulfed the hook serious damage can be done by the deeper peneration into the tissue.

Another thought may be as to type of hooks and sharpness.

 

[Frank Whiton]

Hi to all,

I always pinch down the barb on my hooks. That includes the big Bass hooks I use. I learned a sad lesson while tying a saltwater Clouser. I was on one side of the table and by fishing partner was on the other side of the table. We were sharing materials and I reach over the upturned hook to pick up something on the table. I got the 1/0 hook buried in my forearm. I had not yet de-barbed the hook. It was in up to the bend. We had to push the hook the rest of the way through so we could cut off the point/barb. It was not a fun time.

Frank

 

[GeorgeMcFly]

i've accidently killed a few fish with barbed hooks when they swallowed um too deep and I tried to remove them :icon_cry: . now I switched to pinched down hooks. never lost a fish yet cause of it that I know of and they seem to come right out when removing. plus it helps when you hook yourself also :wink: . but I have also read the same thing irish greg has said. guess it could happen. guess its up to you to choose.
frank thats a big hook!!! ouch hurts me just thinkin bout it!!! and I thought the size 10 bugger I had in my finger was bad! I will always debarb my hooks now that I read this. guess fly fishing is more dangerous than I thought! I also seen a picture where a guy caught a hook in the eye! yowzers!!! I always wear me some polarized glasses cause of it.

 

[FISHN50]

I pinch down the barb at the vise before starting the fly. I probably have lost a few fish going barbless, but the ease of removing the hook from the fish or myself is worth it. If you nymph fish & use droppers you will occasionly have one of the other flies stuck in the fish's body & the faster you can release the fish the better it's chances. If you play the fish on a tight line I don't think the hook on a barbless fly will back out & cause more damage.

 

[Frank Whiton]

I also seen a picture where a guy caught a hook in the eye! yowzers!!! I always wear me some polarized glasses cause of it.

Hi GeorgeMcFly,

You bring up a very important aspect of fly fishing. Any body fly casting, no matter their experience, should be wearing glasses with POLYCARBONATE lenses. I have been hit in the glasses one time with a weighted bugger. I don't exactly remember how but it dang sure hit my glasses. Wait, I do remember, I was caught on a log and pulled it off with the rod tip and it sling shot back at me. This was when I was young and foolish. I bet all of us has been hit with a fly while casting at least once. It is just good sense to wear glasses.

Frank

 

[Wyatt]

I have been pinching the barbs down, since the local fly shops don't keep to many barbless flys in the patterns we want, we generally release everything we catch, if we are planing to keep any fish we go to one of the resivours that are stocked several time a year. I have never had a problem with barbles hook cutting a fish worse then a barbed hook but I have had problems getting a barbed hook out of a fish or my own hide and that convinced me to pinch down barbs.
Wyatt

 

[tbrillinger223]

Hello all,

Before I tie I pinch down the barb and run the file over the point a few times. even commercially tied feel the rath of my needlenosed pliers and my file.

Most of the fish I target have slot/size limits and seasons. it makes it alot easier to dehook the fish, and return them safely to the water. I have never lost a fish due to a barbless/debarbed hook. very few times have there been torn mouths.