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

"Stan Gula" wrote in message
...
"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



might also have made a situation i had the other day easier. i hooked a
sunfish, problem was he all but swallowed the fly. it was a bitch to get
out, and i'm sure there was no way he survived. i couldn't do the merciful
thing and kill it and cook it because i was in a catch and release only
creek. sucked.

snakefiddler

snakefiddler wrote:

might also have made a situation i had the other day easier. i hooked a
sunfish, problem was he all but swallowed the fly. it was a bitch to get
out, and i'm sure there was no way he survived. i couldn't do the merciful
thing and kill it and cook it because i was in a catch and release only
creek. sucked.

The best thing to do in such a case is to cut the fly off. You should
also carry hemostats for removing flies.

--
Cut "to the chase" for my email address.

"rw" wrote in message
m...
snakefiddler wrote:

might also have made a situation i had the other day easier. i hooked a
sunfish, problem was he all but swallowed the fly. it was a bitch to
get
out, and i'm sure there was no way he survived. i couldn't do the
merciful
thing and kill it and cook it because i was in a catch and release only
creek. sucked.

The best thing to do in such a case is to cut the fly off. You should
also carry hemostats for removing flies.

--
Cut "to the chase" for my email address.

frank sent me hemostats, but how is cutting the fly off good? wouldn't the
fish just swim around with that thing hooked in there until it finally
developed some kind of foreign body reaction, or something?

snakefiddler

"snakefiddler" wrote in message
...


frank sent me hemostats, but how is cutting the fly off good? wouldn't
the
fish just swim around with that thing hooked in there until it finally
developed some kind of foreign body reaction, or something?


No, often the fly works it way out or the hook rusts out. Either way it
beats creating internal injury to a fish you're going to release.

"Wayne Knight" wrote in message
...

"snakefiddler" wrote in message
...


frank sent me hemostats, but how is cutting the fly off good? wouldn't
the
fish just swim around with that thing hooked in there until it finally
developed some kind of foreign body reaction, or something?


No, often the fly works it way out or the hook rusts out. Either way it
beats creating internal injury to a fish you're going to release.


thanks for the clarification- it's good to know the best way to handle that
kind of a situation.
hopefully it won't happen again, but i have a feelin that if i fish long
enough......

snake

"snakefiddler" wrote in message
...

thanks for the clarification- it's good to know the best way to handle
that
kind of a situation.
hopefully it won't happen again, but i have a feelin that if i fish long
enough......

It WILL happen again.....and it won't take long. If you sit and listen in a
place where sunfish and their allies are feeding, you will hear smacking or
snapping sounds as they suck in bugs off the surface. They don't simply
grab them with their lips. Small and/or relatively sleek flies frequently
get sucked deep into the mouth or even the throat before you can set the
hook.

Incidentally, are you sure that the catch and release requirement applied to
sunfish? In Wisconsin and Michigan panfish are exempt from many of the
restrictions applied to other species. I don't know of any place in either
state where they must be released......though I wouldn't be a bit surprised
if someone comes back with examples.

Wolfgang

"snakefiddler" wrote in
:



might also have made a situation i had the other day easier. i hooked
a sunfish, problem was he all but swallowed the fly. it was a bitch
to get out, and i'm sure there was no way he survived. i couldn't do
the merciful thing and kill it and cook it because i was in a catch
and release only creek. sucked.

snakefiddler




Yeah, bluegill and the like tend to suck flies down pretty deep. Sometimes, a good
set of hemostats will help you reach the hook without killing the fish, but other
times it works out the way it worked out for you.

The advice for trout you can't keep is to cut the line as close to the hook as you
can, and release the fish.

Scott