I read with interest the posts on everyone's favorite hooks. I'm wondering what people's experiences have been with barbless vs. barbed hooks. I know some rivers require them, but I'm curious at to what readers think it costs them in terms of % of hookups lost that otherwise would be landed.

When I fish the Outback in Australia we're in the middle of nowhere. For safety the guides make certain that every barb on every hook is smashed down so it can be extracted from an angler's hide. (On these trips, over the course of a week more often than not someone usually ends up impaled thanks to a flying lure or a thrashing fish.) As a result, all my saltwater fishing is done barbless (rather than bother to change hooks)even back home. But I'll also tell you that there's a real reduction in fish landed, too, particularly with spoons but also plugs, jigs and even single hooks.

For steelhead and salmon I've experimented with barbless hooks when drift fishing as it's easier on the fish (and some authorities like Bill Herzog note it's easier to get good hooksets, too, especially with large single hooks on spinners and spoons).

My partner's and my experience is that we lose more than with barbed hooks, so we've more less dropped that idea on a voluntary basis. Anyone have any thoughts?

P.S. On the topic of 'What's my hook?' I use Gamakatsu Octopuses as the first choice as I don't have to sharpen the suckers out of the box. Eagle Claw Lazersharps are a good alternative, however, and I carry these as backups.

A couple of years ago I bought a handful of painted Gamakatsus in fluoro and hot pink for drift fishing in low light. I dropped several fish in a row until I figured out that what MIGHT be happening is that the paint on the hook was impeding penetration. I filed the paint off to beyond the half-way point of the bend, and started hanging on to the fish. (Also stopped buying the hooks as it didn't make much sense to pay extra for paint only to file off more than half of it!)

In the hook discussion, no one's mentioned whether stainless steel hooks should be avoided because they don't rust out of fish. Is leaving a single hook in a fish's mouth going to be that serious a health issue in any event? Bob, your thoughts?