Barbless hooks are common in Europe and are becoming more common in North America, but few fishers in Australia seem to even consider them. There are many reasons why you should go barbless – and it really makes sense.
The primary reason to go barbless is that it makes the release of under-sized fish much easier. It’s much, much, easier to remove the hook from the fish and that means that it gets back into the water faster. Much less damage is done to the fish, and that means that it stands a much better chance of making a full recovery – and growing up to be a future prize catch.
With many people practicing ‘catch and release’ fishing, it’s common sense to use barbless hooks. When you want to release your catch, you want to do it as gently as possible – and having to wrestle with with pliers and an ugly barb is going to do that fish no good at all.
Another reason to use barbless hooks is that they are much easier to remove from people, if they have a mishap and hook themselves. This especially important when fishing with kids – best not to get a barb in those little fingers, or you risk a visit to the emergency department of your local hospital. Not good.
Barbless hooks may not be that easy to find in your local Big W or K Mart, but they can be tracked down on Ebay or from bigger tackle stores. Alternatively, it’s relatively easy to squash down the barbs on a traditional hook with a pair of pliers – that’s what I do with mine.
Fish stocks in Australia aren’t inexhaustible, and it’s important that we take really good care of the undersized (and catch and release) fish we hook, to preserve our fish stocks and keep them healthy.
Will you land less fish on barbless hooks? In my thirty-year experience of fishing with barbless hooks, I can say that you will not. I don’t think I’ve ever lost a fish because of barbless hooks. And I can say with certainty that the fish I’ve released have stood a much better chance of survival.
Barbless hooks are widely accepted and common in Europe, where they’re compulsory in some waters to preserve fish stocks. They’re becoming more common in the US – and I can imagine that mindset will soon spread to Australia.
The sooner the better.
