Question#6 your response? Barbless vs. Barbed 2009 Conservation Congress Topic

[spinner1]

QUESTION 6 ? Eliminate barbless hooks restriction during early trout season
Numerous scientific studies have been conducted showing that the use of barbed versus barbless hooks
has little effect on trout mortality following release. In a 1997 study published in the North American
Journal of Fisheries Management, for flies and lures combined, the average hook related mortality was
4.5% for barbed hooks and 4.2% for barbless hooks. Because natural mortality for wild trout range from
30-65% annually, the 0.3% difference in the two hook types is irrelevant at the population level, even when
fish are subjected to repeated catch and release. Most biologists agree that how deeply a fish is hooked
has more to do with mortality than what type of hook is used. Despite the scientific evidence, anglers are
required to use barbless hooks only during the early catch-and-release trout season. Elimination of that
restriction would simplify trout fishing regulations and eliminate law enforcement issues.
The use of live bait will still be prohibited during the early catch-and-release trout fishing season.
If adopted, this proposal will take effect on the first day of the month following publication in the Wisconsin
Administrative Register.
Do you support allowing the use of barbed hooks during the early catch-and-release trout
season in Wisconsin?
6. YES_______ NO_______




http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/nrboa...aire-Final.pdf

[Mato Kuwapi]

NO! Is this for trout or steelhead? For steelhead, maybe...but for trout there's no reason to allow barbed hooks. I don't care what that study shows. Frankly I don't buy it. It requires more handling of the fish and it rips the hell out of the mouth of the fish regardless.
What's the point of allowing barbed hooks in a C&R fishery??? It will only take a couple of seconds for a CO to check the fly or lure on the end of an anglers rod. That's the only hook that counts. He doesn't have to go check every angler on the river but if he sees an infraction, or is just doing a license spot check, he can still take two seconds to see the fly.

[jeffnles1]

Too bad there's not a 3rd "I don't care" option.

I use barbless hooks not for the fish but because they come out of me easier. After having to rip a rather large crank bait treble hook out of my thumb that was attached to an angry bass on the other end, I started mashing the barbs down on all of my hooks. I haven't seen any difference in the rate of fish landed vs. those which spit the hook.

I also believe (just my opinion mind you) that there are so many other factors involved in fish mortality that it's nearly impossible to say with any degree of certainty that a fish died because of barbed vs. barbless hooks.

Were the barbless hook users more knowledgeable on fish handling and therefore released fish in better condition than barbed hook users?

Were barbless hooks in the study generally smaller/thinner wire? (i.e. a #18 hook barbed or barbless is going to do less damage than a barbless #8 hook if for no other reason than it leaves a smaller hole).

If the study said barbed hooks are banned, there would be people complaining. When the study suggests allowing barbed hooks, people complain. The one constant in all of this is that people complain.

Jeff

[tigfly]

I use barbless hooks not for the fish but because they come out of me easier. After having to rip a rather large crank bait treble hook out of my thumb that was attached to an angry bass on the other end, I started mashing the barbs down on all of my hooks. I haven't seen any difference in the rate of fish landed vs. those which spit the hook.


Jeff

No, because they come out of the fish and Jeff easier.

[Buddy Sanders]

YES,

Primarily because it's easier on the wardens, and anything that makes their jobs easier I'm for.

Buddy

[ET custom flyrods]

NO. Anytime you have catch and release there should be no question about barbless hooks being the way to go.

Relating to another species (basically the Striper) here in the east I know there was quite a fight about using "Circle Hooks". After years, now even most of the hard core guys have made the switch to Circle hooks finding them the best for catch and release. They hook the fish and just like a barbless one must not give the line slack or they stand a chance of losing the fish. Other wise they do work well. In the case of the circle hook , simple give the hook a twist and the fish is off without even handling it.

As for the Wardens checking .......I dont know of a job these days that doesnt require a little extra work.................nuff said

[Buddy Sanders]

Smernsky,

Don't misunderstand me. I'm not saying fishermen should not use barbless hooks. I'm just saying that there shouldn't be a 'law' requiring it.

In this instance, it's probably a moot point anyway. In most US jurisdictions, laws must have a purpose, and then they have to be shown to address that purpose or they become unenforceable. You can't just make up a regulation and then enforce it just because it sounds good or folks 'think' it might be good. Given that the 'evidence' posted initially by Spinner is accurate, it's likely that anyone could bring that into court and successfully challenge that regulation.

Making up such a law means that the enforcement personnel have to get 'close' to enforce it. Spend time looking at the hooks on an anglers line. Since it doesn't seem to matter to the health of the fish population, I'd rather see enforcement personnel spending their time on other things.

Encouraging the use of barbless hooks is a different matter. There are benefits to them that have nothing to do with fish health...they come out of US easier (as Jeff pointed out) and THAT can be reason enough to switch.

By the way, I've been switchig to circle hooks for a lot of my fishing. They ALL have barbs, though.....but are still better for the fish because of how they 'work'. As stated in the original post, 'where' a fish is hooked is more telling than what it's hooked with.

Buddy

[Gigante]

I say no because I buy into the idea that the fish are easier to handle and release and feel that the handling is a far greater issue than the barb itself. I have good example.

Despite the fact that a barb had nothing to do with this story doesn't detract from the point of handling...

I was on a trophy stream about this time last year and was only slightly underequipped using a 4wt and 6X fluoro (which is actually quite necessary on this stream, sometimes 7X, if you hope to catch anything). Because I was handling a 22" native bow on a 4wt it took a little longer to get the fish in and in the process of the fight the fluoro sliced through the side of his jaw and left a really nasty cut. The LINE and fly were very difficult to remove from his face. I handled him longer than I should've had to and I'm almost certain he died shortly as a result. I spent 5 minutes or longer I know trying to help revive him and see him kick away but he never did. He was swimming right but the mild current was dragging him away as he struggled in it.

While I like the idea of giving the Rangers one less thing to worry about, I still say no. (Heck, I was fishing a DH here not long ago and new the regs better than the ranger anyway. He wanted to check my vest for barbed hooks on a stream that had no reg saying you couldn't use them. In order to keep from having my personal stuff rummaged through and have the Ranger all over me, I had to whip out my regs guide and point it out to him!)

[Big Bad Wulff]

No.
There is no need for barbs. They do not help you catch fish. They do help you catch: You car's upholstery, your clothes and you.

I'd think the extra handling to get a hook out would cause extra mortality........from the AVERAGE PERSON.

[J Castwell]

Should they manage the fishery for the fish or the fishermen? Answering that often points to the correct response.
I say no barbs. Fished up stream or down, nymphs with barbs, or any fly fished, especially bait, go too deeply into any fish. I favor managing a fishery by using C&R with a surface barbless. A floating fly, whether up or down usually gets hooked in the mouth area, not swallowed.
I catch more fish on barbless as I can/do use one size lighter leader than I would need to set the hook with a barbed hook. That gets me more hits due to more flexibility and less vision of the leader.