I fished a water recently where barbless hooks were compulsory. I always use barbed hooks and I don't think there is a problem with their use. I caught several carp on the barbless hooks and found quite bad mouth damage had been caused with two of the fish I caught. The barbless hook had worked lose and re-hooked a little away from the initial area. I feel, as a result of this experience that barbless hooks may in fact cause more damage.
If so, why do some fishery managers insist on their use?
What are other readers thoughts/experiences?

I can't see a problem with using barbed hooks - I lost too many fish when I tried barbless. The new hooks out now like the Raptor have such a tiny microbarb anyway that I don't see how this can do the fish any harm.

Paul, i believe the propoganda put about that barbless hooks are more fish friendly to be one of the greatest myths in angling. Perhaps in the smaller sizes for small fish or in match fishing they have their place, but I have plenty of evidence that in the larger sizes they cause more damage to fish than barbed varieties. A water I have fished for years imposed a barbless rule several years ago, resulting in many more carp and tench being caught with slit mouths, and in some cases multiple slits where hooks had slipped and rehooked the fish more than once. Believe it or not, the water now imposes a ban on barbless hooks larger than size 10.
I know this is not the predator site, but several years ago I carried out two winters piking with barbless trebles, and monitored the results. Fish losses through hook pulls trebled, and, more significantly, many more pike bled profusely after being more deeply hooked on barbless than ever would have been possible with barbed hooks.

Yeah Paul I see your point.
Someone said the same thing about barbless hooks in a letter to Total Carp Magazine (Mar 00) but Jim Foster, editor, didn't agree.
But I agree with you Paul and have had first hand experence myself
I like Fred have started to use the new Raptor hooks and now have no problems.

My mate Jim Foster hardly does any carp fishing - so I'm not sure how he would know...
He spends more time clubbing and trying to cop off (unsuccessfully I might add!).
Come to think of it that is probably a more sensible way to spend one's spare time than lying around in a bivvy carp fishing...

Barbless hooks lose fish. They tear the flesh in the mouth because they don't stay put.
I challenge any namby-pamby fishery owner to provide me with one scrap of evidence that barbless hooks are kinder to carp.

I agree with the majority on that Barbless hooks can slip. There are a couple of fisheries in the Cambs area that insist on anglers using BARBED hooks.

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Darren Wilson
Co-Webmaster
CarpersLodge

I like the barbless hooks - they're much less painful to get out of your thumb....

What about heavily snaggy venues where barbed hooks can lead to fish being tethered to snags, resulting in their death ?

I have not found that barbless hooks lose fish - even if they did, that is not sufficient to justify their use. Regarding tearing, I'm no expert but there does seem to be a lot of opinion backing it up.

HArveyM.

I am sure that anyone who calls themself a carp angler will not use tether rigs anyway. I see you point though with snags and a Microbarb hook will fallout with only a little more resistance than a barbless one. The best pattern of barbless hook I have seen is the Preston Innovations Pinch Barb which has a flattened section instead of a barb. This actually stops the hook from rotating within the hookhold and reduces tearing. I have started to use these more on teh venues I fish that ban barbed hooks and have not come across any of the problems mentioned with normal barbless hooks.

BTW they are not expensive either at around £1.50 a pack of 10!!!!

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Darren Wilson

Any hook is only as safe as the angler who is using it - or rather the angler who is trying to take it out of a fish they have caught.

I am a fishery manager and insist on barbless hooks where I am likely to have inexperienced anglers i.e. on busy day ticket waters.

Generally speaking, I believe barbless hooks cause MORE fish mouth damage than barbed when playing a fish and that barbed hooks cause more damage than barbless during unhooking by an inexperienced angler.

I watch the evidence very closely and have for a number of years and am now seriously contemplating banning BARBLESS hooks on RMC's big carp waters such as Horton, Nutrabaits Yateley, Sutton, Wraysbury, Abbotts etc.

Personally, I will not use a barbless hook in any circumstance other than when pike fishing.

Just because the lead pops off, doesn't mean that the rig is anti tether, I know, I've seen it happen.