I read with interest the posts on everyone's favorite hooks. I'm wondering what people's experiences have been with barbless vs. barbed hooks. I know some rivers require them, but I'm curious at to what readers think it costs them in terms of % of hookups lost that otherwise would be landed.

When I fish the Outback in Australia we're in the middle of nowhere. For safety the guides make certain that every barb on every hook is smashed down so it can be extracted from an angler's hide. (On these trips, over the course of a week more often than not someone usually ends up impaled thanks to a flying lure or a thrashing fish.) As a result, all my saltwater fishing is done barbless (rather than bother to change hooks)even back home. But I'll also tell you that there's a real reduction in fish landed, too, particularly with spoons but also plugs, jigs and even single hooks.

For steelhead and salmon I've experimented with barbless hooks when drift fishing as it's easier on the fish (and some authorities like Bill Herzog note it's easier to get good hooksets, too, especially with large single hooks on spinners and spoons).

My partner's and my experience is that we lose more than with barbed hooks, so we've more less dropped that idea on a voluntary basis. Anyone have any thoughts?

P.S. On the topic of 'What's my hook?' I use Gamakatsu Octopuses as the first choice as I don't have to sharpen the suckers out of the box. Eagle Claw Lazersharps are a good alternative, however, and I carry these as backups.

A couple of years ago I bought a handful of painted Gamakatsus in fluoro and hot pink for drift fishing in low light. I dropped several fish in a row until I figured out that what MIGHT be happening is that the paint on the hook was impeding penetration. I filed the paint off to beyond the half-way point of the bend, and started hanging on to the fish. (Also stopped buying the hooks as it didn't make much sense to pay extra for paint only to file off more than half of it!)

In the hook discussion, no one's mentioned whether stainless steel hooks should be avoided because they don't rust out of fish. Is leaving a single hook in a fish's mouth going to be that serious a health issue in any event? Bob, your thoughts?

Hi Brad,

Love these topics...

My home river went barbless a few years ago, just as an experiment. You should have heard the old timers complain. :-0 No offense to the elder crowd. I figured I lost 50% of my good hook-ups that year? Maybe that was my fault??

I would like to hear what the pros (especailly the, "Really Big One") feel about cutting off a hook that is swallowed? I absolutely hate to see it but you do from time to time. ???? Thanks

I float tube in Eastern Wash a couple times each year using flies with barbless hooks. I noticed that the only fish lost were break-offs and releasing them was a breeze. Some of those 'bows are HUGE!
Now that Gami makes barbless steelhead hooks I thought I'd give them a try. I have not noticed any significant fish loss while steelheading, but a good comparison might be one of my trips to the Satsop. Took a buddy down for salmon and hit it just right, fish everywhere! The 2 of us must have landed 40-45 salmon, mostly chums, 1 beautiful king hen (25 lbs. released), and brought home 4 dandy silvers. The only difference I noticed was that I was able to release the fish immediately and my friend always had to use the pliers. I strongly feel the only time your going to lose a fish with barbless hooks while drift fishing, is if you slack line. I have no experience with barbless hooks on plugs or hardware so that may be a different story.
As far as cutting your line with a gut hooked fish, is there any other way? Even using barbless hooks, I hate to put any pressure on their gills or throat. Just my thoughts………

I fish over here on the east side and our rivers went barbless last season. I didn't really keep tabs on how I did last year but this year I'm 17 for 19 on hookups to landed fish all on barbless hooks. (yes, probably more luck than skill I admit that!) One of the two I lost happened to be trolling a plug in the Snake river however I fish mostly jig and bobber or drift corkies and eggs on the smaller rivers here. So I really havn't seen a large increase in lost fish due to the use of barbless hooks but it sure is a lot easier to let the fish go. I do think it probably makes a difference when trolling a plug on big waters such as the Snake river. Here it may take 5-10 seconds to notice the strike and then take the rod out of the holder and set the hook, giving the fish just enough time to get free. But in waters where you pay direct attention either by feeling the strike or seeing a bobber go under I think you have little disatvantage caused by barbless hooks. You really do have to pay very close attention to playing the fish though, any slack line and it's bye bye fishy.

Snagly,

I've been using barbless hooks for steelhead fishing since C&R seasons began on the Skagit in 1981. Although I've had my moments when I was sure barbless was costing me landed fish (lost 11 consecutive one year), overall it seems like the % landed has remained about the same, barbed or barbless. Actually, I'm amazed at the number of times I've slack-lined a fish so as to release it without actually having to land it, and the hook wouldn't drop out! Sometimes that barbless hook can get pretty stuck in Mr. Steelhead's jaw.

One thing for sure, barbless hooks are a lot easier to get out of my coat and hat (I flyfish)!

Sincerely,

Salmo g.

For jigs I always pinch the barb down halfway, allows me alot easier hook penetration with some barb to hold the hook in there. I very seldom ever lose a fish on a jig, generally landing 85% of my hookups.

It's probably best to leave a hook in the fish if it's deep, or if it's in an area that is prone to heavy bleeding ... for those of you with any first-aid training ... remember, you always leave the impaling object in place!

Quite frankly, I can't say for sure if the hooks 'rot' or 'rust' out over time ... I've heard conflicting info on this ... personally, I can't say that I've ever found a fish with a hook still in it that appeared to be half rusted ... but then again, all the hooks I've found in fish appear to be pretty new too ... so???? I'd still vote for snipping the line and leaving if in doubt ... NEVER yank the hook out ... I've heard several reporst of at least three guides working this area now using this technique freedrifting bait on tiny hooks ... I can't imagine this to be very beneficial to the fish.

On standard size bait hooks, the barbed vs. non-barbed debate is moot if the fish are played even halfway in the manner in which they should ... same can be said for trebles (I run small barbless trebles for all steelie fishing ... just as many landed, fewer fish hooked deep, and easy hook removal from wild fish).

The only time where I've felt at a disadvantage with a barbless hook ... fishing small (6-12's) flies for steelies ... I do seem to lose more, perhaps because there isn't a lot of hook there to begin with to grab hold ... does not seem to make much difference with the bigger hooks.

Leave it to me to find out what is probably the worst combination: barbless on heavier hardware, using low-stretch line on a heavy-action rod, fishing for fish that like to jump right off the bat and continue jumping.

I fish primarily with spinners, and I found that it was alot easier to release fish with barbless trebles on my spinners. I moved up here from Oregon this year, and found it interesting that the rules call for single barbless hooks most of the time. I feel the larger size used in the singles will actually cause more damage to the fish than a treble that is barbless. especially in the spring, and summer when I catch alot of trout, and smolts.