Barbed or Barbless Hooks?

[Andy Mcsweeney]

I've heard different thing from people about this, but which is actually better?

 

Barbed or barbless Hooks...

 

Barbed because once you got the fish it stays on the hook...

 

Barbless because it the line snaps the fish can get the hook out of its mouth..

 

Please help

[casts_by_fly]

barbless because they do less harm to the fishes mouth. You will get much deeper penetration of a barbless hook than a barbed hook. It makes unhooking the fish a lot easier (once in the net the hook will often back out on its own before you get there). And it makes unhooking YOU a lot easier should you get one into your skin.

 

The only place I don't like barbless hooks is fishing artificials for bass (largemouth/smallmouth) as the artificials have a tendency to throw hooks out anyway.

 

I'm surprised that ALL of the commercial fisheries don't require barbless hooks.

 

Thanks,

Rick

[fruitloopy]

From reading a lot of Steve Burke's articles about Perch fishing he is very much of the opinion that barbed hooks are much more beneficial as it prevents deep hooking of Perch.

As Steve has 30+ years of Perch fishing I will be using barbed hooks when targeting these.

 

For all others I would opt for barbless as it is easier to get the hook out and as already mentioned, the fish can usually eject it if the line breaks.

[Dick Dastardly]

For some time now I have felt that both have their place.Different jobs and different species require different hooks.I hate it when rules remove my right to make the best selection.

 

In general I persopnally use barbless in all sizes under 14 now and barbed in sizes over this. The choice of size 14 to 10 does often vary though dependant on the situation.All bigger hooks I normaly use barbed.

 

Barbless cause less damage when removed and the deeper penetration means less fish come off if played correctly.Trouble is that with bigger barbless hooks this same deeper penetration can also cause problems.Species such as perch can be easily killed by a hook penetrating deeply due to the location of the heart. The over large single hooks often tried for pike can also cause death due to penetration as well. Another problem with barbless hooks is that when used for big fish (not pike) they do move about more in the flesh and are prone to making holes and tears.

 

I always use semi barbless for pike fish and trebles at that.Makes for hooking and unhooking being so much easier.

 

The main problem with barbed hooks (other than poor penetration) is the damage that can be done by in experienced or careless anglers when removing them.This can be avoided so in my veiw is a problem with the angler not the hook!

 

Pro's and con's, horses for courses etc etc

[Anderoo]

If I owned a commercial fishery, I'd just ban anglers

 

As fruitloopy says, Steve Burke (an expert on perch) has discovered that large barbless hooks can kill perch, because their vital organs are in their throats. Barbless hooks penetrate deeper than barbed. Micro-barbed is the better option here.

 

It's been said that barbless hooks move about more during the fight, and so can tear fishes' mouths. There may be some truth to that when using overly strong tackle for species like carp or tench, but I've never experienced it. I suspect most mouth damage is done on the bank by bad unhooking.

 

I use a mixture of barbed and barbless depending on all sorts of things. There isn't a 'best' one. A barbless hook is no good for fishing a worm, for example, and a barbed hook can cause problems when fishing big baits for greedy chub, who can wolf a bait down very quickly.

 

Thinking about it, I guess I use about 75% barbed and 25% barbless for my fishing, the barbed being micro-barbed. However, when I got a barbed size 16 super specialist stuck (literally) in my knuckle last season, I swore I'd never use a barbed hook again!

[gozzer]

I'm like Budgie, in that I hate waters that have too many rules that restrict my choice of tackle.

My answer is, I don't fish there!

 

Most of my fishing is done with micro barbed or squashed barbed hooks.

 

When I was into match fishing, barbless hooks were just getting popular, and for a couple of seasons I used them exclusively. I was so confident in them that one day, (to prove them to a doubting friend), I hooked a dace, put the rod down, lit a fag, lifted the rod and landed the fish.

But then I went through a season losing fish, same rod, line etc, they just kept shedding the hook, I never found the reason, it just happened.

I lost all confidence in them, and started to 'squash' the barb and have done that ever since. I find it's enough to hold the bait on, but still makes unhooking easy, (both the fish, and myself ).

 

John.

[Guest tigger]

I always use barbed hooks and as far as I know haven't done any noticable damage to the fish I've caught. I have found that removing hooks is much easier using a disgorger or pliers even if the fish is hooked perfectly in the lip. You put pressure on just the right part of the hook to push/pull it straight out in one go unlike using you fingers as sometimes your fingers slip off etc. These days most hooks don't have large barbs anway.

[terry t shirt]

Tiddler bashing for speed i use barbless if i'm playing a more waiting game ie ledgering i use barbed

i just feel if i'm ledgering they pick and spit the bait more if using barbless i just feel they can get it out even after they've felt it before i notice the bite.

[Steve Burke]

This is a topic that crops up regularly. This is what I always post:

 

"I agree that it's horses for courses and depends on the species/circumstances. It also depends on the size and design of the hooks themselves.

 

In my experience barbless hooks tend to do less damage on unhooking (especially by inexperienced anglers), whilst barbed hooks can do more damage during striking and playing.

 

Why barbed hooks cause more damage then is often debated.

 

Some years ago I was also of the opinion that there should be no differences between barbed and barbless hooks, with for instance each penetrating equally. However, like a number of other experienced perch anglers, I found that barbless hooks were causing some perch deaths. Obviously I was wrong, so what could the problem be?

 

At the time I was in the tackle trade and so talked about the matter with a hook manufacturer.

 

They pointed out that hooks often go in at an angle and thus, although the distance penetrated is the same, the point of the hook doesn't always reach that far below the surface of the skin.

 

However the angle can subsequently change, especially during the playing of the fish. A barbed hook would tend to stay in the same place and at the same angle. On the other hand a barbless one would be more likely to move and thus the angle change, with the point of the hook possibly ending up further from the surface.

 

Additionally, as barbless hooks can move about more easily, they would be more likely to pierce vital organs anyway.

 

This suggestion seemed to be a logical explanation.

 

However, whatever the reason, what to me is more important is results in the field - and these showed that barbless hooks are not the best for perch.

 

Only a tiny barb seems to be needed, and in fact the pattern of hook I prefer for perch fishing has a miniscule one. In fact the barb on the size 6 is about the same size as a normal microbarbed size 16!

 

Having said that the state of the mouths of some UK fish is deplorable. This is all too often the case on overfished waters where fish are caught repeatedly, especially by beginners. If I managed a commercial water (God forbid!) I might well insist on barbless hooks for this reason.

 

On the other hand, an increasing number of specimen waters are now banning barbed hooks.

 

At Wingham I allow a free choice on the Carp Lake as it doesn't contain perch. However the Coarse Lake does, and here I ban barbless hooks above size 10. In each case I state that I prefer microbarbs.

 

So if you want to come to the next Forum Fish-In at Wingham, you'll either have to obey the fishery rules or I'm afraid decide not to come!"

 

Anyone interested in this subject may like to do a search of past topics for "barbless".