Barbs allowed on hooks? True or false

[Passthru]

All my stuff is barbless, just easier to remove the hook. Also, 70% of my fishing is catch and release fly fishing. Never killed a fish on barbless single hooks but barbed treble hooks are a different story

[35 whelen]

As a fishing guide and lodge manager for over 20yrs ,I can tell you that I have released thousands of fish on barbed and unbarbed hooks ,taken hooks out of clients seen people flown out of camps to hospitals .IMO BARBLESS IS THE ONLY WAY TO GO ,maybe for certain circumstances ,small flies, small treble but over all BARBLESS

[Dragless]

if ur fly fishing most peopl know you get a better hook set with a barbless hooks and as long you keep tension you don't lose any more than you normally would , but to be honest when I'm ice fishing for walleye or jack I leave the barn on because a lot of fish get off right at the hole trying to turn their heads up the hole maybe I just need a bigger auger lol but if you pay attention to your lines and get to them before they swallow the hook it's not an issue ,

[DiabeticKripple]

jigging i used barbed, trolling i used barbless.

i just grab the fish, and a pair of pliers, twist and pull and the barb pops out, fish back into the water.

[pikergolf]

I fish a quality managed fishery, so lots of releases. It's very easy to see the fish that have been caught and released on barbed hooks. Lips are mangled and swollen.

[diamond k]

Originally Posted by waterninja

WOW, are you guys kidding me? I thought it was common knowledge that barbed hooks is what you use if you want to release your catch with the least amount of damage/trauma.
Odds are much greater of a lip or lower jaw hookup with a barbed hook (esp treble) then with a barbless hook. Fish tend to swallow a barbless hook, which makes for a diffucult safe release. I've read 70%, but even if it's 50% still a good reason to stick (pun) with barbed hooks.

Can you please provide reference to your claim or better if you could post this study. There is no way this is true and would like to see what data was used to come to this conclusion.

[waterninja]

Originally Posted by diamond k

Can you please provide reference to your claim or better if you could post this study. There is no way this is true and would like to see what data was used to come to this conclusion.

OH boy. Around the time that they changed the barbless law here in Alberta there were a lot of so called experts talking about the pro's and con's of the new law. Some were simply experianced anglers and guides, and some had an educational or scientific background. I clearly remember watching a video that had a fish biologist say that there was a much higher mortality rate when using a barbless hook. He sounded pretty solid and knowledgeble and made a very good case.
I'm sure that like anything else, you could find an "expert" to argue both sides of this issue, but I will add that I have personally found that fish are more often lip hooked with a barbed hook and easier to release. I will stick with barbed hooks as long as they are legal.

[DiabeticKripple]

Originally Posted by waterninja

OH boy. Around the time that they changed the barbless law here in Alberta there were a lot of so called experts talking about the pro's and con's of the new law. Some were simply experianced anglers and guides, and some had an educational or scientific background. I clearly remember watching a video that had a fish biologist say that there was a much higher mortality rate when using a barbless hook. He sounded pretty solid and knowledgeble and made a very good case.
I'm sure that like anything else, you could find an "expert" to argue both sides of this issue, but I will add that I have personally found that fish are more often lip hooked with a barbed hook and easier to release. I will stick with barbed hooks as long as they are legal.

im sure youre confusing barbed with baited.

i fail to see how a barbless hook would cause a higher mortality. the barb is on the inside of the hook, so a barbed hook would go just as deep into their mouth as a barbless. The barb never pentrates the lip until the hook is set, which is the same point that the hook would be set with a barbless.

with bait they hook deeper.