I hate barbed hooks

[fish gunner]

I tie my own flys ,some down to size 18.a fly that small fished with a barb may only last one fish,due to the difficulty of removal. the same fly fished barbless,may last a half dozen fish due to ease of removal.yes the odd fish may be lost useing barbless,but I can assure you that is no fault of the hook.
for me this is a no brainer,barbs are hard on fish hands down.who in the barbed camp wants to try taking a barbed hook out of a great white,theres a study I would like to be a witness to.

[AxeMan]

Here are my own personal observations after fishing many years with both barbed and barbless hooks:

Are barbless easier and quicker to remove from the fish with less damage? Yes
Do I lose more fish with barbless hooks? Yes
Can my super fishing skill prevent me from losing those fish? No
Am I okay with the barbless rules? Yes

All the other stuff is pretty subjective imho.

[Paul C]

Wondering if there is any studies done by SRD that have supported the barbless issue. The fish that take the hook down deep barbless of barbed does the same amount of damage.

[Gust]

Originally Posted by Paul C

Wondering if there is any studies done by SRD that have supported the barbless issue. The fish that take the hook down deep barbless of barbed does the same amount of damage.

That's kind of what I was getting at a few posts back,,, when a fish hits the bait with a barbed hook chances are it will stay at that part of the mouth but if it swims and double gulps with a barbless it just unhooks and works it's way more towards the throat. i'm a barbless beleiver but this ha puzzled me for awhile

[catnthehat]

Originally Posted by huntsfurfish

Why couldnt they?

Your right studies are useless. Klein ignored them too.

Becuase they were in too dam deep for me to get out.
My own findings were enough for me, and my kids learned to fish wit safety glasses on as well, is that a useless thing , too?
Cat

[AxeMan]

Gustav, no doubt in my mind that what you are describing happens. If I am fishing for trout with bait and a barbless hook and I let the fish take the bait for a while the hook is usually very deep or even down the hatch. I try to set the hook as soon I feel that the fish has my bait in its mouth. This more often than not reduces very deep hooking.

[Gust]

Originally Posted by AxeMan

Gustav, no doubt in my mind that what you are describing happens. If I am fishing for trout with bait and a barbless hook and I let the fish take the bait for a while the hook is usually very deep or even down the hatch. I try to set the hook as soon I feel that the fish has my bait in its mouth. This more often than not reduces very deep hooking.

Trout is never a problem but pike in the fall, it has happened in view,, you'd figure that they'd spit it when reeling them in, maybe it's that reflex in their mouth???. It's not so much a problem for me as I use good quality long shank single hooks.

[Mike_W]

Once a fish is hooked barbed or barbless that hook ain't going to get " gulped" down any further.... There is just too much tension on the line!

[huntsfurfish]

Originally Posted by Freedom55

...to an issue that has nothing what-so-ever to do with a past great leader of the province and every thing to do with ethical sportsmanship.

I, and others, have fished barbless for decades; BC went barbless and I caught salmon in the Queen Charlottes, as it was called then, on barbless teaspoon spinners or single hook roe bag/slip float fishing. Big salmon. In rivers, not off shore.

Alberta soon went to barbless (too bad about not going single barbless) and nothing changed, except I had to go through my whole tackle box and mash down the barbs on the balance of my lures.

Saskatchewan demands barbless in all catch and release waters, including slot size waters like the Saskatchewan River where the Vanity Cup is held. Imagine 160 boats with some touring pros and many semi-pros (pardon the pun) catching 10-16 pound walleyes on 6 lb line and size 12 barbless hooks. I have done it myself; last September I hooked onto more than a few trophy walleyes using 6lb fluoro and a single barbless #12 octopus hook, a leech and a borrowed super light rod/reel that was rigged for a right hander. I am a lefty and had to quickly learn to go "goofy-hand" to fight the fishes. Barbless tiny hook using a technique never tried before and feeling like a rock star because I did it! No whining about small tackle and light gear or any blaming of the government of the distant past for putting me in that situation!

There's the science. An actual laboratory experiment that worked as advertised, done by a qualified technician in a controlled environment that proves hands down that barbless works. Not to mention that since my first encounter with the new rule I had to mash the barbs on one small box of lures. Now I have three big boxes and several bags full of trays. I routinely tie 100 spinner rigs/ lindy rigs per season and not one barb in the mix.

More science. The kids that fish with us do not know the difference as they have never fished with a barbed hook, and manage as well as the next kid in learning how to land fish. We also teach patience and sportsmanship.
We rarely fish with people who think they are exempt from rules and when we do, we make a few subtle changes in their attitude or we put them ashore.

Get off your whinyhorse and give it an honest try. But do not evoke the name of Ralph Klein, or anybody else for that matter, in your pathetic attempt to blame someone else for your failings.

Free (to agree with the OP)

What you have posted is hardly "science", in fact actually hardly worth reading(a little insulting but then I look at the source).

I fish barbless, it is the law(albeit a useless one).

Klein screwed up - get over it!

[huntsfurfish]

Originally Posted by catnthehat

Becuase they were in too dam deep for me to get out.
My own findings were enough for me, and my kids learned to fish wit safety glasses on as well, is that a useless thing , too?
Cat

Sorry cat, I still think it should be the individuals choice rather than law when there is no conclusive evidence to support barbless.

And I also think it should be your choice on removal, I will remove my own hooks (barbed or barbless)

Safety of your kids is paramount.

Good fishin to you man!

[flyguyd]

Originally Posted by Mike_W

Once a fish is hooked barbed or barbless that hook ain't going to get " gulped" down any further.... There is just too much tension on the line!

I wouldnt be so sure . Have ever hooked an acrobatic , frisky 5 lb rainbow on a barbless fly in fas****er. I fished barbless alot before the law came in and alot of the bigger fish were hooked in the corner of the mouth at release time but were bleeding from other places inside the mouth. This leads me to believe that the hook is coming out and hooking in somewheres else between hook set and release Big frisky rainbows got lots of fight and even the best fisherman cant always keep up.

[catnthehat]

Originally Posted by huntsfurfish

Sorry cat, I still think it should be the individuals choice rather than law when there is no conclusive evidence to support barbless.

And I also think it should be your choice on removal, I will remove my own hooks (barbed or barbless)

Safety of your kids is paramount.

Good fishin to you man!

if you look back i said that I could care less about the law and if it is a bad law or a good one, , I choose to use barbless hooks, and yes, it really should be up to the individual.


Personally I think there are far more reasons for fish mortality.
Cat

[huntsfurfish]

Originally Posted by catnthehat

if you look back i said that I could care less about the law and if it is a bad law or a good one, , I choose to use barbless hooks, and yes, it really should be up to the individual.


Personally I think there are far more reasons for fish mortality.
Cat

I agree Cat

[huntsfurfish]

Originally Posted by flyguyd

I wouldnt be so sure . Have ever hooked an acrobatic , frisky 5 lb rainbow on a barbless fly in fas****er. I fished barbless alot before the law came in and alot of the bigger fish were hooked in the corner of the mouth at release time but were bleeding from other places inside the mouth. This leads me to believe that the hook is coming out and hooking in somewheres else between hook set and release Big frisky rainbows got lots of fight and even the best fisherman cant always keep up.

Interesting, I have caught a few fish that were bleeding from places other than where they were hooked. Makes sense now.

[WayneChristie]

Originally Posted by Freedom55

...to an issue that has nothing what-so-ever to do with a past great leader of the province and every thing to do with ethical sportsmanship.


Free (to agree with the OP)

so in your opinion the many thousands(millions?) of anglers who fished from the beginning of time until the barbless rule were totally unethical? and every fisherperson who doesnt live where barbless hooks are the law are unethical.

[Bhflyfisher]

Originally Posted by Mike_W

Maybe its just me but I am struggling to see how if that hook was barbed it wouldnt "saw" into the fish?

Exactly my thoughts, If there is tension on the line and anglers horsing fish in, that angler applying force will create that "saw" as you say. That barbed hook or barbless is going in just a deep as its counter part.

So sick of hearing this, "oh barbed hooks dont harm fish like barbless do for reason a, reason b, and reason c." Seriously, wake up and give your head a shake.

Its kind of funny how alberta is completely barbless, and i'll bet a good percentage of this forum dont follow that regulation.

If you're that worried about losing a fish here and there, you need to really think hard as to why you fish in the first place, and if you're still of the mindset that barbed hooks cause less damage you need to ----->

[huntsfurfish]

Originally Posted by Bhflyfisher

Exactly my thoughts, If there is tension on the line and anglers horsing fish in, that angler applying force will create that "saw" as you say. That barbed hook or barbless is going in just a deep as its counter part.

So sick of hearing this, "oh barbed hooks dont harm fish like barbless do for reason a, reason b, and reason c." Seriously, wake up and give your head a shake.

Its kind of funny how alberta is completely barbless, and i'll bet a good percentage of this forum dont follow that regulation.

If you're that worried about losing a fish here and there, you need to really think hard as to why you fish in the first place, and if you're still of the mindset that barbed hooks cause less damage you need to ----->

Its OK if you dont get the point.




And that wouldnt surprise me either. Its an unpopular law. In fact one of the studies I read (dont remember which one exactly but believe it was from an upper western state(Northwest State)) mentioned that in their study. Claiming that if would be very unpopular and would not be followed by many anglers. Thereby creating a situation that would possibly lead to worse infractions or something to that effect(getting old dont remember exactly). Incidently they also found barb/barbless issue inconclusive.

[braxxtonn]

Well I know for sure when i go to the Jackfish ice derby this Saturday in Sask I am gonna have some huge barbs on my hook, dont want to loose that $150 000.00
fish !!!

[huntsfurfish]

Lol

[WayneChristie]

Originally Posted by Bhflyfisher

Its kind of funny how alberta is completely barbless, and i'll bet a good percentage of this forum dont follow that regulation.

and what do you base that assumption on? you ever fish with any other members?

[Mike_W]

Originally Posted by flyguyd

I wouldnt be so sure . Have ever hooked an acrobatic , frisky 5 lb rainbow on a barbless fly in fas****er. I fished barbless alot before the law came in and alot of the bigger fish were hooked in the corner of the mouth at release time but were bleeding from other places inside the mouth. This leads me to believe that the hook is coming out and hooking in somewheres else between hook set and release Big frisky rainbows got lots of fight and even the best fisherman cant always keep up.

Oh I agree that a hook may come dislodged from deeper in the mouth and catch again on the way out. I was stating that a hooked fish "gulping" a barbless hook further into its is petty darm near impossible if there is any tention on the line.

And for the record I am not ststing that any angler fishing with barbs is unethical I just know why I do it!

[madatter]

Originally Posted by huntsfurfish

Sorry cat, I still think it should be the individuals choice rather than law when there is no conclusive evidence to support barbless.

And I also think it should be your choice on removal, I will remove my own hooks (barbed or barbless)

Safety of your kids is paramount.

Good fishin to you man!

Well after fishing for most of my life,barbed and barbless I can honestly make my own conclusion....
There is no comparison between removing a barbed hook(especially a treble) and a barbless one.
Be it removing the hook from me or a fish a barbless hook is easier,requires less handling of the fish.
If less handling of the fish means a higher survivability rate....which I believe it does then barbless is the only way to go...
Useless law...I don't think so!

[TyreeUM]

Originally Posted by Freedom55

...to an issue
....I, and others, have fished barbless for decades....
Alberta soon went to barbless.....Saskatchewan demands barbless....I have done it myself; last September I hooked onto more than a few trophy walleyes...feeling like a rock star because I did it!
There's the science....More science....We rarely fish with people who think they are exempt from rules....in your pathetic attempt to blame someone else for your failings.
Free (to agree with the OP)

What the hell was that...

[ak-71]

Cought myself on a barbed trebble (new lure, never used) in a crammed tackle box. Took a while to push it through the frozen finger and cut the barb with left hand. No more debarbing when I need it for me.

[Jwood 456]

From my personal experience, the few times I used barbed trebles, they wound up making a large mess of the fish and were a real pain to pull out. Whenever using trebles now, I cut one of the points off of the treble and with no barbs, I have found that it is day and night easier to pull the hook out of the fishe's mouth and doesn't make such a mess of the fish either.

[huntsfurfish]

Originally Posted by madatter

Well after fishing for most of my life,barbed and barbless I can honestly make my own conclusion....
There is no comparison between removing a barbed hook(especially a treble) and a barbless one.
Be it removing the hook from me or a fish a barbless hook is easier,requires less handling of the fish.
If less handling of the fish means a higher survivability rate....which I believe it does then barbless is the only way to go...
Useless law...I don't think so!

If it makes you feel better.


It really doesnt seem to make much difference whether the hook is barbed or barbless.

Useless law
And at the very least a needless law.

[Mike_W]

Originally Posted by huntsfurfish

If it makes you feel better.


It really doesnt seem to make much difference whether the hook is barbed or barbless.

Useless law
And at the very least a needless law.

No more feeding the troll guys!!

[TyreeUM]

As I stated before, I have been researching this topic for quite sometime for reasons not important to this thread, and to be honest, I have really been on the fence with this one. I have no doubt in my mind that the people on this thread that think it should be up to the angler are more than likely fishing at a level where there would be no statistically significant difference in mortality if they fished a barbed hook or not. It is the average and below average joe that cant pop a barbless hook out the way you can that end up mishandling the fish, thus resulting in a higher level of mortality after the release. I think this is reason enough for me to lobby for barbless.

[BeeGuy]

Originally Posted by TyreeUM

As I stated before, I have been researching this topic for quite sometime for reasons not important to this thread, and to be honest, I have really been on the fence with this one. I have no doubt in my mind that the people on this thread that think it should be up to the angler are more than likely fishing at a level where there would be no statistically significant difference in mortality if they fished a barbed hook or not. It is the average and below average joe that cant pop a barbless hook out the way you can that end up mishandling the fish, thus resulting in a higher level of mortality after the release. I think this is reason enough for me to lobby for barbless.

Do you have any good primary literature references handy?

[TyreeUM]

Originally Posted by BeeGuy

Do you have any good primary literature references handy?

you should be able to find a decent amount of abstracts on google scholar and a few full PDF's as well. If you are still having trouble let me know.