#Barbless fish hooks professional#

Are Barbless Hooks Actually Better for Fish? In short, yes, a barbless hook hurts fish too, but it won’t hurt them for as long as a barbed hook in most instances. However, a barbed hook adds the complication that you might not be able to remove the hook quickly, thus prolonging the animal’s suffering. If fish feel pain ( and studies suggest that they do), then a barbless hook isn’t going to help them, because you’re still jabbing them with a hook point.

#Barbless fish hooks professional#

Interestingly though, many professional fisherman will use barbless hooks when they are pre-fishing, because they aren’t really interested in landing the fish and just want to shake them off. If you’re thinking of professional bass fishermen, there’s no rule in BASS or FLW that requires the use of barbless hooks and any angler chasing the big money in those tournaments won’t take a chance of losing a fish to use them. Still, the other benefits of barbless hooks make this a worthy effort. Smallmouth), keeping pressure on a fish is easier said than done. Granted, with certain species (I’m looking at you, Mr.

It’s not as though a barbed hook is going to prevent this from happening, there’s just a little extra “insurance.” Thus, the simple practice of keeping pressure on the fish and the line taut at all times will reduce the number of fish lost when using barbless hooks. The grappling hook would drop too, right? Fishing hooks (barbed or barbless) work the same way. Now imagine if that line were suddenly dropped. When it snags, it does so because the line or rope pulling on it is tight, or taut. Sometimes it’s helpful to look at a fishing hook like a grappling hook that you see thrown over the top of a building in the movies.

Again, the issue is when the hook tries to back itself out, which cannot happen unless slack is introduced to the line. If your line remains tight, there’s little danger in the fish throwing a barbless hook. If you keep constant pressure on the fish, they shouldn’t be able to throw the hook just because it doesn’t have a barb. You just need to keep tension on the line. However, it’s not that hard to keep a fish on a barbless hook. No one wants to lose fish, so it can be hard to convince people to try barbless hooks. There’s just that much less holding the fish on the hook, and if they manage to create slack by jumping or thrashing, you can lose them. Do You Lose More Fish with Barbless Hooks?īecause the whole point of barbless hooks is to allow them to be removed easier, it stands to reason that you can lose more fish with barbless hooks than barbed ones. The hook on the left was made barbless with a pair of pliers and a few good squeezes. Note that these are the same hook, but I pinched the barb on the one on the left down with pliers. That’s all there is to it – one looks like a spear and the other looks like a halberd. The hook on the right has the traditional barb. It might help to have a visual of what a barbless hook looks like in comparison to a barbed one. Some anglers suggest leaving a little “lump” in place of the barb for a bit of peace of mind, though I’d argue this is likely placebo and isn’t likely to help much. Any barbed hook can be turned into a barbless one by filing down the barb. You can purchase barbless hooks or make your own. A barbless hook lacks this backward facing point, or barb, so it only has the main point. This acts almost as a lock, as it prevents a hook from easily falling out from the hole it created on the way into a fish’s mouth. What’s the Difference Between Barbed and Barbless Hooks?Ī barbed hook has a backwards facing point, or barb, in addition to the main point. Whether you’re considering them for conservation purposes or safety considerations, this article will have something for you. I’ll discuss the differences as well as the pros and cons of each to help you make a decision. If you’ve ever wondered if barbless hooks are better, or if there are certain times you should use a barbless hook instead of a barbed one, read on.

I could, however, consider an alternative and fish with barbless hooks instead. I simply don’t use lures with treble hooks when fishing with kids. So far, I’ve managed this risk by avoiding it. He takes it like a champ, but I’m not sure my five-year-old fishing buddy would. I’ve had to remove several from Dad because he insists on carrying crankbaits in a plastic bag in his pocket. One of my greatest fears when fishing with my children is that one of them will inadvertently catch themselves with a barbed treble hook. While we take pride in only recommending products we believe in, we may get paid if you buy something or take an action after clicking one of these links.