Easiest way to debarb a fly hook
 

The little hooks are too tiny to get my pliers in there to squish the barb down.

Anyone have a quick and easy way to debarb a fly hook?

I was thinking a tiny little file.

Also is there any brands of fly sold without barbs?

I am not sure about flies but I use a dremal tool i got at Canadian Tire for my lures. It came with the 100 and something bits for it. Quick little touch and the barb is gone. It has some really small bits but not sure if they are small enough for those super tiny flies.

I'm going to try putting on in a vice today and running emery paper over the barb. It's like sandpaper for metal.

Last year I was trying to debarb in the field and got my first taste of being stung by a fly hook.

It took 20 minutes of whimpering --I'm not proud of it, but I did whimper-- before I manned up and asked my friend to help get it out. He took entirely too much pleasure in the ordeal. And he definitely did not have the hands of a surgeon... more like the fins of a sturgeon. :scared0015:

Pinch it with a small pair of needle nose pliers

I have no problem pinching the barb down to #20 hooks so you can always buy better haemostats!! You can also use your vise to pinch down the barbs... Yes they sell hooks with no barbs but there is a price difference.

Yep, the forceps I have are slender enough to pinch pretty much any fly I've come across. Much easier to use and handle than pliers IMO especially when slippery fish are involved :)

You can buy small flat faced pliers at crappy tire, they work great even on small flies, small files work good too!

Back in the day I would squash the barb in my D.H.Thompson just before tying it. My NorVice doesn't squash them as easy so I bought a pair of Dr. Slick pliers and they have flattened hundreds (probably thousands) and still work great. I use a dremmel for all my big spoons and apexes. Rick.

I Noticed it was a new fly after tying it on the line. THAT'S how I got stuck. Leaned over to get my pliers and the line got caught pulling the fly from my grip
I might have to head to Fish Tales and get a pair of these. Cheap tools tend to cause more problems than they solve.

Thanks all!

How big are the hooks, for most hook sizes I use a pair of jewellery needle nose pliers, have done many thousands of hooks that way. They are small, not expensive and will get down to size 18 with no problem. for 20's I use a small pair of smooth hemostats.

Haemostats are all I use. On some of the bigger fly hooks, I use my multi-tool.

Tiny pair of high quality (snap-on or similar) needle nose pliers. I find alot of cheaper needlenose/hemostats have too much flex in them to properly debarb. Another option is a dremel with a small bit. You have to be careful with a dremel because you can weaken the hook if you take off too much material.

I use a dremel with a # 7144 diamond bit. It is small enough to do even the smallest hooks.

http://mdm.boschwebservices.com/files/r19768v15.jpg
Dremel Diamond tip 7144

The Dremel I use is a cordless with a lithium ion battery. It lasts for about 200 hooks before it needs to be recharged.

http://mdm.boschwebservices.com/files/r23208v15.jpg

Rob

I just use an old vice that I use strickly for de-barbing the hooks then i put it in my new vice and start tying. Works great for most hooks, even the small ones, but I like the idea of the dremel for the larger hooks. I'll have to find it out in the garage.