AAAhhh, the ongoing barbless hook debate.

We went to all barbless in Oregon until the studied it and found it really made no significant difference.

They have now changed back to barbed hooks. As of the first of the year, they are also doing away with the size limitations for bait hooks.

Again, after limiting us to a larger size their studies determined no significant difference.

I have hooked and landy many, many fish both with and without barbed hooks and have found little difference in the release time.

I have found barbles hooks buried clear into the brain cavity of a fish. That fish will be just as dead as one that a barbed hook was dug out.

My opinion is that until we get a handle on the dams and other fish killing situations that are really taking their toll on fish, we are doing little more than making ourselves feel like we are doing our parts to help fish when we make these little rule changes.

The real solutions lie in restoring and protecting habitat, not barbed vs barbless, not bait vs. artificials and not wild vs. hatchery.
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