Good points above, however:

Did anyone else wonder if deeper penetration of a larger sized single barbless hook may cause more problems than its barb would have?

I've never seen studies about that, but I know that if you're pulling plugs in March with a 1/0 siwash, you're looking at about 3/4" of hard steel going into the fish. If it's in the jaw, or corner, probably no big deal.

What if it's in the roof of the mouth? The eye? The tongue?

Just some food for thought.

Fish on...

Todd.