Do you ever fish barbless? Why or why not?

[Todd2]

On 8/24/2019 at 10:46 AM, Todd2 said:

This thread has got me thinking..going back into the river tomorrow where we caught almost two limits of White Bass on small crankbaits last weekend. I'll go barbless tomorrow and see, should get a good sampling. Hard to get those cranks out of Whites and small Bass sometimes. I'll report back with my detailed findings..lol

I decided to not target the Whites..my freezer is getting full and I do quite a bit of cold water Crappie fishing, so I need to leave some room for them..lol

 

I did throw a barbless crank some, caught two dink Bass without issue..but the better bite was the T-Rig yesterday.  I'll try it some more.

[J Francho]

I smash the barbs down when I'm steelhead fishing in winter.  It's easier to remove the hook from a big trout in the freezing cold and makes for a quicker release.  For bass, it's not a problem, so I leave the barbs alone.

[j bab]

On 8/24/2019 at 2:45 AM, M0xxie said:

I’ve NEVER hooked myself past the barb, knock on wood.

Also, I said that to someone at ICAST and just a few weeks later this happened:

 

[WRB]

California has had areas designated for artifical lures with barbless hooks where fishing for trout, steelhead and salmon as far back as I can remember. So yes I have fished with barbless flies and lures when required.

Tom

[A-Jay]

Never had a reason to.

A-Jay

[Black Hawk Basser]

I've gone to Manitoba twice and fished exclusively barbless per regulations.  It was 15 years ago, but I don't remember losing many fish; even though I was a novice compared to my skill level now.

 

I had a near miss with a small catfish shaking a hook into my thumb the other day.  I will try to go barbless occasionally and see how it goes.

[TnRiver46]

11 hours ago, j bab said:

Great discussion here. I've never fished barbless, but it sounds like there are some good reasons to consider it.

Does anyone make barbless bass hooks, or are you required to crush them yourself?

A lot of the flies we order at work from umpqua are barbless. Don’t know about bass stuff, the bass flies usually have a meat hook with a big barb

[tracker01]

I fish a few farm ponds and I use barbless hooks 100% of the time. I do not want to wear out my welcome with a few gut hooked Bass floating around after I leave. Do I loose a fish every now and then, sure. No big deal.