barbs or Barbless

[Rebel9921]

After reading several postings n etc... Im seriously considering filing down all the barbs on my lures...

Of course I realize that my percentage of keeping a fish hooked throughout would slim down... but then again... I'd rather have a fish come unhooked than couple of barbs embedded in them after cutting the hooks when its deeply embedded if you know what I mean...

What would the feedback be on this??? What type of lures would be ideal to keep the barbs, and filed off...

Just thought of this topic since I didnt really see this one being asked that often...

[b1gf1sh1]

for one i would'nt file them i'd just pinch them down with a pliars. filing exposes the metal underneath the coating that keeps it from rusting. a little rust goes a long way. i've not gone barbless. don't believe i've harmed a musky enough to worry about it. did once, sadly take out an eye using a three hook lure, but that was'nt the barbs fault. hope she lived. anyway my thought is a barbless is for fish that don't jump. i've heard tales from guys that use them that their percentage is'nt affected. but these tales are from people who catch 200+ a year and fish every day too. i lose plenty with barbs,if i used them without how would i know if i would have landed it if i had barbs. i mean if i get 30 a year i'm happy. over 50 i'm really happy 70 is my best. so i say no. but, i'm not you. if you do decide too, you may want to not do all of your lures right away, lol.

[sbro73]

Congrats on your boat, Captain !!! I have always used barbless hooks by bending back the the barb back, allows for quicker release, healthier fish. P.S. How good is Pink?

[PDXFisher]

Before I caught a Ski I smashed down all my barbs since that's what I've always done fly fishing. I had like 12 fish hit and miss and another half-dozen or so unbutton before I landed one (over 25+ days fishing and four plane trips), so it was kinda heartbreaking for a while there. I regretted smashing my barbs for a time, but since I've gotten so many more lures (not smashing barbs anymore) and see them get off anyway, I'm not sure anymore that the barbless bit had much to do with it and might go back to smashing. I like it when it's easy to get them unhooked.

[Rebel9921]

 Originally Posted By: sbro73

Congrats on your boat, Captain !!! P.S. How good is Pink?

Thanks SBro... Well.. Pink is MONEY!!! and Im quoting a well-known Mille Lacs guide... PINK IS MONEY!!!

That sounds feasible... Bending/Pinching down the barbs... I could do that on some of my lures and see how I like them...

[kkahmann]

Here on Lake Nipigon we have to fish barbless for all species. Been that way for about 5 years now. All you have to do is mash down the barb with pliers.

I fish all barbless now and wouldn't go back and the only thing that it bothers me on is casting worms. Worms just don't hold on well on barbless hooks. Now I fish with a lot of Natives who don't have to worry about barbless and we have fished side by side and have never noticed losing more fish or strikes for that matter with barbless.

[b1gf1sh1]

what about baitholder hooks are they banned as well?

[cjac]

I'm going to be pinching more barbs down this year. Think about how much bone is in a muskies mouth, the barb can actually be a detriment at times. It's all about keeping pressure (a load on the rod) on the fish. That's part of my liking for the longer rodsthe ability to keep the rod loaded. I personally think barbs have cost me quite a few fish, along with my own operator error.

Reb, take a look at your beloved and favorite pink Cowgirl and look at the gap between the hook shank and the tip of the barb, quite a ways, eh? Some actually heat 'em up and turn down the barbs because of that gap, so why not just go the whole 9 yards and pinch 'em down?

[Rebel9921]

Chris... yeah I see what you mean (looking at the Pink/Pink Super Cowgirl)... Heating that up... hmmm I could do that...

[b1gf1sh1]

i agree barbs can hurt the fish more if we're not careful about the way we take care after it's landed. in a prior post i mentioned i don't put 7/0 hooks on my big bucks. i don't use them on anything, i just use 5/0 Red VMC's. this helps in hooking up and also keeps the size of the hole in the fish down, resulting in far better health. and strength is not an issue. i also go against the so called ''grain'' on my drag. i don't tighten my drag so tight a fish can't take alot of line out. i have in the past and to see what those fish looked like when i got them in made me cringe. mouth all torn up. just made me feel bad. so i play them a little bit. seems also when they are a little tired they are easier to unhook. when they come in half fresh they are a bear to handle and can injure themselves by flopping around. also i stopped targeting them when it's hot out for a couple days in a row. i go after something else then. when unhooking i cut the line to the lure to allow easier movement. unless it's a boatside easy release of course. i guess i'm writing this because alot of people reading this aren't gonna stop useing barbs, and i want to give some tips on better care of muskie. also i don't rememmber a time it was too difficult to get a hook out of a fish. i just grab as close to the barb as possible and push/turn and yank. aint that how it's done?

[delmuts]

the first thing i do to a new lure( anything with more than a single hook) i crimp the barbs down. not only is it easier on the fish, but if one of those nasty trebles gets into a person, it will be easier on them too! del

[Mike Wallace]

delmuts, that is the #1 reason I am 100% barbless on my big stuff...what if it sticks somewhere it shouldn't?

To me, it doesn't really matter if I lose one because it was barbles (how would you know anyway?) if it is safer for me in the boat with someone else.

It's not all the times it doesn't stick in me, it is for the one time it does.

[PDXFisher]

I wish my fishing buddy woulda pinched the barbs on his Gapen Polish Pike before they went in my lower leg last June. That sucked. It's amazing how strong and elastic skin is when you're trying to yank a treble out of your leg.

[RK]

Hiya -

I'm barbless a lot these days. Other than single hook baits like spinnerbaits, most of my barbs are pinched down. I just mash the barbs with a pliers so there's still a little bump there usually, which actually probably helps keep fish hooked...

I fish alone quite a bit so the barbless deal is partly a safety thing (I've had to yank hooks out of my hide by myself before. Not too fun...) but the main reason is it's SO much easier to release fish. I honestly don't believe I lose any more fish without barbs. If you fight the fish well and don't give it slack line, the hooks stay pretty well buried. I suppose I lose one now and then that I might have landed with barbs, but muskies get off all the time even on baits loaded with barbed trebles... In fact, I think, especially with big hooks, I can make a fairly convincing argument that it's easier to hook fish without a big barb slowing hook penetration.

Cheers,

Rob Kimm

[b1gf1sh1]

know what? fine i'll mash a few barbs down. see what happens, what the heck. sometimes ya just get used to stuff that works and you have confidence in and hate to change. after all 90 percent of fishing success is confidence in yourself and gear. but i'm not doing all of them right away

[Spazzums08]

I don't usually do barbless, but I agree with a post above. I play the fish a little, if you bring them in right away, they're still green, and they can make it REALLY hard to land and release them. I won't sit there playing them for half an hour, but I'll let a fish make a couple runs, especially if she looks like she's not done yet.

[slipperybob]

Actually when you go pinched down on the barbs, it helps your hooking percentage. The smaller barb requires less of a hook set to drive the point penetration deeper.

That's why I like Owner Cutting points. Although I haven't tried getting some big ones to match those big hooks on some of those big lures. I can't remember if 2/0 treble is the biggest one's i've got. I generally replace my bass lures hooks. Problem is not the hooks are so sharp they scratch the finishing so easily. But funny thing is the scratch lures always produce so much better than the new ones.

[JRedig]

I'm barbless on everything. No shortage of fish in the boat and makes taking them out of my hand so much easier.

[Rebel9921]

Sounds good... Now I have an activity to keep myself busy til the June 7th Opener...

[superhawk16]

one thing about backing your drag off....I guess I still like to get in a solid hookset so one thing I have been doing is cranking my drag way down so I can still drive the nails to them but then back the drag off a bit once I start fighting the fish, kind of the best of both worlds I guess.

superhawk

[Lund 95]

In late fall we fish Slimers and muskies on Big Winnie throwing suicks and our whole group has noticed easier releases with the barbs pinched and just as many hook-ups. A good thing to do when your CPRing.

[HugoBox]

I've read this thread a bunch of times and am pretty conviced to pinch all my barbs down. Before I do that, other than the single hook lures that RK mentioned, are there any other situations where you'd leave the barbs?

I fish a lone a lot, so a good, quick, and safe release for the fish AND for me is pretty important.

[not_nuf_time]

I've been barbless on Muskies for a few years and will not go back to barbed. I used to fly fish alot so it was an easy transition for me. The best part about barbless, is you get them in the net and let tension off the line, and generally the lure pops out on the first shake or tug. Most important is the safety factor, I fish alone alot and had visions of some monster shaking at one end of the lure and me on the other. Really seems to be no diff in landing fish. Even have gotten brothers and bro-in-laws to do it. Mostly from my whining about going in after barbed hooks.

[bubs]

I have fished with both and unless I have to go barbless I won't It is too easy to let a little slack in the line and there gone I know alot of you will say it is [PoorWordUsage]. IMO I have lost more 45 or better because of barbless than I want to admit.(I fished for two summers and falls where all I could use is barbless.) It was in onterio. I like barbless but it really sucks when you loose a big one. That is why unless I have to I use barbed. I have had only one die on me and that was a little 31 down on french lake in the late 80"s because it swallowed the bucktail past the gills. I am not saying barbed is better than barbless. what I am saying for me with what I know I want the barbed hook if I can have it. muskies get off with barbed and barbless. I just want the edge in my favor. DO WHAT YOU WANT BUT REMEMBER WHEN NOT HAVEING A BARB KEEP THE LINE TIGHT OR THE FISH OF A LIFETIME MIGHT BE YOUR WORST NIGHTMARE.