Going Barbless Ain't All Bad . . .
April 16, 2009
Part Two
In my previous column I told about the increasing popularity of Gamkatsu’s barbless hooks. Officials of the company tell me sales of these hooks have been steadily increasing.
That figures, because as I also mentioned there are growing areas of the country where barbless hooks are now a requirement. And that’s not the only reason these hooks are winding up being used more by the nation’s anglers.
If you fish bass for example, you know how they occasionally get a lure’s hooks embedded all over their body. That's no problem with barbless trebles. Believe me you'll appreciate having them when it's time to release fish. So will the fish!
In my previous column I also noted other times where not having hooks with a barb is helpful. There are a couple more where this is also true. Ever net a wild-eyed steelhead and have it wrap itself and your hook into the folds of the net six ways from Sunday? Pike, catfish, salmon and the rest of our fresh and saltwater fish often do the same thing.
If you’ve had such an experience, chances are you spent 20 minutes getting the fish unpinned and the hooks out of the net. In the process you probably also practiced your profanity. It's much less of a problem if your hooks don't have a barb.
I expect anyone who has caught many fish has had his barbed hooks snag the mesh of a landing net. It’s not a pleasant experience. That’s especially true if the fish has a couple of treble hooks in its mug and the third is still stuck in the net.
A guy I always enjoy talking to is Joe Quiocho, an assistant sales manager for Gamakatsu. Joe headquarters in Tacoma, WA and is himself an ardent salmon angler. The Pacific Northwest is an area where barbless hooks are often required and I was curious about Joe’s experience in that regard.
“You better darn well read the regulations if you’re planning to fish the migratory species out this way,” Joe says. “There’s often no option where barbless hooks are concerned. They are a requirement.”
I asked Joe how he felt about not having a barbed hook for his own salmon angling. He told me the same thing the other fishermen I talked about in my previous column had said. “I don’t notice any difference,” he says, “if I lose a fish it’s usually because I’ve messed up one way or another and it isn’t the result of not having barbed hooks.”
Some fishermen get around the requirement for barbless hooks by simply mashing down the barb on the hooks they already have. You can take that route if you choose. It’s not for me. There’s no way you’ll get the same quick and deep penetration with this kind of hook as you will with hooks made with no barbs in the first place.
There's one other time when you’ll really love having a hook without a barb. It's when you get careless, as we all do from time to time, and poke a hook into some portion of our own anatomy. I've done that six times in a lifetime of fishing.
Twice I wound up having to have the docs cut them out of because the darn hooks were too deeply embedded to risk anything else. Twice I’ve managed to push a hook on through my hide and cut the barb off before backing it out. Twice I’ve just clenched my teeth and jerked.
I’m aware of the technique where a line is looped around the hook and the flesh around the hook depressed as the hook is pulled free. That’s fine if the hook is properly positioned or if you have someone else around to help. I didn’t.
While it's still not a fun thing, hooking yourself when there's no barb involved removes most of the misery. And that applies to the fish you're after as well as yourself.
If barbed hooks are easy to get out of your own hide, imagine how convenient they are when it’s time to get them out of a fish. These days most of us release more fish than we keep. Hooking them in the first place is where the big thrill lies.
I don’t enjoy tearing up the flesh of a fish that I’m about to turn loose. I’m sure you don’t either. There’s none of that with barbless hooks. You might put a dent in their dignity but that’s about the size of it.
If you’ve fished bass much when both air and water temperatures are high, I expect you’ve already discovered how easy it is for a largemouth to suffer permanent damage if kept out of the water very long.
It’s not difficult to understand why. The fish has already been stressed something fierce during its struggle for freedom. If it has to spend additional long minutes out of the water while the angler who caught it attempts to get his hooks free, the potential for problems really increases.
Again, while it’s not good for this sort of thing to happen at any time, the potential for trouble is much greater in hot weather.
Besides that and as Joe Quiocho pointed out, in many places around the country you don’t have a choice whether or not to use barbless hooks---they are required. Gamakatsu hooks are being used extensively for this purpose in areas where that ruling exists.
While Gamakatsu’s barbless hooks haven’t set company sales records, they are used extensively in those waters where barbed hooks aren’t allowed. Many are sold for use in sturgeon fishing. As I’ve already mentioned, they are seeing increasing usage in the Pacific Northwest. They are used extensively in Puget Sound areas where barbless hooks are required.
My guess is you’ll see increasing restrictions as to the type of hook anglers can use. Don’t be dismayed if barbless hooks are one day required on your favorite waters. You’ll discover, as many others already have, that you’ll still bring your share of fish to boat.
Thoughtful anglers who want to do everything they can to protect the freshwater fishery resource won't wait until they are forced to go barbless. They'll want to try these hooks now.
Those who do are most likely in for a pleasant surprise.