Barbed vs Barbless Hooks ................. again

[corsican dave]

I did wonder at one point (no pun intended) if I was not setting the hooks well enough, by logic tells me that barbless hooks should be easier to set than barbed hooks.

precisely how i felt, Fred. i was beginning to think i'd lost whatever touch i had. 8 pike on, (enough to bend the rod over and pull some line, then off  :?) in one session, was the final straw.

[silverbutcher]

I squash the barbs on all my flies. I don't care how many troot I lose any more, as I know I will still get a few to hang on now and again. It is just so much easier to slip the hook out and return them. And it's easier pull them out of yourself or your clothing.  :lol:

Billy

[Wildfisher]

I was out for a few hours last night on the local stream. I hooked 6 fish, landed 6 fish. All on a fly tied on a Partridge Klinkhamer Extreme - the absolute worst holding hooks on the planet - it had the barb left on. Seemed to me a good hook to use as a trial as it is so bad.  I had some trouble unhooking one of the fish but it was OK. The fish were all on the small side, which was even better for the trial as I am sure  smaller fish are more likely to drop off than bigger ones. I was going to squash the barb down and continue fishing to see if I started losing fish,  but it got chilly and the fish went down, so that idea was stuffed!

[Robbie]

I always fish with de-barbed hooks, generally done at the vice. Thinking about it now I have noticed that I have dropped quite a few bandies on the Luther his year, never really noticed it before. However I don't think I would switch to barbed flies due to the risk of damaging the fish.

[Wildfisher]

I've been trial using barbed hooks for a week or so now. I have not lost a single fish. 

[Wildfisher]

Apparently  that is true. Mackerel, if handled die. However it is suggested that if they are shaken off a barbless hook without handling they might be OK.

http://www.sacn.org.uk/Articles/Releasing_Mackerel.html

I kill and eat mine, The Dug also loves them.    The way I look at it is the tiny number I take will make little impact compared to what is taken in the wholesale slaughter of commercial fishing by  Norway,  Faero, Iceland, Scotland and beyond. This is one fish I would not fish for if I did not intend to keep them.

[Alastair]

I've found there is a big difference between some of the manufactured barbless hooks, and ones where the barb is just mashed down.  Barbless hooks which have an offset point seem to hang onto the fish a lot better.  One of the reasons for using a barbless hook is that it comes out easier when you go to release a fish so it stands to reason that it will come out easier when you're fighting a fish.  This is especially true if the fish gets any slack during the fight.  Using manufactured barbless hooks with an offset point, I'm holding on to 90%+ of the fish I hook.

[Wildfisher]

That makes  a lot of sense, Can you recommend a good brand of proper barbless hook Alastair?

[Laxdale]

I prefer barbed hooks, although I like short points and micro barbs as opposed to Salar type hooks (long point and big barb).
The bottom line is that more than enough of the silver scaley hoors fall off whilst using barbed hooks without the added difficulty of barbless hooks.

[corsican dave]

I've found there is a big difference between some of the manufactured barbless hooks, and ones where the barb is just mashed down.  Barbless hooks which have an offset point seem to hang onto the fish a lot better.  Using manufactured barbless hooks with an offset point, I'm holding on to 90%+ of the fish I hook.

funnily enough, i was surmising exactly the opposite about my ad swier pike hooks! the offset was one of the differences i could see from my preferred tiemco 811s. the curve of the ad swier may also have something to do with the hook up rate, tho'. it's very suggestive of a massive grubber style.

drop me a line Alastair and i'll post you some to try alongside your preferred brand.... :