Un-hooking Ethics

[piemma]

Originally Posted by Adam_777

Should have just killed and and filet'd er up right there.Call it a day.Bury the carcass.That fish is dead ,no way after 10 mins out and bleeding will it ever make it on another hook or even back down south with the herd.I mean even if you dont eat them I'm sure you could have given the filets away.Why waste it! I don't condone keeping smalls but in certain circumstances your not left with much of a choice either put it out of it's misery or toss it back into it's torture chamber to die of stress or starvation.I would have kept it.Fishing two years in the Ocean state I've only kept one bluefish for my neighbor and it was bled out fast.Just my opinion here.I've never been in that situation but when it comes my decision will be alot clearer.As far as barbless hooks I've yet to try it.I don't catch enough to even allow that little room for them getting away.

Agreed! Good point.

[Flaptail]

Barbless hooks, been using them for 20 years now, most times with a little patience you can get a multi hook plug out of thier mouth, if all hope will be lost then I get the plug back every time and the crabs have a ball. (Jenna Jameson only does women now, unfortunately.)

[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.