Going Barbless Ain't All Bad . . .
February 20, 2009
Part 1
The bass was the second fish of more than 5-pounds my fishing partner had put in the boat that morning.
He picked it out of the net I was holding for him. Once he had a good grip on its lower jaw he slipped out the hook and eased it back into water.
“How in the devil do you manage to do that so easily?” I asked. “I’ve watched you handle a half dozen fish this morning and a couple of them have been dandies. You’ve never used pliers and you’ve had those fish back in the water in seconds. I often have a devil of a time getting them unpinned.”
“No big secret,” my companion replied. “I’m using Gamakatsu’s barbless hooks. When I’m not tournament fishing, I love ‘em. And believe it or not, I don’t lose all that many more fish than I do when I’m using hooks that have barbs.”
Like they say, seeing is believing. As soon as I had opportunity I got some of those hooks myself. I’ve been using them a good bit ever since. I like the security of having a barb if boating a fish is essential. But I agree that you don’t lose that many more not having hooks with a barb. And I know darn well I get a more solid hook up with the barbless variety than I do those when the barb is there.
Prior to having tried the barbless hooks myself, I wasn’t that sure I wanted to believe all this. Since I did I’ve had experienced and respected guides tell me of their own experience in this regard.
It’s easy to recall what one of them, a fellow who had guided in the Pacific Northwest for almost a decade, had to say. “Stan,” he told me, “I used barbless hooks for years in my steelhead and salmon guiding. I was often taking out anglers who didn’t know how to set a hook. It was a whole lot easier for them to get a good hook set if I had them use a hook without a barb.”
When you hear that kind of stuff from a guy who made his living getting his clients into fish it gets your attention.
Gamakatsu’s weedless trebles were tested by bass anglers around the country before they were put on the market some years ago. The results of those tests were very positive. Company officials told me at the time they had also handed out or mailed 20,000 sample barbless Gamakatsu treble hooks along with a questionnaire.
The questionnaire asked anglers who got them to let company officials know how the hooks performed. More than 75% of the questionnaires were returned. They were 70 to 80% favorable. The respondents said the barbless trebles hooked bass more easily and held bass almost as well as a barbed hook.
I got another slant on the barb free Gamakatsu hooks from a well known bass pro who at the time also was the host of a TV fishing show. I knew he had used the barbless hooks and I was curious as to what he thought of them.
“We did a TV bass fishing show,” he told me, “using only Gamakatsu barbless hooks. We fished all day and only lost one fish. These hooks really penetrate and they also hold on.”
A barbless hook provides another advantage if you’re rigging Texas Style as so many bass anglers do. When you run a barbed hook up through the worm body with a barbed hook it’s easy to tear up the plastic. This is especially true with smaller worms or grubs.
If you choose you can just slide the sharp point in under the outside skin of the worm. The sharp point of that hook pops out at the strike and you’re not likely to miss many fish that come along.
Gamakatsu barbless hooks are available in both single and treble styles. You can also get the offset variety for use with plastic worms. I’ve caught fish on each.
If you've spent 10 seconds messing with Gamakatsu hooks, you know how sharp they are. 
The darn things are downright “sticky.” These Japanese made hooks set a new standard for the industry when they first came on the scene. The hooks have great penetrating power, even with a barb. You can imagine what they're like without it. The point penetrates like a hot needle.
I had opportunity to test samples of the original Gamakatsu hooks before they were brought to market here in the United States. When the testing process was complete and the hooks did come to market it didn’t take long for anglers to recognize they were something special.
Today there are an increasing number of spots around the country where barbless hooks are a requirement. If you’re doing your fishing in one of those areas where this ruling is in effect---don’t despair. You’ll still get your share of fish with the barbless patterns Gamakatsu has made available. Don’t be surprised if you find there are some things about them that you like better than those hooks with barbs you're currently using.
In Part 2 of this series we’ll take a look at some of the other things these barbless hooks have going for them.
-To Be Continued-