Barbed vs. barless debate resolved?

[Alosa]

Every once in a while the debate over barbed vs. barbless hooks rears it's ugly head. This can often lead to heated exchanges between individuals with differing views/opinions, usually with no factual basis other than personal experience. Well, we finally have some objectively collected data to truly consider the costs/benefits of fly fishing with barbless hooks.

A new study in the North American Journal of Fisheries Management, a peer-reviewed scientific journal that is well respected in the field of fisheries management, has just published a study on the 'catch efficiency' (CE) of fly fishing for trout in California using barbed and barbless hooks.

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02755947.2013.769920

In the interest of self education I encourage you all to read it. I found it very interesting. If you cannot access it, PM me with your email and I will pass it along. Incidentally, Bill Kiene himself helped with the study (see the acknowledgments section):D

Cheers,

Alosa

[Larry S]

A good discussion on this topic is going on over at "spey pages" under the "tackle" thread.
I debarb all flies. Besides the fish issue, consider removing the fly from yourself.
Best,
Larry S

[Frank R. Pisciotta]

I'm too cheap to purchase the full text for $26.00.

Is there any data on mortality rate, upon resuscitation, of barbed vs. barbless in the full text? In recent past (...and I can't quote the studies...), my recollection is that there seemed to have been little/minimal differential. In the distant past I used to tell people that mortality rate on barbless was less than 10% and Barbed hook mortality was at least 50%...can't quote those studies either...until that hypothesis was debunked with more recent studies.

Frank R....goes barbless like Larry S to avoid self-inflicted body-piercing...Pisciotta

[Charlie S]

I'm with Larry and Frank, barbless all the way. I have yet to get off a barbed or barbless hook but removing the barbless has been far less trouble and pain.

[Mike R]

The debate ended for me the first time I had to push out a 2/0 salmon fly out of my arm.

[TyV]

Thanks for sharing. Good to see some imperial data support what is simple common sense. A barbed hook will over time keep more fish buttoned. It also seems very simple and common sense that a barbed hook does more damage to human and fish flesh alike. Don't really need any data to confirm what is easy to comprehend.

I don't judge but believe if you are practicing catch and release, it makes no sense to throw barbed hooks. Is putting an extra fish or two in the net really worth any additional chance of mortality? Just sayin'!

[winxp_man]

So many places that dont allow barbed hooks it just gets hard to keep track and you have to worry about tickets! Pain in the rear to pull a barbed hook out of yourself, pain in the rear to release a fish if the hook is barbed...... Seems to me like to many pain in the rears. I just go barbless and call it a day. If you hold a nice tight line you can still pull in a lot of fish.

[Larry S]

A few years back, a young, friendly game warden beckoned to me as I was wading the Eel. The first thing he wanted
to see was the fly. It passed muster and he never commented about me not having my license displayed. Sure
glad they got rid of that inane regulation; which I never submitted to.
Best from the San Diego scofflaw,
Larry S

[JasonB]

Thanks for passing that along. Interesting, though doubtfull it will change any minds (or hooks). For those of us inclined to fish barbless I think the only real point that is likely to win over those who feel the need to use barbed hooks is the hook removal "experience" that Mike mentioned. I had a nasty one where a sz 2 weighted fly came back at me after freeing it from the bushes; went straight into the tip of my finger at high speed all the way up into the bend of the hook. I was SO thankfull that it had the barb well mashed down, or it would have been a very messy and painful experience. As far as fish mortality, I'd be very surprised if barbed hooks didn't have some increased impact, though probably nowhere near the difference between a single point or a treble hook (which is pretty much standard on all lures bought commercially). Unfortunately ...
JB

[Alosa]

On the face of it you all might think that the info being provided is obvious (the author alludes to as much), but this kind of work is needed for managers to make decisions about the fishery regulations that are published by CDFW, WDFW, ODFW etc. each year. This stuff matters to you and I and every other recreational angler out there.

Some other not-so-obvious things that I found interesting:

1) anglers fishing with dry flies, regardless of experience level, did better than those fishing with either streamers or nymphs;

2) experienced anglers did better than intermediate or novice anglers regardless of whether they fished with barbed or barbless hooks...which suggests that the more you fish the better you get at it (practice does make perfect)

[Frank R. Pisciotta]

Alousa---sounds like you have spent the $26, or you're a professor or grad student at the home of the golden slug...

Is there anything in the paper that provides data on mortality rates of barbed vs barbless hooks?

Frank R. Pisciotta

[gene goss]

A barbless hook that was designed and manfacture to be barbless, is a better fish catching tool then a barded hook with its barbed flatten down. Buy some barbless hooks and give it a try....you never go back to barbed hooks again.

[Alosa]

Alousa---sounds like you have spent the $26, or you're a professor or grad student at the home of the golden slug...

Is there anything in the paper that provides data on mortality rates of barbed vs barbless hooks?

Frank R. Pisciotta

I get free access through UCSC as a researcher.

The paper did mention that barbed hooks caused greater injury to the fish (not a surprise).

[bchris964]

No.doubt,tools help the practitioner but the result is on the hands of practitioners.In
fishing,hooks play vital role in remarkable success but practice makes a man perfect.

[RenoLipRipper]

Barbless all the way. Been barbless for last 20+ years. You can land alot of fish with a barbless hook. What I like is the auto release that sometimes happens while fish has not made it to the net. Or when fish is in the net sometimes the hook is out almost immediately without me having to handle the fish at all. I prefer this. Seems like the rubber Catch & Release net helps alot. But when the above does not happen and I have to handle fish to get the barbless hook out (with prewet hands) it is usually (99.9%) of the time so much easier. I catch and release 100% of the fish caught, and 99.9% of the time they are lip hooked which makes it easy to get the barbless hook out. Plus the above mentioned ease of taking a barbless hook out of clothing/skin etc. makes it so much better. Also more challenging to catch fish without barbs. Many times I have hooked myself mainly at Pyramid when the winds are blowing from the wrong direction for my casting. Hooks come out easy.