Rainbow trout - Kamchatka Russia
CONTENTS:
1. Links for proper fish handling.
2. A Fly fishing Guide.
3. Monofilament vs Fluorocarbon leaders and tippets.
4. How to fish with barbless hooks.
5. How to remove a fish hook embedded in the skin.
6. How to tie different types of fishing knots.
1. Posted 02/12/2022 - Links for proper fish handling by Calvin Hazlewood
https://cutthroatctu.org/catch-release-handling-guidelines
https://www.keepfishwet.org/
https://www.bassresource.com/fish_biology/handling-bass.html
https://www.flyfisherman.com/editorial/best-practices-for-catch-and-release-trout-fishing/384148
2. POSTED 05/23/2019 BY JOHN PIERSON - A Fly Fishing Guide
NOTE: The information below is from a long time Colorado fishing guide, copied off a Trout Unlimited website and is excellent for beginning and experienced fishermen and women.
1. Learn to recognize the fishy water, that is where your drift needs to be. A common mistake that I see as a guide is people not approaching water carefully, and standing where they ought to be fishing and casting to water that doesn't hold fish. Also, the trout's predators come from above--Ospreys, eagles, etc. They see up very well, they will see you up on a high bank, approach them low and from behind (I'm short, a great advantage here). Learn how to approach without spooking them, and don't wear bright, high contrast colors, including hats. They see you well. Learn to see them as well. Fine sunglasses may be your best friend.
2. Learn to cast well enough that you can hit the prime spot on the first cast. In most waters, that doesn't mean a long cast, just a good cast. Learn to make ONE back cast and ONE forward cast. No need to false cast very much. If you miss the prime spot, fish the fly where it lands, don't yank it out and recast. Hitting the prime spot on the first cast will greatly improve your catch rate. Be systematic and cover the good water thoroughly. i often watch a drift, tell the guest to move the fly over 2 feet on the next cast. Often their next cast moves over 10 feet. That reduces your chances. Don't flog the water! Be precise.
3. MOVE!!! The difference between catching a lot and a few is often in the amount of water that you cover. If they don't come up in a few casts, move. As you come to likely water, make your best cast first. Make a few more covering the water well, and move. Don't move too far, I often move upstream the length of my leader, and cover that water. But, I will often cover 1-2 miles a day, especially if i'm prospecting with a dry. In winter, I don't move nearly as much, as the fish are more concentrated in fewer places.
4. Get the drift down. This is all important. If your fly is dragging, even in the slightest way, you will catch fewer trout. I rarely use split shot, even though I am guiding on a very fast river. I use weighted nymphs. At some time, you will drop even a lightly weighted nymph into the water and I guarantee that it will go straight to the bottom, even in fast water. Thus a good drift, even without split shot will get flies down. Watch the bubbles, your indicator should be moving at the same speed or even slightly slower. Understand when and how to mend. I get a lot of compulsive menders that will mend in the wrong direction and at the wrong time. Often the same effect will be accomplished by just lifting the rod and not mending. Learn a reach cast. If you aren't catching fish, it is probably drag. Again, precision.
5. SET! Many fish are missed as the angler did not recognize the take and did not set. Nothing is wrong with setting to nothing, so if you aren't sure, SET. Don't be late. The fish just got a mouthful of feathers that it thought was food. The fly is coming out of their mouth is a fraction of a second, under water pressure. Practice on a stocked lake, and you'll realize how many fish are missed. I often take people out and they only catch a few of the fish that I put them over. They often don't believe me if I tell them that they just missed a fish, but they did. If the guide says "set!" it is probably already too late, you need to see this on your own.
6. Learn bugs. Learn to recognize rise forms. That way you will know if the trout just took the dun or the emerger, or was it a caddis or a mayfly? The rise form may tell you. Learn to recognize when a hatch is occurring, many people miss the signs and never see the bugs or the takes or the rises. Watch the birds, they know.
7. Learn safety. Use a wading staff. Learn how to dress for warmth and safety. Wear breathable clothing under waders. Never wear cotton. And for the love of God, wet wade in warm weather! Anything that you aren't willing to lose, attach to yourself. By all means put your name and phone number on your fly boxes. Don't carry anything with you that you are not willing to get wet, unless it is in a dry bag.
8. Learn etiquette. Also, etiquette is different for a tailwater than it is on a freestone. As there are more of us out there, we need to learn how to treat others on the water.
9. Learn knots--at least a clinch, an improved clinch, a perfection loop, a mono loop knot, a blood knot (alternatively a double surgeons) and get a tool for tying a nail knot. Watch you tube, start with a piece of rope or discarded fly line. Then smaller and smaller mono. Learn to tie these knots with your eyes closed. Practice. Don't mess with tangles too long. Guides are first professional un-tanglers. Don't unbraid, first cut the flies off, loosen the tangle and pull it free. Knots can be retied faster than you can untangle.
10. Fish multiple flies on the same rig. I can't remember the last time I fished a single fly. Multiple nymphs, double dries, dry-dropper, dry-dropper-dropper, double streamers, a brace of wets. Know the laws in your area though. Don't dish three flies if the law says only two. Colorado doesn't limit this, Montana does.
11. Practice. Golfers spend lots of time at the range, driving, chipping, and putting. Flyfishers seem to think that they can go fishing 5 times a year and be good at it. That is like a golfer going out five times a year and shooting par each time with no practice. It just isn't going to happen.
12. Learn how to play and land a big fish. Use the heaviest leader possible. I use 4X most of the time, sometimes 5X, sometimes 3X, I don't use anything lighter, and I catch thousands of trout on all kinds of water. Overplaying a large fish will kill it. Mishandling a fish will kill it.
13. Fly fishing feels awkward at times. Learn work arounds and how to deal with the inherent awkwardness.
Preston Larimer, Fly fishing guide Arkanglers.com Buena Vista and Salida, CO.
3. POSTED 01/16/2019 BY FORD ROLLO - Monofilament vs. Fluorocarbon leaders and tippets.
NOTE : The following is edited from an internet article:
While fluorocarbon leader and tippet materials are no longer a new discovery in fishing, lots of us are still uncertain of the difference between newer fluorocarbon and traditional nylon monofilament. Don’t be fooled by the substantially higher price tag on fluorocarbon materials when compared to monofilament. Many anglers reach for fluorocarbon under the assumption that because it is more expensive, it is a superior choice of line. While there are many superior qualities of fluorocarbon, both fluorocarbon and monofilament have their place depending on the situation. The higher price of fluorocarbon is as much a result of the manufacturing process as it is the “fishing value.” When comparing leader and tippet material there are several qualities that are of utmost importance :
Visibility:
The visibility, or better put, the “invisibility” of fluorocarbon line is most likely the best selling point of fluorocarbon when compared to standard nylon monofilament line. The light refractive index of fluorocarbon is very similar to that of fresh water (much more so than monofilament). In other words, when placed in water, it is less visible than monofilament.
Strength:
When talking about strength, there are several things to consider. In the short term, fluorocarbon is a much harder material than monofilament. This results in higher abrasion resistance that is useful in situations such as nymphing or fishing around heavy structure. Also, most fluorocarbon line is thinner in diameter than monofilament line of the same breaking strength.
Fluorocarbon is also non-permeable to water and therefore does not absorb water throughout the fishing day. This may not seem like a big deal but most do not realize how much water nylon monofilament actually absorbs throughout the day. Over time, this causes monofilament to weaken.
Over the long term, fluorocarbon is extremely resistant to the elements, unlike monofilament. Over time, U.V. rays, rain and humidity, and extreme temperatures (both hot and cold) can cause monofilament to break down and lose strength. That’s why I’ve always recommended that we purchase NEW monofilament leaders and tippet spools every year.
CAUTION: Fluorocarbon does not break down readily. Please refrain from disposing of it in the water as it will be there for a very, very long time.
Density:
For trout fisherman, the density of your leader material is actually very important. Fluorocarbon is actually denser than water. In other words, it sinks. This is great when dredging the bottom with nymphs or stripping streamers. However, if dead drifting or skating flies on the surface, this is the last thing you want. Nylon monofilament on the other hand actually suspends in water. If fishing dries, especially in very small sizes, monofilament is a clear winner here.
Stretch:
Most anglers are aware that monofilament is a relatively “stretchy” material. Just grab your leader from both ends and pull; you will see it stretch. While a certain degree of stretch is advantageous to help absorb the shock while fighting a fish, less stretch results in higher sensitivity for detecting those subtle bites. Fluorocarbon is said to have less stretch than most nylon monofilament, however there has been some debate among differing manufacturers.
Knots:
The knot is always the weakest link in your setup and therefore it is important to choose a material that knots well.
Nylon monofilament is far superior here as it is more supple than fluorocarbon. For this reason, nylon monofilament is often the choice when tying big game leaders that require extremely large diameter lines. Due to the stiffness of fluorocarbon, knots do not always seat as easy and must be coaxed into lying just right. Take your time when tying knots into fluorocarbon materials and ensure the knot seats correctly to avoid knot slippage or breakage.
Summary:
While fluorocarbon seems to have a great deal of advantage over traditional monofilament, there are certain situations where the extra cost is not necessary. Evaluate what situations best fit you and buy accordingly. All fluorocarbon products are not the same. Personally, I use Rio, but I feel that Umpqua, Orvis and a few others are acceptable.
END OF 01/16/2019 POST
4. Posted by Ford Rollo - Fishing With A Barbless Hook
NOTE: The following is edited from another article.
I am a big advocate of fly-fishing with a barbless hook. While some fly patterns (like the Stimulators tied by Umpqua Feather Merchants) are tied on barbless hooks to begin with, they are in the vast minority. Fly tyers also have the option of tying on barbless hooks, but again, this is not the norm. The majority of hooks used by fly tyers are not offered in barbless versions.
(As an aside, the shop where I guided in Idaho for 20 years, Silver Creek Outfitters, orders most of their flies tied on barbless hooks!)
The bottom line is that most of the time the angler will have to remove the barb him/herself. This is most easily accomplished by simply flattening the barb to the hook with pliers or hemostats. The process is easier if the pliers or hemostats lack serrations. There is no need to actually remove the barb. Just get it as flat to the hook point as possible.
The type of hook the fly is tied on determines how easily the flattening process is accomplished. Japanese hooks which are laser or chemically-sharpened and possessing small barbs are the easiest to deal with. Barbs are easily flattened and there is less danger of breaking off the hook point. Such is not the case with other hook manufacturers, such as the very popular (with many fly manufacturers) Mustad line of hooks. Mustad barbs are large and do not easily flatten to the hook. They also have a tendency to break the hook point if you are not careful, and sometimes even if you are.
The best way to flatten a Mustad barb is to work slowly, starting at the rear of the barb and working your way forward. Most of the time you will not be able get the barb perfectly flat, but as long as you get the point of the barb down to the hook proper, you should be OK.
The simplest way to tell Japanese hooks from Mustad hooks is by examining the size of the barb itself.
Small or micro-barbed hooks with very sharp points are usually Japanese while large barbs with not-as-sharp hook points could very well be Mustads. The difference is not always readily apparent, but if you start paying attention to your hook barbs, in time you’ll notice the difference.
Why fish barbless in the first place? For starters, it’s easier on the fish. Assuming you’re practicing catch and release, backing a barbless hook out of a trout’s mouth is far less harmful than the tearing of mouth and jaw tissue which commonly occurs when using barbed hooks. This is the real origin of the term “ripping lips.” Furthermore, since hook removal is so much easier with barbless hooks, it requires that much less handling of the fish and can often be accomplished without removing the fish from the water. The cumulative effect is better survival rates for trout and other species of fish.
There is another, frequently overlooked, reason to fish barbless which has nothing to do with protecting fish and everything to do with increasing your strike-to-hook-up ratio. Simply put, it is easier to achieve a solid hook set when using barbless flies because you are freed from having to overcome the resistance of the barb. Admittedly, a barbed hook will hang on to a fish better than a barbless hook, but you have to bury the barb in the tissue of the lip or mouth first. Have you ever set the hook, doubling the rod over for the briefest of moments, only to have the hook “pull out” and your rod subsequently straighten? The barb actually inhibits hook penetration and a certain percentage of “missed strikes” with barbed hooks can be attributed to this fact.
Fishing barbless is a particularly good idea when using small flies and light tippets. The improved hook penetration helps save fine tippets from undue stress and tiny, hard-to-remove hooks back out much easier. Some anglers will rightly point out that numerous studies show no difference in mortality rates for barbed or barbless fishing. But my personal experience in the field (in other words, on stream and lake) over many years and thousands of fish make this very hard to swallow.
Many anglers feel they will lose too many fish by going barbless, and this may well be true. But look at it this way…you’re doing the fish a big favor. If you need to harm a fish in order to catch it, maybe you need to work on your hooking and playing skills. And that is exactly what will happen if you stick with the barbless approach. It will teach you to play a fish properly by forcing you to keep tension on the line during the fight. A properly set barbless hook, followed by solid fish playing skills will land far more fish than a barbed hook, questionable hook-set, and clumsy fish playing skills. Gut it out, take your short term whoopin’, learn the proper skills and in the long run you will be richly rewarded…and the fish will thank you.
Of course, the other benefit to barbless hooks is protecting yourself. It doesn’t happen too often, but once in a while, the wind will blow your fly off course and into your head, ear, neck…even your eye! (Especially if you’re using long, 6X or 7X tippets!). Getting a barbed hook out of your skull or other extremity is painful and difficult at best. The hospital in Ennis, Montana where I spend my summers has a collection of hundreds of BARBED HOOKS and LURES that have been surgically removed from angler’s bodies. One such fly is encased in a clear plastic “trophy” given to the doctor by the angler for saving the angler’s vision. The hook penetrated the angler’s eyeball. Can you imagine?
End of barbless hook post.
5. Posted 01/03/2019 by John Pierson - How to remove a fish hook embedded in the skin
1. Links for proper fish handling.
2. A Fly fishing Guide.
3. Monofilament vs Fluorocarbon leaders and tippets.
4. How to fish with barbless hooks.
5. How to remove a fish hook embedded in the skin.
6. How to tie different types of fishing knots.
1. Posted 02/12/2022 - Links for proper fish handling by Calvin Hazlewood
https://cutthroatctu.org/catch-release-handling-guidelines
https://www.keepfishwet.org/
https://www.bassresource.com/fish_biology/handling-bass.html
https://www.flyfisherman.com/editorial/best-practices-for-catch-and-release-trout-fishing/384148
2. POSTED 05/23/2019 BY JOHN PIERSON - A Fly Fishing Guide
NOTE: The information below is from a long time Colorado fishing guide, copied off a Trout Unlimited website and is excellent for beginning and experienced fishermen and women.
1. Learn to recognize the fishy water, that is where your drift needs to be. A common mistake that I see as a guide is people not approaching water carefully, and standing where they ought to be fishing and casting to water that doesn't hold fish. Also, the trout's predators come from above--Ospreys, eagles, etc. They see up very well, they will see you up on a high bank, approach them low and from behind (I'm short, a great advantage here). Learn how to approach without spooking them, and don't wear bright, high contrast colors, including hats. They see you well. Learn to see them as well. Fine sunglasses may be your best friend.
2. Learn to cast well enough that you can hit the prime spot on the first cast. In most waters, that doesn't mean a long cast, just a good cast. Learn to make ONE back cast and ONE forward cast. No need to false cast very much. If you miss the prime spot, fish the fly where it lands, don't yank it out and recast. Hitting the prime spot on the first cast will greatly improve your catch rate. Be systematic and cover the good water thoroughly. i often watch a drift, tell the guest to move the fly over 2 feet on the next cast. Often their next cast moves over 10 feet. That reduces your chances. Don't flog the water! Be precise.
3. MOVE!!! The difference between catching a lot and a few is often in the amount of water that you cover. If they don't come up in a few casts, move. As you come to likely water, make your best cast first. Make a few more covering the water well, and move. Don't move too far, I often move upstream the length of my leader, and cover that water. But, I will often cover 1-2 miles a day, especially if i'm prospecting with a dry. In winter, I don't move nearly as much, as the fish are more concentrated in fewer places.
4. Get the drift down. This is all important. If your fly is dragging, even in the slightest way, you will catch fewer trout. I rarely use split shot, even though I am guiding on a very fast river. I use weighted nymphs. At some time, you will drop even a lightly weighted nymph into the water and I guarantee that it will go straight to the bottom, even in fast water. Thus a good drift, even without split shot will get flies down. Watch the bubbles, your indicator should be moving at the same speed or even slightly slower. Understand when and how to mend. I get a lot of compulsive menders that will mend in the wrong direction and at the wrong time. Often the same effect will be accomplished by just lifting the rod and not mending. Learn a reach cast. If you aren't catching fish, it is probably drag. Again, precision.
5. SET! Many fish are missed as the angler did not recognize the take and did not set. Nothing is wrong with setting to nothing, so if you aren't sure, SET. Don't be late. The fish just got a mouthful of feathers that it thought was food. The fly is coming out of their mouth is a fraction of a second, under water pressure. Practice on a stocked lake, and you'll realize how many fish are missed. I often take people out and they only catch a few of the fish that I put them over. They often don't believe me if I tell them that they just missed a fish, but they did. If the guide says "set!" it is probably already too late, you need to see this on your own.
6. Learn bugs. Learn to recognize rise forms. That way you will know if the trout just took the dun or the emerger, or was it a caddis or a mayfly? The rise form may tell you. Learn to recognize when a hatch is occurring, many people miss the signs and never see the bugs or the takes or the rises. Watch the birds, they know.
7. Learn safety. Use a wading staff. Learn how to dress for warmth and safety. Wear breathable clothing under waders. Never wear cotton. And for the love of God, wet wade in warm weather! Anything that you aren't willing to lose, attach to yourself. By all means put your name and phone number on your fly boxes. Don't carry anything with you that you are not willing to get wet, unless it is in a dry bag.
8. Learn etiquette. Also, etiquette is different for a tailwater than it is on a freestone. As there are more of us out there, we need to learn how to treat others on the water.
9. Learn knots--at least a clinch, an improved clinch, a perfection loop, a mono loop knot, a blood knot (alternatively a double surgeons) and get a tool for tying a nail knot. Watch you tube, start with a piece of rope or discarded fly line. Then smaller and smaller mono. Learn to tie these knots with your eyes closed. Practice. Don't mess with tangles too long. Guides are first professional un-tanglers. Don't unbraid, first cut the flies off, loosen the tangle and pull it free. Knots can be retied faster than you can untangle.
10. Fish multiple flies on the same rig. I can't remember the last time I fished a single fly. Multiple nymphs, double dries, dry-dropper, dry-dropper-dropper, double streamers, a brace of wets. Know the laws in your area though. Don't dish three flies if the law says only two. Colorado doesn't limit this, Montana does.
11. Practice. Golfers spend lots of time at the range, driving, chipping, and putting. Flyfishers seem to think that they can go fishing 5 times a year and be good at it. That is like a golfer going out five times a year and shooting par each time with no practice. It just isn't going to happen.
12. Learn how to play and land a big fish. Use the heaviest leader possible. I use 4X most of the time, sometimes 5X, sometimes 3X, I don't use anything lighter, and I catch thousands of trout on all kinds of water. Overplaying a large fish will kill it. Mishandling a fish will kill it.
13. Fly fishing feels awkward at times. Learn work arounds and how to deal with the inherent awkwardness.
Preston Larimer, Fly fishing guide Arkanglers.com Buena Vista and Salida, CO.
3. POSTED 01/16/2019 BY FORD ROLLO - Monofilament vs. Fluorocarbon leaders and tippets.
NOTE : The following is edited from an internet article:
While fluorocarbon leader and tippet materials are no longer a new discovery in fishing, lots of us are still uncertain of the difference between newer fluorocarbon and traditional nylon monofilament. Don’t be fooled by the substantially higher price tag on fluorocarbon materials when compared to monofilament. Many anglers reach for fluorocarbon under the assumption that because it is more expensive, it is a superior choice of line. While there are many superior qualities of fluorocarbon, both fluorocarbon and monofilament have their place depending on the situation. The higher price of fluorocarbon is as much a result of the manufacturing process as it is the “fishing value.” When comparing leader and tippet material there are several qualities that are of utmost importance :
Visibility:
The visibility, or better put, the “invisibility” of fluorocarbon line is most likely the best selling point of fluorocarbon when compared to standard nylon monofilament line. The light refractive index of fluorocarbon is very similar to that of fresh water (much more so than monofilament). In other words, when placed in water, it is less visible than monofilament.
Strength:
When talking about strength, there are several things to consider. In the short term, fluorocarbon is a much harder material than monofilament. This results in higher abrasion resistance that is useful in situations such as nymphing or fishing around heavy structure. Also, most fluorocarbon line is thinner in diameter than monofilament line of the same breaking strength.
Fluorocarbon is also non-permeable to water and therefore does not absorb water throughout the fishing day. This may not seem like a big deal but most do not realize how much water nylon monofilament actually absorbs throughout the day. Over time, this causes monofilament to weaken.
Over the long term, fluorocarbon is extremely resistant to the elements, unlike monofilament. Over time, U.V. rays, rain and humidity, and extreme temperatures (both hot and cold) can cause monofilament to break down and lose strength. That’s why I’ve always recommended that we purchase NEW monofilament leaders and tippet spools every year.
CAUTION: Fluorocarbon does not break down readily. Please refrain from disposing of it in the water as it will be there for a very, very long time.
Density:
For trout fisherman, the density of your leader material is actually very important. Fluorocarbon is actually denser than water. In other words, it sinks. This is great when dredging the bottom with nymphs or stripping streamers. However, if dead drifting or skating flies on the surface, this is the last thing you want. Nylon monofilament on the other hand actually suspends in water. If fishing dries, especially in very small sizes, monofilament is a clear winner here.
Stretch:
Most anglers are aware that monofilament is a relatively “stretchy” material. Just grab your leader from both ends and pull; you will see it stretch. While a certain degree of stretch is advantageous to help absorb the shock while fighting a fish, less stretch results in higher sensitivity for detecting those subtle bites. Fluorocarbon is said to have less stretch than most nylon monofilament, however there has been some debate among differing manufacturers.
Knots:
The knot is always the weakest link in your setup and therefore it is important to choose a material that knots well.
Nylon monofilament is far superior here as it is more supple than fluorocarbon. For this reason, nylon monofilament is often the choice when tying big game leaders that require extremely large diameter lines. Due to the stiffness of fluorocarbon, knots do not always seat as easy and must be coaxed into lying just right. Take your time when tying knots into fluorocarbon materials and ensure the knot seats correctly to avoid knot slippage or breakage.
Summary:
While fluorocarbon seems to have a great deal of advantage over traditional monofilament, there are certain situations where the extra cost is not necessary. Evaluate what situations best fit you and buy accordingly. All fluorocarbon products are not the same. Personally, I use Rio, but I feel that Umpqua, Orvis and a few others are acceptable.
END OF 01/16/2019 POST
4. Posted by Ford Rollo - Fishing With A Barbless Hook
NOTE: The following is edited from another article.
I am a big advocate of fly-fishing with a barbless hook. While some fly patterns (like the Stimulators tied by Umpqua Feather Merchants) are tied on barbless hooks to begin with, they are in the vast minority. Fly tyers also have the option of tying on barbless hooks, but again, this is not the norm. The majority of hooks used by fly tyers are not offered in barbless versions.
(As an aside, the shop where I guided in Idaho for 20 years, Silver Creek Outfitters, orders most of their flies tied on barbless hooks!)
The bottom line is that most of the time the angler will have to remove the barb him/herself. This is most easily accomplished by simply flattening the barb to the hook with pliers or hemostats. The process is easier if the pliers or hemostats lack serrations. There is no need to actually remove the barb. Just get it as flat to the hook point as possible.
The type of hook the fly is tied on determines how easily the flattening process is accomplished. Japanese hooks which are laser or chemically-sharpened and possessing small barbs are the easiest to deal with. Barbs are easily flattened and there is less danger of breaking off the hook point. Such is not the case with other hook manufacturers, such as the very popular (with many fly manufacturers) Mustad line of hooks. Mustad barbs are large and do not easily flatten to the hook. They also have a tendency to break the hook point if you are not careful, and sometimes even if you are.
The best way to flatten a Mustad barb is to work slowly, starting at the rear of the barb and working your way forward. Most of the time you will not be able get the barb perfectly flat, but as long as you get the point of the barb down to the hook proper, you should be OK.
The simplest way to tell Japanese hooks from Mustad hooks is by examining the size of the barb itself.
Small or micro-barbed hooks with very sharp points are usually Japanese while large barbs with not-as-sharp hook points could very well be Mustads. The difference is not always readily apparent, but if you start paying attention to your hook barbs, in time you’ll notice the difference.
Why fish barbless in the first place? For starters, it’s easier on the fish. Assuming you’re practicing catch and release, backing a barbless hook out of a trout’s mouth is far less harmful than the tearing of mouth and jaw tissue which commonly occurs when using barbed hooks. This is the real origin of the term “ripping lips.” Furthermore, since hook removal is so much easier with barbless hooks, it requires that much less handling of the fish and can often be accomplished without removing the fish from the water. The cumulative effect is better survival rates for trout and other species of fish.
There is another, frequently overlooked, reason to fish barbless which has nothing to do with protecting fish and everything to do with increasing your strike-to-hook-up ratio. Simply put, it is easier to achieve a solid hook set when using barbless flies because you are freed from having to overcome the resistance of the barb. Admittedly, a barbed hook will hang on to a fish better than a barbless hook, but you have to bury the barb in the tissue of the lip or mouth first. Have you ever set the hook, doubling the rod over for the briefest of moments, only to have the hook “pull out” and your rod subsequently straighten? The barb actually inhibits hook penetration and a certain percentage of “missed strikes” with barbed hooks can be attributed to this fact.
Fishing barbless is a particularly good idea when using small flies and light tippets. The improved hook penetration helps save fine tippets from undue stress and tiny, hard-to-remove hooks back out much easier. Some anglers will rightly point out that numerous studies show no difference in mortality rates for barbed or barbless fishing. But my personal experience in the field (in other words, on stream and lake) over many years and thousands of fish make this very hard to swallow.
Many anglers feel they will lose too many fish by going barbless, and this may well be true. But look at it this way…you’re doing the fish a big favor. If you need to harm a fish in order to catch it, maybe you need to work on your hooking and playing skills. And that is exactly what will happen if you stick with the barbless approach. It will teach you to play a fish properly by forcing you to keep tension on the line during the fight. A properly set barbless hook, followed by solid fish playing skills will land far more fish than a barbed hook, questionable hook-set, and clumsy fish playing skills. Gut it out, take your short term whoopin’, learn the proper skills and in the long run you will be richly rewarded…and the fish will thank you.
Of course, the other benefit to barbless hooks is protecting yourself. It doesn’t happen too often, but once in a while, the wind will blow your fly off course and into your head, ear, neck…even your eye! (Especially if you’re using long, 6X or 7X tippets!). Getting a barbed hook out of your skull or other extremity is painful and difficult at best. The hospital in Ennis, Montana where I spend my summers has a collection of hundreds of BARBED HOOKS and LURES that have been surgically removed from angler’s bodies. One such fly is encased in a clear plastic “trophy” given to the doctor by the angler for saving the angler’s vision. The hook penetrated the angler’s eyeball. Can you imagine?
End of barbless hook post.
5. Posted 01/03/2019 by John Pierson - How to remove a fish hook embedded in the skin
6. Posted 02/01/2020 by John Pierson - How to tie different types of Fishing Knots
NOTE: Click on the below link then click on the fishing knots picture.
www.animatedknots.com