Switching to barbless hooks protects fish and makes you a sharper angler. Here’s how to do it

HOOK OPTIONS

To go barbless, you can either swap out your hooks for factory-made barbless options, or pinch down the barbs on your existing hooks using needle-nose pliers. When pinching down, be sure to use the lower part of the pliers’ jaw close to the joint, where you’ll get the most leverage to easily crush the barb flat. Generally, a hook is considered barbless when you can run a finger across the squeezed-down barb and it doesn’t catch your skin.

When swapping out hooks, ensure the replacements are properly suited to the lure at hand. In my experience, for example, baits designed with multiple hooks, such as body baits with two or three trebles, don’t hook up well with just a single barbless hook. So, when I’m fishing water where the regulations only allow for single barbless hooks, I typically opt for baits with a better bite-to-hooking ratio, such as spoons, spinners, jigs and flies.

With jigs in particular, there’s an extra factor worth considering. When a fish shakes its head, the weighted jighead and fixed hook give the fish leverage to throw the hook. And the heavier the jig, the more advantage the fish has. One way around this is to use specialty rigs such as the vertical laker tube (pictured). This set-up introduces a joint between the weight and hook, something that has dramatically improved my landing percentage when fishing heavy jigs.

Opting for quality barbless hooks also matters. Don’t let the fish of a lifetime get away because you cheaped out. Lighter hooks penetrate better, but they need to be of premium quality so they don’t straighten under pressure. And keep all your hooks razor sharp. In many freshwater situations, for example, I’ve had the greatest success using inshore saltwater hooks, since they’re ultra-strong and sharp.

BONUS TIP: EASE INTO IT

Even if you’re not ready to dive headfirst into barbless fishing, there are easy ways to test the waters. Try converting just a few favourite lures to start, or commit to fishing barbless for a weekend. You can also practise barbless techniques in low-stake situations—such as chasing panfish—before using them on coveted trophy species.