The other day I was thinking about our San Juan River trip in New Mexico in January 2008. I got online to check on the fishing reports for this time of year and was taken back by a forum discussion that was going on. The fishing report stated that fishing was good but the Fish and Game Rangers were out in full force checking anglers for barbless hooks. First, I didn’t realize that the entire San Juan River was barbless hooks only (or I just forgot). But, second, I was amazed that the report said that the Rangers were checking barbless hooks by running tippet over the “barbed” area and if the tippet got hung up – BIG FINE! That got me thinking if we smashed our barbs down with a pliers or forceps would they pass the test? It also got me thinking why I don’t use barbless hooks all the time. So, I did some research on the subject and here is what I discovered.
1. Barbless hooks have an advantage in the ease of removal without further tissue damage to the fish and angler.
2. Barbless hooks tend to penetrate fully and far easier than barbed hooks. Driving a “barb” through tissue and cartilage requires extra force that may or may not be delivered with light tippet.
3. True effective barbless hooks need to have a longer point so short barbed hooks with the “barb” bent down may not be as effective.
4. Some specially made barbless hooks have an offset to the point, i.e. a slight bend which allows for better holding.
With this said I have decided to bend my barbs back on all my flies before I tie them. So I guess you can say I am going braless – I mean barbless! Are you?
(Short story – when fly fishing in the Grand Canyon with a good friend who accidentally happened to hook me in the face I was extremely glad when the guide said, “we only use barbless hooks!”. One pull of his forceps and I was back fishing.)