I used to always debarb all of my hooks, that is until I was talking to Bob Clouser about that subject. I was telling him that when I was fishing smallies on the top, I always seem to lose fish. Then he told he because of the mechanics of fishing topwater, the way a fish explodes on the top it is hard to get a good hook-set. I believe that. Compared to subsurface fishing which most of the times is a better hook-set, I think because of the water pressure helps.

I don't debarb any topwater flies anymore except some for LMB, gurgler in particular. Simply because if I am slow in the hook-set, they swallow the hook, then they are done for, hands down. Could be too, sometimes the take is more subtle.I don't know it is that way quite a bit with the gurgler.

-JK