Curious how many anglers here, OFFers, go barbless when fishing. I am not talking only flyfishermen and those who fish waters posted as "Barbless" but guys chasing bass, pike in the north, south.
I have been completely barbless now for about 15 years and i love it, I really do. I found it lead to me trying to improve my abilities/skills to land a fish and in fact, I believe I land more fish.
How is this so? I think having a barb can often lose me fish. If my hook set is not good initially I think the barb can often act as a hindrance to better penetration.
Yes, I believe my fighting skills have improved but I do this only for the protection of the fish I chase. When I switched over to barbless I was so fed up at fighting at times to retrieve a lure from a fish's and the damage that ensues from being out of the water for x amount of time, let alone tissue damage. I cringe when i see pics of fish bleeding, hooks swallowed etc. I know this often hinges on hook size, lure size, timing of the hook set...
While I am on my soap box, I also feel the use of small hooks and often just plain bait fishing (depending on who is doing it, experience vs inexperienced) also can result in high fish mortality.
Hats off to the province of Manitoba where it is the law to go barbless.
so reads their fish regulations....
In Manitoba, anglers must use barbless hooks. A barbless hook is a hook with no barbs or barbs that have been compressed to be in complete contact with the shaft of the hook. Barbless hooks may have barbs on the shank for holding bait. When you are fishing, the hooks attached to all your lines, whether in use or not, must be barbless. Barbed hooks may be kept in the tackle box.
I find many anglers open their mouths in shock if asked if they would go barbless, like it is the end of the planet
sure I lose the odd scrappy, jumping river Smallmouth. Funny enough I find the one fish I lose the most are Crappie. They have that "large" area of very thin tissue around the mouth and the hole created can become larger in seconds and I find they flip off easy. No big deal when you land 25 of 30 Crappies hooked. Quick release!
I also find my landing success rate rises with the use of my rubber net. Get em in and net em! Yearly I land between 500 and 600 fish here (I keep a diary for the local conservation authority). So it is not like I am losing every thing i hook
To each their own but I encourage other anglers to give it a shot. Don't pinched every lure, just give it a shot some weekend and see how you like it.
The fish will thank you and you may get more from the sport in more ways than one.
Cheers!
I have been completely barbless now for about 15 years and i love it, I really do. I found it lead to me trying to improve my abilities/skills to land a fish and in fact, I believe I land more fish.
How is this so? I think having a barb can often lose me fish. If my hook set is not good initially I think the barb can often act as a hindrance to better penetration.
Yes, I believe my fighting skills have improved but I do this only for the protection of the fish I chase. When I switched over to barbless I was so fed up at fighting at times to retrieve a lure from a fish's and the damage that ensues from being out of the water for x amount of time, let alone tissue damage. I cringe when i see pics of fish bleeding, hooks swallowed etc. I know this often hinges on hook size, lure size, timing of the hook set...
While I am on my soap box, I also feel the use of small hooks and often just plain bait fishing (depending on who is doing it, experience vs inexperienced) also can result in high fish mortality.
Hats off to the province of Manitoba where it is the law to go barbless.
so reads their fish regulations....
In Manitoba, anglers must use barbless hooks. A barbless hook is a hook with no barbs or barbs that have been compressed to be in complete contact with the shaft of the hook. Barbless hooks may have barbs on the shank for holding bait. When you are fishing, the hooks attached to all your lines, whether in use or not, must be barbless. Barbed hooks may be kept in the tackle box.
I find many anglers open their mouths in shock if asked if they would go barbless, like it is the end of the planet
sure I lose the odd scrappy, jumping river Smallmouth. Funny enough I find the one fish I lose the most are Crappie. They have that "large" area of very thin tissue around the mouth and the hole created can become larger in seconds and I find they flip off easy. No big deal when you land 25 of 30 Crappies hooked. Quick release! I also find my landing success rate rises with the use of my rubber net. Get em in and net em! Yearly I land between 500 and 600 fish here (I keep a diary for the local conservation authority). So it is not like I am losing every thing i hook
To each their own but I encourage other anglers to give it a shot. Don't pinched every lure, just give it a shot some weekend and see how you like it.
The fish will thank you and you may get more from the sport in more ways than one.
Cheers!
