Hooks - How many, and de-barbed?

[Dorset_Spinner]

Hi all,

I'm fairly new to lure fishing and after some research online have found that some people choose to swap the trebles that come with many lures to singles - why is this?

Also, I've read that some people like to de-barb their hooks (a) to protect themselves, and (b) to make catch and release easier without causing any unnecessary harm to the fish. What is the forum's consensus on this?

Thanks!

 

[103841]

I swap the majority of my trebles for singles using these

VMC 7237 Light Inline Hook - Size 1 (7pcs)

The 7237 Light Inline single hook from VMC is designed to replace trebles on crankbaits, jerkbaits, spoons etc. Featuring a large 'inline' eye

www.agmdiscountfishing.co.uk

AGM offer a brilliant service.

I also crush the barbs, more humane for the fish, easier to unhook, less prone to snagging, less drama in the landing net and if you should impale yourself, easy to remove without a trip to a and e.

It’s important to try and get the weight of a replacement single similar to the original treble so that the lure can perform as it was designed to do.

The downside is you will lose a few fish, a small price to pay imo.

 

[Phil Heaton]

Fitting singles is fine on small lures but larger lures really do fish better with trebles as the body does mask the hook. On small lures its a better option to snip the hook points off the front hook and de-barb the tail hooks.
I've seen a few fishing days spoiled with anglers walking around with the barbs out of sight in various parts of their anatomy, it brings tears to your eyes so all my lures are barbless.

 

[Dorset_Spinner]

Fitting singles is fine on small lures but larger lures really do fish better with trebles as the body does mask the hook. On small lures its a better option to snip the hook points off the front hook and de-barb the tail hooks.
I've seen a few fishing days spoiled with anglers walking around with the barbs out of sight in various parts of their anatomy, it brings tears to your eyes so all my lures are barbless.

Thanks Phil. When you say 'small lures', what sort of weight are we talking?

 

[Dorset_Spinner]

I swap the majority of my trebles for singles using these

VMC 7237 Light Inline Hook - Size 1 (7pcs)

The 7237 Light Inline single hook from VMC is designed to replace trebles on crankbaits, jerkbaits, spoons etc. Featuring a large 'inline' eye

www.agmdiscountfishing.co.uk

AGM offer a brilliant service.

I also crush the barbs, more humane for the fish, easier to unhook, less prone to snagging, less drama in the landing net and if you should impale yourself, easy to remove without a trip to a and e.

It’s important to try and get the weight of a replacement single similar to the original treble so that the lure can perform as it was designed to do.

The downside is you will lose a few fish, a small price to pay imo.

Thanks very much, I'll take a look!

 

[103841]

Thanks very much, I'll take a look!

can be an expensive exercise when you start shopping on the AGM site! ?

 

[Phil Heaton]

Thanks Phil. When you say 'small lures', what sort of weight are we talking?

Small crank baits to me are up to 40mm ( targeting chub and perch), medium cranks 50mm to 100mm (targeting chub, pike, perch & zander) and large above 100mm (targeting pike & zander)

 

[Dorset_Spinner]

Small crank baits to me are up to 40mm ( targeting chub and perch), medium cranks 50mm to 100mm (targeting chub, pike, perch & zander) and large above 100mm (targeting pike & zander)

Great, thank you for clarifying

 

[Mark_Leathwood]

I've caught hundreds of pike on barbless single hooks over the years (fly fishing for them mostly) and I've no misgivings at all about fishing with just one single hook. It's true, you do lose the odd fish, but the ease of unhooking and returning them is a trade-off that is more than worthwhile - to me anyway. I'd rather not catch a fish than do it any unnecessary damage.
All my perch lures have barbless singles on them (another shout-out for AGM and the VMC barbless singles). It's a while since I did any lure fishing for pike but I think that, when I do, I'll be looking to use barbless singles there too - wherever possible. Phil Heaton is right of course, when he mentions larger lures lose hooking potential if the trebles are replaced with singles. Another concern I have is that some might be tempted to use very large single hooks - as we often see on jigs. I think they can do a lot of harm as well. All things considered I think you just have use common sense and go with whatever your conscience dictates.