Barbed Hooks

[Flash]

Having just read the article by Julian Grattidge regarding care of the Carp,I wondered how many Anglers fish for carp with barbed hooks. This is not allowed on any of the Carp Fisheries I use and even if it were I would not dream of using them.

What do you all think?

 

GFERGIE

[Severn Wolf]

Simple answer from me. If I can use them I do.

 

Big leads and barbless hooks just don`t work for me at all.

[Elton]

Must admit, I'd much rather use barbed hooks for carp.

 

Why on earth wouldn't you?

[Guest Brumagem Phil]

Must admit, I'd much rather use barbed hooks for carp.

 

Why on earth wouldn't you?

 

Not this old chestnut again? LOL

[Anderoo]

If they're banned where you fish, you can't use them. If you have a choice and you'd prefer barbless, use barbless. Ditto barbed.

 

Problem solved!

 

I use both, as situations dictate. On balance, more barbless than barbed. Some people say barbless cause more damage as the hook moves and tears during the fight (I've never found this) and some say barbed cause more damage as the barb tears when removing the hook (I don't find this either).

 

As I said on a previous thread, I think it's more to do with unbalanced tackle, especially high tc rods and heavy leads, than the hook itself. If one or the other types of hook consistently caused mouth damage, it would be very obvious to everyone, and there would be no debate over it. If your tackle is balanced and you're not a bully, and you are competent at unhooking, there's no reason to use either only barbed or barbless.

Edited March 8, 2006 by Anderoo

[trevor2003]

I agree Anderro

Get your hooking mechanics right eg: size/type hook, hook link length/material or rig in general and the right weight, you shouldn't have a problem. Seam to remember having this discussion before on another thread, but I bet it gets us all going at it again.

 

Trevor

[scoop]

i'll always use barbed wher possible...some waters even ban barbless now...the only time i'd advise a barbless is if some1 isn't confident unhooking a fish with a barbed hook!!!! most day ticket waters around me are barbless only and the fishes mouths are ripped to shreds......wher as you can go look on any syndicate lake wher 99% of the anglers use barbed hooks the mouths are pukka...infact in one syndicate water i fish, all the fish still have ther curtians which just goes to show how little damage barbed hooks cause if used correctly....we have had this disscussion alot of times on the bank and we always agree that barbless hooks move around during the fight and makes a bigger hole plus even comes out and re hooks itself....but with a barbed hook it will not move at all and if unhooked correctly only leaves a little red dot...just check how little damage ther is on this fish....caught at 130yards 4.5oz lead and a long shank hook!!!! it also weeded up solid twice during the fight.....just proves barbed cause little damage!!!! Edited March 8, 2006 by scoop

[Newt]

Barbed although unless they are microbarbs, I will probably crush the barb down some but that's mainly because I'm lazy and prefer to unhook the fish in the water so it is much easier when I don't have a large barb do deal with.

[Puzzled]

As always, an interesting subject, and one which there's no definitive right or wrong way.

IMHO a barbed hook will always get more fish safely on the bank and I'd like to see more fisheries allow the option.

[Steve Burke]

This is a topic that comes up regularly. This is what I've posted in the past:

 

"I agree with Leon 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".