I've Gone Barbless: Mistake? 2025
Eric Rybak reply :
I go barbless anytime I use live bait for catfish and trout but I've recently gone barbless for bass lures too. Unfortunately I've had to release a few bass that were deep throat hooked. I feel like if you pinch the barb down on your single (not treble) hooks, that hook has a really good chance of working itself loose once you cut the line but the barb will keep that hook secured permanently. I know it means I may lose some bass but I find as long as I keep good pressure on the line, I rarely loose a bass.
Am I making a mistake here?
NHBull reply :
Learn this technique
JWall14 reply :
Can someone attach the thread about Glenn on how to unhook a gut hooked fish. I have done this many times even with barbs.
Eric Rybak reply :
On 11/20/2019 at 8:09 AM, NHBull said:Learn this technique
I have never seen that before. Thanks! I will give this a shot next time
The Bassman reply :
First, let me welcome you to BR. Was going to share the technique to unhook gut hooked fish but the other guys got there first. You're always going to have this happen occasionally but my best advice is to watch your line and be a little quicker on your hookset. As to going barbless, I do so with trebles but not with single hooks. It's personal preference not right or wrong.
Crestliner2008 reply :
I've been barbless for almost a decade now. With no ill effects. Win-win....especially when it's your hand that's involved!
Bluebasser86 reply :
I smash the barb down on guide trips and on all my kid's baits. It's very rare a fish is lost that I feel would have been caught if there had been barbs on the hooks. The other plus, in case of an accident like when my son grabbed his rod right on the crankbait and hooked himself this summer, the hooks come right back out instead of being a trip to the ER.
txchaser reply :
On 11/20/2019 at 8:14 AM, Eric Rybak said:I have never seen that before. Thanks! I will give this a shot next time
This technique should be on the back of every fishing license.
NHBull reply :
......just remember that sometimes the shank can be to long and it can be tough rotating it 180 degrees and that is why I carry 8 inch wire cutters on deck. They only have to be strong enough to cut thru super hooks.cutting the shank can make the process much easier.....more like removing circle hooks.
fishballer06 reply :
If you're fishing for fun, I think it could be a great idea for the safety of the fish. If you're fishing for money, I'll take any advantage I can get.
Dirtyeggroll reply :
On 11/20/2019 at 9:43 PM, fishballer06 said:If you're fishing for fun, I think it could be a great idea for the safety of the angler. If you're fishing for money, I'll take any advantage I can get.
(I made a suggestion ;))
I think the OP is suggesting that barbless hooks are less safe than barbed because they come out of the original puncture point and can be further “swallowed” deeper in the fish.
Also, as @Bluebasser86 suggested, it’s much easier (and less destructive) to remove a barbless hook from yours or someone else’s skin.
BassNJake reply :
Like @NHBull I carry a pair of wirecutters and I just cut the hook.
It is the quickest, easiest and least invasive method IMO.
I've used the thru the gill method and it works but it is not quick and you are going thru the gills
I have also come across a couple that I could not remove using the thru the gill method
This meant after 5 minutes of playing doctor, I ended up cutting the hook anyways
Crankin4Bass reply :
@NHBullThat was a great video. In addition to wire cutters, I also carry a pair of Dr. Slicks clamps which sometimes make it easier to remove the hook through the gills on smaller fish.
Eric Rybak reply :
On 11/20/2019 at 4:09 PM, NHBull said:......just remember that sometimes the shank can be to long and it can be tough rotating it 180 degrees and that is why I carry 8 inch wire cutters on deck. They only have to be strong enough to cut thru super hooks.cutting the shank can make the process much easier.....more like removing circle hooks.
I don't feel like circle hooks should even have barbs. The way they "screw" into the fish's lip and the way you have to "unscrew" the hook to remove it, it is almost a miracle if a catfish can twists itself in orientation to the hook to mimic that path needed for the hook to remove itself. I feel the barb is pointless and makes removing the hook once the fish is landed harder than it needs to be. I pinch down all my circle hooks. May as well play the lottery if you find catfish twisting themselves off a circle hook even with pinched barbs
Tennessee Boy reply :
I’m sure I’ve lost thousands of fish in my lifetime. No big deal. I lost one huge smallmouth twenty five years ago because my drag wasn’t set. That fish still haunts me and I’ve paid attention to my drag ever since. If you lose the fish of a lifetime using barbless hooks you’re gonna be wondering if the hook was the reason for a very long time.
islandbass reply :
The barb is a crutch, lol. Many areas in my neck of the woods prohibit the use of barbed hooks. People land 10-20lb. salmon and other large species all day long so any 4-10lb bass lost because the angler failed to maintain the appropriate amount of tension on the line to keep it taut is user error.
I am not against the use of barbed hooks, but one thing I really like about barbless hooks is the ease of release.
AstroFishingTV reply :
On 11/20/2019 at 8:00 AM, Eric Rybak said:I go barbless anytime I use live bait for catfish and trout but I've recently gone barbless for bass lures too. Unfortunately I've had to release a few bass that were deep throat hooked. I feel like if you pinch the barb down on your single (not treble) hooks, that hook has a really good chance of working itself loose once you cut the line but the barb will keep that hook secured permanently. I know it means I may lose some bass but I find as long as I keep good pressure on the line, I rarely loose a bass.
Am I making a mistake here?
They make a tool you can buy at Walmart or Academy's for like 5 bucks. It's a long narrow plastic piece that you push down the line and put pressure on the hook until its out of the fish and the bottom of the plastic piece is supposed to guard the hook from goin back in. I wish I had a pic.
WRB reply :
The plastic tool with a small and larger end is called a hook disgoger common tool for trout anglers using cheese or dough baits. There are several good hook removal tools.
The use of circle hooks for live bait anglers is also a common practice to prevent fish being gut hooked.
Barbless hooks have several studies that show both Pros and cons regarding damage to the fish. Barbless hooks penetrate deeper into the fish with less force and can cause fatal inquiry as a result. Barbless hooks are easier to remove with less handling of the fish increasing survival rates.
The bottom line is easier removal from the fish and the angler.
It's a choice.
Tom
crypt reply :
been barbless for years.....no problems at all.
MIbassyaker reply :
I don't use barbless hooks universally -- I'm too lazy to obsessively pinch down or replace every barbed hook I own. But I do pinch down barbs on some hooks. for instance, if I have difficulty unhooking a fish quickly without tearing the hook out, I'll just pinch the barb to pull the hook out and get the fish back in the water. I don't replace or discard those hooks, just continue fishing, and reuse them. So sometimes I end up fishing with a barbed hook, and sometimes I end up fishing with a barbless hook.
I have seen no noticeable difference at all between barbed and barbless hooks in terms of lost fish. What I have noticed is that barbless hooks make unhooking faster, and seem to cause less tearing in the fish's mouth tissue.
Further North reply :
Barbless is the way to go, for the fish and for us.
Always put the resource in front of the paycheck, or the dinner.
Anyone who can't land a fish "because the hook is barbless" is making excuses for a mistake they made.
I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of fish I've lost because of barbless hooks, over decades. It's almost always user error (I'm a expert at that) and seldom, if ever, a fault with the hook.
Barbs are a crutch, and detrimental in C&R fishing.
MIbassyaker reply :
It's worth pointing out, by the way, that barbs did not originate to keep fish from getting away when caught....they originated to keep live bait on a hook.
WRB reply :
Just a note; the Japanese hooks like Owner and Gamakasu have low profile barbs compared to Mustad and Eagle Claw/Tokar for examples. I haven't modified a Owner or Gamakatsu hook and have no issues with unhooking and releasing bass. The only time I hooked myself was with a Mustad treble hook wished the barbs were removed!
Tom
The Bassman reply :
On 11/21/2019 at 11:39 AM, WRB said:Just a note; the Japanese hooks like Owner and Gamakasu have low profile barbs compared to Mustad and Eagle Claw/Tokar for examples. I haven't modified a Owner or Gamakatsu hook and have no issues with unhooking and releasing bass. The only time I hooked myself was with a Mustad treble hook wished the barbs were removed!
Tom
They're tiny, but trust me they'll stay in your finger.
soflabasser reply :
Choose whatever hook style makes you happy and you feel most confident using. I will continue using barbed hooks since I noticed a far better landing rate compared to barbless hooks.
Eric Rybak reply :
On 11/21/2019 at 11:39 AM, WRB said:Just a note; the Japanese hooks like Owner and Gamakasu have low profile barbs compared to Mustad and Eagle Claw/Tokar for examples. I haven't modified a Owner or Gamakatsu hook and have no issues with unhooking and releasing bass. The only time I hooked myself was with a Mustad treble hook wished the barbs were removed!
Tom
I like Owner hooks but love Gamatastu hooks. Those things are sticky sharp. They are my favorite brand of hook and while the barbs are tiny, I still crunch them down. Just makes the removal a lot smoother
OnthePotomac reply :
Been single hook barbless for 18 years on the Potomac and never lost a fish because of it, but it saved numerous gut hooked fish by my school teacher daughter fishing buddy because she will not set the hook like you are supposed to. Oh well.
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