For many years as I was starting out fly fishing I fished with flies that had barbs on them. I’m pretty sure this is a common practice for many out there learning to fly fish as well as many veterans to the sport. After a while though you begin to think about whether barbed vs barbless hooks are a better option. I’d like to share my views on the matter and hopefully convince a few of you out there to a different way of thinking when fishing barbless flies.
Barbed vs Barbless Hooks? Which Way Should I Go?
Most people fish barbed flies today. You’ll probably hear people talk about how horrible this is for the fish and their health as well. You’ll also probably hear arguments against fishing barbless hooks as well. So how do you know which way is better? As you already know, there are two sides to the story here. I’m a firm believer in one of those sides as you’ll soon find out.
Argument for Barbed Hooks
The proponents of barbed fishing hooks are everywhere. I’d bet that 99% or more people out there who started fishing and fly fishing started out doing so with barbed hooks. It’s the norm. It’s the standard. I will admit there are benefits of using barbed hooks while fishing. A few such benefits are:
- Keeps the fish hooked in one spot
- Less chance of losing fish
- No worries about crimping barbs before you head out
- Every shop sells barbed flies
Those are just a few arguments for the benefits of using barbed fishing hooks. I have no problem with any of these and will admit that 90% of the flies I purchase are barbed. I then spend an hour or so crimping all of them, which admittedly is a pain to do. I’ve broken many a hook in the process as well. Doing so on a $5.00 fly you just bought is a tough pill to swallow. However, there are a few downsides to barbed hooks, such as:
- Higher mortality rate for fish due to increase damage from extracting barb
- When you accidentally stick yourself, it’s a much worse experience to extract the hook
- Fish that break off cannot shake the hook that is attached and must wait for it to rust off
- Hooks broken off on a fish can impede their ability to eat
As you can see, the pros and cons (at least those I’ve listed) pretty much equal each other out. However, I’d like to present one of the those downsides more clearly.
Higher Mortality Rate with Barbed Hooks
The mortality rate is a measure of the number of deaths (in general, or due to a specific cause) in a population, according to Wikipedia. In this instance it basically means that it is the number of fish that die due to a certain cause, as in the damage caused by the barb being extracted. Studies have shown that in some cases the mortality rate of fish is almost double when using barbed hooks (check here for a few statistics and references). To me, fish are a precious resource that must be taken care of. And so anything I can do to reduce the amount of deaths to these fish is a worthy thing to do.
It is just like limits placed on the amount of fish one can keep from a river or lake. Those regulations are in effect to help preserve the fishery for future generations. Being a catch and release fisherman is a great idea as it helps this same cause all while still allowing us to pursue a sport that we all thoroughly enjoy. However, catch and release angling is far less effective when fishing barbed hooks due to the damage it causes to the fish. If you’re planning to keep the fish within the regulated limit, I don’t see much problem with using barbed hooks. It is the catch and release aspect that I firmly believe barbed hooks cause more damage than good.
Argument for Barbless Hooks
The information above presents my point fairly clearly. But if you aren’t aware of the benefits of using barbless hooks, I’d like to present a few that I feel are worth a mention:
- Lower mortality rate to fish
- Easier to extract from fish
- Allows for quicker release of the fish
- Easier to remove from yourself if accidentally hooked
- More challenging to fish with
- Flies broken off can easily fall out of a fish’s mouth
Those are just a few of the benefits of barbless hooks. You may be wondering why I’d say they are more challenging to fish with though. That leads me to a few of the drawbacks of barbless hooks, and then I’ll clarify my view on the challenge.
- Easier to lose a hooked fish
- Potential to unhook and rehook the same fish
- Painstaking process of removing barbs from hooks (by filing or crimping)
The first point there is that it is easier to lose a fish hooked on a barbless fly. This is true and there are no arguments against that. However, does this not make fighting those fish that are hooked all the more of a challenge? I think so. You have to be more conscious of the pressure and angles of the fish. You have to be aware of what the fish is doing and where it’s going in order to not provide that small amount of slack for the fish to throw the hook. To me that is a challenge and one that I look forward to. It adds another dimension to this sport that only adds to the enjoyment one has when out on the water.
Final Thoughts on Barbed vs Barbless Hooks
If you haven’t already guessed, I’m a huge proponent of fishing with barbless hooks. I’m not saying that anyone that fishes with barbed hooks is a monster and shouldn’t be allowed to fish. I’d never say that. We are all fisherman in this great sport and we each choose a different way to experience it. I used barbed hooks for the majority of my fly fishing life. Only a few years back I made the switch to barbless and have been a firm believer in that choice ever since. My only hope is to provide information on the subject to allow any fisherman out that to make an educated choice on the barbed vs barbless hooks decision.
I’m probably not the first to say that barbless hooks are harder to fish with. It is a challenge as previously stated and one that does take time to get used to. But it’s all in the spirit of progression and furthering our skills as anglers. I highly recommend you try it out. If you decide to go back, that’s perfectly alright. Although some of you may try barbless and never want to go back. I’ll step down from my soapbox now. Tight lines everyone and if you have any comments or questions, please feel free to leave them below.
About Clint Losee
