hooks

"snakefiddler" wrote in message
...
i'm sure roff has had *this* discussion a million times, but what are some
of ya'll's opinions regarding barbed hooks vs barbless-
i met a guy fishin today that says he prefers barbless- hadn't thought
about
it before.

snakefiddler


Barbless make it much easier to release fish and yourself. If you plan on
keeping fish and yourself, then barbs are good. Some people argue that a
barbless hook penetrates the fish's mouth better because it's a smaller
diameter, and that might be right, but probably trivially.

I tie my flies on real barbless hooks sometimes, but usually I just mash the
barb flat with a pair of flat jawed pliers.

Let me tell you, you don't know frustration until you bury a size 6 hook in
your forearm and realize you forgot to mash the barb and you don't have any
wire cutters. I buried two big hooks in my arm last year, and the barbless
one was much easier to deal with.
--
Stan Gula
http://gula.org/roffswaps