In the interests of creating another devisive discussion here's a question to create "spirited debate".

In your humble opinion which hook is better for a higher percentage of landed trout. Do barbed
hooks allow more fish to be landed than barbless hooks... or are barbless hooks better at hooking
landing more fish.

We don't need to bother ourselves on which method allows a higher percentage of released fish to
survive as that can be another discussion.

So limit your comments and enlightened opinion to which would land higher numbers of fish. I also
don't care if the barbed/barbless hooks are bait hooks, lure hooks or fly hooks.

I once had to use barbless hooks while fishing salmon eggs... that's an interesting contradiction.

I think if you use quality,sharp hooks the use of barbless hooks is not a factor in keeping fish hooked. I think barbless hooks penetrate better,thus a better hookup. Most of my experience is salmon fishing in the sound and barbless hooks have been req. for years. I know I land more salmon because of barbless hooks. You tend to pay more attention during the fight, knowing any slack in your line will result in a lost fish.

I've found that a barbed hook (trebble) is essential when snagging stacked up salmon <kidding>.

Actually I agree with HPB. Esepecially when dealing with flies and light line/tippet situations. A sharp hook with no barb will sink in deeper and with less effort.

When dealing with certain lures (like plugs) where a fish can actually use the lure to pull the hook(s) out, then the barb(s) can help - as long as you have a strong hood set.

99% of the time, I prefer to go barbless. For one, you can remove it from the fish much easier (and anything else that it may hook on - like your pants...).

-Chad

There is less frontal surface area (meplat?) on a barbless hook, so they actually penetrate easier. If you are a skilled fisherman, then you should be able to keep pace with all but the most spirited fish and land then.

Sharp, thin wired hooks that are barbed can mitigate the surface area issue, but there is a point of diminishing returns. Go too light and you will lose the fish because you straightened out a hook, barb or no barb.

I fish with every method available, but I only pinch barbs or switch to single siwash hooks when required.

By the way, here's a photo of a fish I caught yesterday morning before going to work. No bait, just a 1/16th oz jig.

You are not going to find many fish like this in a lake.

PP - you're lucky if it only hooks your pants! Ouch. I knew a guy one time who was flyfishing with his Dad as a kid. Dad had always told him to let him know when he wanted to move and to stay away from his backcast. Well, the kid doesn't listen, walks in the path of dad's backcast and gets hooked clean through right underneath his chin. He was very glad that Dad always used barbless hooks and his nickname from thereon was . . . you guessed it, Minnow.

I haven't found any difference in the use of barbless vs. barbed hooks. I think the aggressiveness of the fish bite (do they slam it or just nibble?) and the skill of the rod operator are the most determining factor of landing vs. losing a fish.

My question wasn't on which hook was better at holding fish, but on which hook had the highest strike/landing ratio. It's a subtle slant on the barbed/barbless argument.

Some strikes using barbed hooks are missed because the barb doesn't allow the hook to sink in, also most barbless hooks tend to have a sharper point besides no barb.

I've fished barbless for years because:

hook is easier to remove from me, clothing, etc.
flies don't get torn up as much when being removed from fish. They last longer
hook doesn't injure fish as much

That's just three that come to mind.

Nice fish DF!!

Now you got me bummed that my local rivers are closed right now even more. Well, June 1 will be here soon, and i'll be into some crazy summer steely fishing!!!

In the meantime, catching a few hundred easy to fool hatchery trout will have to tie me over while I wait...

I've become more and more a barbless hook fisherman over the years, especially when it comes to trout fishing.

However, my experience is that barbless hooks work great on certain types of trout and salmon (the types that don't go airborne too much when hooked), and only pretty good when you are dealing with fish who love to go airborne....repeatedly....when you are not playing the fish as well as you should.....like....Native Steelhead.

JK

i almost always use barbless hooks, i prefer them over barbed most of the time. it seems to me that the hook gets a deeper bite and a nice tight puncture that holds better since the barb isnt in there tearing the hole open during the fight. the only drawback is that any slack in the line can work against you.

i release most of the fish that i catch and i like the idea that i can let them swim away quickly and i might come back another day to fool them again.