ratherfish
Well-known member
Just wondering what people do, and maybe why, what might make a difference
Well, well, well - ain't you just real funny! Actually a good response, and it was funny, funny boy. LOL - now, go answer the poll, you know what I meantWomen ... never.
Hook barbs ... never.
Fly materials on a hook ... sometimes.
Wife ... sometimes.
Tobacco ... never.
Of salt on my food ... always.
Well, if you actually decide to do it tomorrow, please allow me to caution you a bit. Only do a few of each kind and see how they work across seasons and a wide range of species with regard to the heavier stuff.I want to pinch barbs, but walking the talk has been a little short on my end. I’ll do it tomorrow, those kind of excuses.
Bass going airborne is when I typically lose them. Knowing myself, it’s unlikely I’ll actually mash down all or many of my barbs, but I might try a few more as an experiment. I might work on filing down the barbs some. I like hooks with the tiny barbs.Well, if you actually decide to do it tomorrow, please allow me to caution you a bit. Only do a few of each kind and see how they work across seasons and a wide range of species with regard to the heavier stuff.
I used to mash 100% and that's what's responsible for the more choosey approach today. The membrane in a bass lip just doesn't hold straight metal very well when they go airborne with heavy streamers. Even the tiny barbs on Diiachi hooks make a huge difference.
Admittedly, I do miss the C&R convenience of simply pushing back on the streamer and doing the one-handed release on smaller bass, but the big one's that throw it were hard to overlook. Keeping the barb changed everything in the latter scenario.
I believe it has to do with manufacturing equipment, the barb is created by/as a hold for bending and shaping. For a time, barbless were (perhaps still are) more expensive to make on account of this.In the history of the hook, Barbs must be an improvement over barbless in keeping the fish on or otherwise why do the vast majority of hooks have barbs?
I have a cheap old vise, no longer used for tying, mounted on a workstation that holds my thread and tools, so I start every new tie by putting the hook point into the jaws of the old vise and twisting it lightly. Either the barb will flatten or break off, depending on the type of hook. It works better than pliers because the vise jaws are smooth, so they don't leave a mark on the hook. It is much easier to get the hook out of the fish, especially a bass that has inhaled the fly and is hooked halfway down its gullet. I've had a couple of those die on me while I was trying to remove a hook that I accidentally left the barb on. If I was planning to keep the fish, I would just cut the tippet and remove the hook later, but torturing the fish while trying to get the hook out feels lousy.I don't pinch barbs. I crush them.
Guess I never thunk about that...I believe it has to do with manufacturing equipment, the barb is created by/as a hold for bending and shaping.......Picture a sharp, chisel like wedge that digs into the wire and secures it for bending. Useful manufacturing artifact, I gather they killed 2 birds w/1 stone and refined the precise placement of it......