Crimp your barbs! Yuba DFG rangers checking!!

[ffgenie]

File or crimp those barbs!

I was on the Yuba ~ 4 days ago below the bridge, and a DFG guy was checking regulations - the whole works - license, asking about the rules, etc. He asked to see my stimulator, and tested the barb on his shirt.

It got stuck but he let it slide saying he could see I tried to crimp the barb down as best I could. He did warn that other colleagues would probably have ticketed nonetheless.

In fact, he told me one week ago, another colleague was out on the Yuba on the weekend and ticketed a whole slew of people for barb issues.

Don't say you haven't been warned!

-Gene C

[Adam Grace]

Thanks for the reminder

Barbless fly fishing is a sporting way to fish that will never get you in trouble for unfamiliar regulated fishing water.

Sometimes hemostats can only crush the barbs down partially. I generally take my specialized barb crushers to the flies that I purchase. I crush the barbs before I tie my flies. Any vise should easily crush most barbs.

Barbless flies add more challenge to our challenging sport

[Hairstacker]

I crimp down the barbs of ALL my hooks, even the ones I use for bass and bluegill. Yet, I've noticed when I pull them out of fleece patches on my vest or hat that they tend to catch. After hearing last year that rangers were testing hooks on their shirts, I started converting my stock of trout hooks over to barbless. Unfortunately, not all of the manufacturers stock a full range of hooks in barbless models (Tiemco is pretty good about that, though) and very few fly shops carry a decent range of models and sizes (I suspect they don't sell well). Pretty sad that it's not good enough to make a good faith effort to ensure a barb is well-crimped....

[Adam Grace]

Hairstacker, We do carry quite a bit of TMC barbless hooks. We switched over most of our hooks two years ago because Bill likes to promote barbless fishing.

I'm glad to hear that you only fish barbless. NICE

[DonCooksey]

I have had trouble recently with weakened hooks that I smashed the barbs down on. I had three or four #18 hooks break on pheasant tail nymph patterns when fishing big fish on Tim Alper's pond this last fall. Of course, these were 7-12 pound fish, but I was fishing with 4X or 5X tippet, so the hook should not have been the first thing to break. I was happy to net one 25-inch rainbow, but I had never experienced the broken hooks like that. All the more reason for tying with barbless hooks when available in the needed styles. Any others with this problem? I use a pair of flat needle-nose pliers to smash the barbs down, but I am not aware of putting any additional pressure on the curve of the hook (where it breaks) while smashing the barb. Anyone else had fun being towed around in a float tube by a big fish?

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

I wish it would just go all barbless for many reasons.

The biggest one is the safety of all fly fishers.

I have an old friend who was up on the Trinity River a long time ago(10years?) and they had a barbless rule mostly to help in the summer salmon snagging. He did not have any idea and would never knowing break the law. I think he got a fine and had to pay over $1000. He was so personally upset by this that he will never go up there again.

I hear they do pull your fly into some material and if it catches they can give you a ticket.

If you pinch dow all your barbs you don't have to worry.

[Darian]

Hi Don,..... a size 18 hook doesn't present much of a gap to insert a pair of needlenose pliers..... Maybe the edge of the jaw is, inadvertantly, touching the bend of the hook I've been using a pair of flatnose or duckbill pliers with success but don't tie flies that small...

It really bothers me that DFG Wardens don't have some uniform standard for testing whether a hook is debarbed or not. Establishing/publishing a standard is not rocket science. Setting a uniform standard would protect the resource, allow fishermen to easily obey the law and eliminate any hostile reactions to issuance of citations.

I have a lot of respect for for DFG wardens because they have a tough job and do it alone for the most part. Wardens have, as part of their duties, the assessment of fees on commercial fishing operations, etc. In view of that and poaching/smuggling activities in this state, I don't see this activity as the highest use of limited warden resources.

[Rob]

There are a lot of cheap hooks out. I have had a problem with the barb breaking off or the hooks breaking. These are on the flies I buy.
I have a file for the ones that the barbs break off.
Rob

[Adam Grace]

Rob, good point about using a file or hone to file down the stubs of a broken off barb. The remaining stub of metal could easily be considered a barb.

It is smart and safe idea to file bown those stubs to decrease or eliminate any problems with DFG wardens.

[Jgoding]

A lot of guys use their fly tying vise to do it as well. Stick the hookin facing down and twist it.... but I don't know, I wouldn't put my vice jaws through that wear and tear personally.

Jeff