Tonight we’re here to talk about why we fish. It’s a simple question. Why do we commit so much of our free time and efforts, our thoughts and our daydreams . . . to fishing?

It’s the same natural pursuit that brought us all down to the water from the beginning.

Should we always fish barbless? Maybe not. The answer isn’t that simple. So the Troutbitten guys are here for a conversation and a few thoughts about barbs on hooks.

Each one of us has fished for long enough that we’ve used both barbed and barbless flies. We’ve also used barbs on lures and bait hooks, because we all grew up fishing in different ways. Some anglers who jump right into the fly fishing game — especially for trout — are exposed to a another sentiment. So their reference points are different. And like anything else, what might seem almost outlandish to one person can seem like no big deal to another.

Every angler needs a set of flies to call their own. Among the thousands of patterns, options and choices out there, eventually, we sort out a handful of confidence flies.

Our faith in these flies gives us conviction when choosing them and tying the knot. We’ll fish THIS fly in THIS water. That’s what will catch the next trout. And if it doesn’t, then we’ll change something — maybe the water type, maybe the presentation, maybe the rig. Or maybe we’ll reach for the next confidence fly.

In this podcast episode, the Troutbitten crew holds a philosophical discussion about ethics in fishing. It’s not a list of concrete examples or rules. It’s an interesting, thought provoking conversation.