Comments on: PODCAST: Barbed Hooks or Barbless? Does It Really Matter? — S13, Ep5

By: Rick Fleming

Rick Fleming — Sun, 24 Nov 2024 14:33:46 +0000

Re: stripers and barbless flies: The last couple of years I’ve only fished barbless for striped bass. We hit many really good days on the Maine flats in 2023 (fish came in numbers most days to search out crabs). I caught 30 bass between 32″-42″(9′ 10WT, Int line, 17-20LB tippet), and lost about 3-4 others that were in that range (it’s easy to know). I’ll take that percentage every time to avoid having to remove a 1/0 to 6/0 barbed hook from my flesh. But, you have to be absolutely relentless about maintaining tension, and try to draw the fish out of bouts of head shaking. I also believe it makes a big difference when you tie on hooks that are rounded up at the point, as it seems to with nymphs.

By: Bill G

Bill G — Wed, 20 Nov 2024 13:52:03 +0000

Great discussion as usual. Do you ever sacrifice the fly on a deep hooked or gill hooked size 20, barbed or barbless, to avoid injury?

By: Cyrus B

Cyrus B — Mon, 18 Nov 2024 19:01:10 +0000

Hey,

Just listened to podcast and it reminded me of the moment when I realized that squashing my barbs really was the best decision.

Last winter I was practicing loading a sinking line on my 8wt, trying to maximize distance. I was water loading, and doing a double haul, making sure I could get distance without false casting. As I was going to my forward cast, something that felt like a truck hit my hand and I looked down to see my game changer sticking through the palm of my hand. It was barbless, so I pushed it right out, and the only thing that I had damaged was my ego.

Great pod guys!

By: Domenick Swentosky

Domenick Swentosky — Mon, 18 Nov 2024 16:34:53 +0000

In reply to Tom.

Wow. 90 percent of the time? Like we said in the podcast, I fish barbless almost always, but the hook doesn’t just slide out like you describe very often. Maybe one in ten, for me.

Cheers.
Dom

By: Tom

Tom — Mon, 18 Nov 2024 16:31:09 +0000

I can tell you that using barbless, once I get a fish to the net , nine times out of ten, he’ll rub the hook right out of it’s mouth, never need to touch the fish, let him swim right out of the net.

By: Craig Lightburn

Craig Lightburn — Mon, 18 Nov 2024 10:53:20 +0000

What about a bump of thread with UV resin mid bend,to prevent tippet from sliding off hook?