It's probably best to leave a hook in the fish if it's deep, or if it's in an area that is prone to heavy bleeding ... for those of you with any first-aid training ... remember, you always leave the impaling object in place!

Quite frankly, I can't say for sure if the hooks 'rot' or 'rust' out over time ... I've heard conflicting info on this ... personally, I can't say that I've ever found a fish with a hook still in it that appeared to be half rusted ... but then again, all the hooks I've found in fish appear to be pretty new too ... so???? I'd still vote for snipping the line and leaving if in doubt ... NEVER yank the hook out ... I've heard several reporst of at least three guides working this area now using this technique freedrifting bait on tiny hooks ... I can't imagine this to be very beneficial to the fish.

On standard size bait hooks, the barbed vs. non-barbed debate is moot if the fish are played even halfway in the manner in which they should ... same can be said for trebles (I run small barbless trebles for all steelie fishing ... just as many landed, fewer fish hooked deep, and easy hook removal from wild fish).

The only time where I've felt at a disadvantage with a barbless hook ... fishing small (6-12's) flies for steelies ... I do seem to lose more, perhaps because there isn't a lot of hook there to begin with to grab hold ... does not seem to make much difference with the bigger hooks.