Hi Guys,

I am a relative newbee to fly fishing (about 2 years). The previous 50 were spent - or misspent! (LOL) coarse fishing.

For the last 20 of those 50 years I only ever used barbless hooks (better hook ups and less mouth damage) particularly on carp ponds which are always (!) catch and release.

On many carp ponds hooks are actually checked by the baliff to make sure that they are barbless or have had the barbs flattened (happened to me a few times)

I have therefore been astounded at the number of fly fishermen using barbed hooks...particularly when they have reached their kill limit and go on to C & R. I would almost guarantee that if someone paid for a barbed fly and then went on to C & R they will not crush the barb !!!!!! IMHO that then spoils it for the rest of us, fish caught with torn mouths etc.

Most coarse lads use barbless, competition fly fishermen use barbless, I use only barbless (LOL), so why do many (maybe even the majority ?) of fly fishermen use barbed hooks ?

It is as if fly fishermen somehow just don't trust barbless hooks (and yet there is more than enough evidence to suggest that barbless are just as good if not better, for the reasons outlined above.)

The scales are slowly swinging with more and more barbless fly hooks / flies becoming available but it seems to be taking a long time !

Try barbless - you might even like it !

Nigel

Nigel IMO barbed hooks should be outlawed every where and should not even be used before they have caught their limit .

Alan

If you regularly fish a put-and-take fishery you might want to buy flies with barbed hooks - you can always de-barb them.

Don't try and tell me that you don't "lose" more fish with barbless hooks - barbed hooks are the result of thousands of years of human usage when a lost fish meant a lost meal.

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How poor a thing, sometimes I find,
Will captivate a greedy mind - Isaac Walton.

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*****©(

I think here in the UK you will be hard pressed to find someone who has to rely on catching a fish to have a meal. as for losing more fish with barbless than barbed certainly you might lose a few more fish but fish welfare should IMHO come first before ensuring that you net every fish that takes your bait.

Alan

"loosing more fish" - try telling that to a coarse fisherman who has spent 3 or 4 days targeting a single, specific fish - and then hooked 20 plus pounds of extremely angry (pi**ed off even), muscle packed carp - using a barbless hook, perfectly sucessfully !

I have to say the facts are not in your favour.

Nigel

people will always have conflicting views on a subject like this, i personally where rules permit fish barbed till limit caught then switch to barbless/crushed barb if im c&r,

regards,
matt.....

That just strengthens the reason why you don't realy need to use barbed hooks if you can land a 20lb carp on a barbless great stuff.

Alan

---------- Post added at 06:54 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:51 PM ----------

Matt I don't think that anyone on the barbless scene would really object to using barbed till limit is caught.
Alan

I've been using barbless for a while and suprisingly not lost a fish
In my opinion barbless hooks penetrate more efficiently as there is no obstruction(barb) and therefore you should find that fish you'd normally just nick with a barb you'd catch with barbless.There is also considerably less damage to the fish's mouth with is essential when fishing C&R or with wild fish.
I've had no reason to doubt barbless

I agree entirely.

Alan

I switched to barbless - dont really fish C & R i kill 99% of the Rainbows i catch so i dont wont to loose them since i switvched to barbless i "hook" more fish rather than miss bites and i land more fish FACT if i didnt id go back to barbed in a minute

I was told id hook and catch more fish on barbless i didnt believe it ....... till i went COMPlETELY barbless for a few months to give them a far go im hooked ..............enough said

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"Barbless since 2008"

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