Un-hooking Ethics

[blue oyster]

i fish barbless and i also cut one hook off each treble hook making unhooking easy becuuse you can push the hook down and slide it out without rehooking .

[King Neptune]

Absolutely take the plug out, even if you have to shred the fish. If you leave the plug in there, whatever scavenges the fish (bird, shark, seal, etc) could end up with the plug in it. Now you're in the running to kill two animals. Plus you've lost your $15.

[stiff tip]

pull the f#zking thing out .use barbless hooks ... u got a better chance....orrrr take it home....sh#t happens

[Water Treater]

Fifteen years ago a big bluefish (and a trip to the emergency room) convinced me to switch to all barbless hooks (singles and trebles, too) and I've never looked back. Crush all the barbs on your hooks and learn to sharpen your hooks with a comercial hook sharpener. It's so easy and quick, too. I seldom drop a fish, and even then it's almost always a bluefish that's gone airborne.

When I hook-up I don't even think about releasing my catch (I tag and release 100% of my catch if it's in good condition) because barbless hooks make that task so easy.

[Circlehook]

Does VMC make a barbless replacement treble? Or any manufacturer? If they don't, it looks like there might be quite a market for them.

[baldwin]

Barbless is definitely the way to go. I think hooksets are even more efficient, because there's less surface area to jam through that jaw. Whether you pinch it down or grind it, leave a little nub of steel to help hold the hook in. Regardless, you'll kill a fish now and then, just the nature of the sport. I've kept two bass in the last ten years. One was foul-hooked deeply in the side with a barbed hook and took way to long to get the hook out. Another was a 46" fish that I landed in brutal surf on a rocky coastline, beat both the fish and myself halfway to hell.