Fishing barbless? Why not.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

I know this is a controversy in our sport but I have a few good reason for promoting that we fish barbless:

1) Safety.........serious stuff.

2) California and other states have areas that are barbless now. If you don't get the barb down or down completely you will be fined. If they take the fly that is on your leader and run it through some fabric and it does not come out without catching, you are fined.

3) It is faster and easier to get the fly out of a fish. Makes it easier on the fish. Less damage and stress.

4) It makes it easier on the flies too. Less energy to get the flies out of the fish means that the flies can last longer. Once you twist the body loose causing it to rotate on the hook the fly will start to come apart.

5) I forgot to mention that hook penetration could be better without a barb.

That all said, it is hard to get lots of commercial flies on barbless hooks and you can't get all the hooks in barbless yet either.

PS: Bob Giannoni and Neil Bohannon actually converted me in 1975.

I guess the only arguments are for making sure you land that trophy for the camera or the frying pan?

[Brett]

Considering my recent experience with a barbed hook, I am all for barbless. Every fly I fish is either mashed down or barbless.

[jbird]

Bill

I can honestly say I havnt noticed a difference in hook/land ratio (for me) with barbed or barbless. I am 100% for barbless hooks...I just need to be more diligent in pinching them!

Jay

[Hairstacker]

I'm all for barbless as well. I haven't noticed a difference in hook/land ratio for me either, and it is SO much easier to remove a large hook from a nice bass when there's no barb to deal with.

[2short]

I like barbless for their ability to facilitate a long line release. If I'm hooking lots of fish many times I can put slack in the line and the little guys can wiggle off on their own with no need to land/handle them. Also helps if bream keep getting a fly intended for bass.
2short

[JerryInLodi]

Hard mouthed fish like stripers are easier to hook with a barbless hook. Even with a good strong strip set, it can get difficult to pull the flared portion of the barb through the fish's tissue if you've got 60 feet of line including stretchy amnesia and a six foot 12# tippet. I definately do better keeping a fish on the line with barbless.

Usually, when I LDR a fish after it's turned on it's first run, if I check my fly, I find that I've neglected to mash down the barb and the hook probably did not completely set. Shame on me!

[NorCalFlyGuy]

I've been 100% barbless for the past 15 or so years and have never felt I lost a fish due to the barb being turned down

if anything, it's just the opposite

using barbless hooks makes gentle strikes more likely to result in a solid hooking and certainly makes it easier to release the fish

[Darian]

Since the original question is related to fly fishing (e.g. the intended audience, etc.), would you see a solution (regulatory or other) applying to all types of fishing (e.g. bait, lures, other)

I only pose the question as it appears (....as it always has) that manufacturers haven't gotten the message. Maybe the current state of affairs (barbless in specific waters, voluntary compliance....) is adequte

Don't want to appear to lecture here, but, as a whole, the average guy who does "fly fishing" with typical fly gear is fairly high up on Maslow Hierarchy of Basic Needs and has some time to contemplate such matters. A lot of other fisherman (some fly guys) might not agree that barbless hooks are best, regardless of what you and I think. That, in turn, drives what manufacturers produce. Market forces drive this. Some manufacturers have responded on a limited basis. I frequently see their barbless products on the sale table in some of the fly shops I frequent. Apparently, those hooks don't sell as well a barbed hooks.

Oh well,.... I guess I'll just hope that my crimed barbs are flat enough not to cath in the test material. Didja know that in California, if you're caught in a barbless only area with barbed hooks in your box, you could be cited

[JerryInLodi]

Darian,

Regarding barbed hooks NOT on your line. You may be cited but it's a loosing case for the DA. However who wants the hassle?

I was fishing at Manzanita Lake, probably 15 years ago in my pram, when a ranger made me disassemble a second rod that I had rigged in the pram, you know, one rod for drys, one for wet.

He defined the rigged rod as, "fishing with two rods." This guy would have gone completely bonkers if he ever saw a Bass Masters Tournament!