I am thinking that it's time to have barbless hooks on my lures because I'm concerned about hooking my dog while fishing in a canoe. Haven’t fished with him in a canoe because of this.

What’s the best way of going about it? I have searched for barbless treble hooks and found them to be costly. Do you just pinch down the barb or try grinding them off?

Thanks.

most just crimp the barbs down. no need for new trebles , unless you enjoy spending money ;)

While crimping is quick, often a little 'snag' is left behind which will catch upon flesh. I spend a little time each winter with my hand held generic dremel tool and grind any new lure barb as well as sharpen the hooks. Your concern about catching your dog is very valid and one of the reasons I am barbless.

I took all trebles off the lures I take into the BWCA. I’m sure it’s cost me a few fish, but that’s ok, a lot fewer problems overall.

Crimp the barb down while rotating back and forth the hook in the pliers. Sometimes the barb snaps off, sometime it is just pushed in - video link below. Either way, it works well for removal from one's hand or other body part, thats been my experience. With the barb still on the hook, that's another story (see pic below).

crimping a hook barb video

In Quetico, you have to fish with barbless hooks.

I've used both pliers to crimp the barb and a Dremel to grind the barb. I liked the results with a good pair of pliers better than using the Dremel. The pliers are also much faster.

Last season was my first time using barbless hooks. I love the ease of releasing fish quickly with minimal handling and trauma. Knowing the hook will also come out of my thumb with similar ease should something go wrong is a very comforting thought!

I had a guide once tell me--do you want to catch fish or not. I told him I did not need barbed hooks to catch fish..if they leap and jump off that is still a catch.

flytyer: "I had a guide once tell me--do you want to catch fish or not. I told him I did not need barbed hooks to catch fish..if they leap and jump off that is still a catch. "

Good answer, since Quetico went barbless, and I went with the rules, I lose very few fish more than before. Just keep the line tight.

Over the years in the BWCA, I got hooked in various places with barbs, and it was no fun. Ask the Clinic in Ely they once collected all the barb hooks, they pulled out of people. It's time for Minnesota to go barbless.

I know like lake trout, barbless for me saved a lot of lake trout to swim again when released.

I also use all barbless for all the same reasons others have said. I find a good pair of needle nose pliers takes care of the bard. I have a small file I'll use if they have a rough spot left. I've never tried the Dremel, but might that's not a bad idea.

flytyer: "if they leap and jump off that is still a catch. "

Haha. If you lose it due to the hook popping out, it's a lost fish, not a caught fish. I've brought fish into net only to lose them (big wave, stupid rubber net) and that is still not a catch in my book.

I go with the dremel tool when eliminating barbs, but I only fish barbless when I'm in a pretty remote area or if I'm solo. I personally feel that ditching trebles for a single barbed hook is better than fishing barbless trebles. I feel that the extra hooks are more problematic than the barbs themselves.

For your spoons, try a single siwash hook, barbed or not that's your preference.

use a needle nose plier and you can flatten the barbs easily. They come out of humans more easily this way, too

Because the Quetico requires barbless that is all I use. Once you crimp and grind down the barbs you can't put them back. Many years ago on advice I also tried cutting off one of the hooks on a treble setup because it supposedly cuts down on snags. Also swapped out some of my trebles for singles. It is difficult to deal with a struggling, decent-sized fish in a solo canoe with hooks flashing all over or trying to free one in the water caught on one hook of a treble. if it is big enough for a net you have to free the extra trebles caught in the netting. I'd love to see the DNR go barbless. Barbs cause injured fish even if you are a careful catch-and-release person.

OldGuide2: "...Many years ago on advice I also tried cutting off one of the hooks on a treble setup because it supposedly cuts down on snags... "

On some minnow style lures like an Original Floating Rapala I may remove a treble as well (the front one) - especially the ones that have three treble hooks. But I don't cut it off. I remove it with a pair of split-ring pliers.

I also bring a lip-gripper. It keeps your hands away from the hooks. Plus, I don't like traveling with fishing nets.

I switched a lot of my favorite cranks over to Eagle Claw barbless hooks many years ago. They had an extra bend in the hook that was supposed to help like a barbed hook does. I can't really say they are better or worse don't really lose fish often either way. Other wise I just crimp them. I am pretty much 100% barbless. Obviously Quetico I am for sure.

I did a search and these look promising, a grabber barbless treble
Grabber Treble

When I have kids along I definitely see a higher loss of fish, especially when a bass jumps, it's just hard to keep the line tight for many of them and more often the bass throws the hook. Despite what a previous poster said...kids are more honest...it is quite disappointing and no matter how many times I try to convince them...they KNOW they did not catch that fish :) Us adults can fool ourselves more easily...

Snagging clothing and skin is a great reason to switch to barbless. My wife once snagged my lifevest and we lost 20 minutes of prime fishing trying not to tear the vest unhooking her...I probably missed 5-10 fish due to barbed hooks as it was a hot bite. Barbless hooks also result in better/easier hook sets so sometimes you can hook a fish you may have missed with barbed--especially trolling cranks.

What's interesting and seems like some get mad at me when I bring this up...but i am a science guy...is that barbless hooks have little effect on delayed hooking mortality. Barbless hooks penetrate deeper so if the hook is inside the fish it is more likley to cause more damage than barbless. There was a recent Mille Lacs walleye study with Leeches and barbed and barbless and the Barbless killed more fish than barbed. Although statistically the difference was not that significant, but highly interesting when the results seem to contradict what our own bias tells us. Fish death is more related to fatigue (playing the fish out), higher water temps, how long it is out of the water, and where the fish is hooked rather than the type of hook. You can use a barbless but if you use 6# test and tire the fish out so it's lying on the surface, drag it to shore in warmer water for a pic you really didn't help the fish much.

T

Just want to be clear, which I wasn't. When I cut a treble it makes it into a double, which can cut down on snags. If I swap out a treble for a single, I remove the treble with split ring tool. Maybe I am just a lousy fisherman, but I hate snags especially when fishing solo out of a canoe in the wind.