Hooks that are "crimped down" are not necessarily barbless, if you
don't do a really good job the point of the barb can still catch when
you are pulling it out of a fish (or your finger). To really do
the job right a diamond coated fingernail file will get rid of it in
short order.
Tom
On Dec 23, 2005, at 2:33 PM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
Wes, Everybody.. Thanks for the tips and info.. Makes sense.. I
have actually been fishing barbless and didn't realize it till
now... The hot pink fly I "invented" and the Chili Pepper and the
two flies I have been fishing almost exclusively since the water
turned cool. Well both those require a bead head, and to get the
beads on I have to "mash" the barb flat.... And i haven't lost any
more fish than with beadless barbed hooks... I know that feeling of
getting a hook out of somebody's finger too. Back when i was a
welder My hands were sooooo callused, you could NOT stick a hook in
them.. And I fished a lot with my best friend who was also a welder
and had hands tougher than mine.... Well, we were in a FL river
swamp, and I hooked into (we were using Rebel bass lures back then
about 6 in long ones with two sets of barbed treble hooks)... a BIG
bass. Well we forgot the net, so Jim went to grab the fish my the
mouth when i got it close to the boat... He grabbed, but at that
same time one of those hooks (which had three #1 RUSTY hooks on
each treble).. Pierced his thumb... We had one rusty pocket knife,
and a pair of needle nosed pliers, and that hook HAD to come out..
Man, Jim was in major pain.. Well, It went through all seven layers
of skin, and I first tried to push the hook on through with the
pliers. It would NOT budge)... Then I tried to cut the hook's
shank, Nothing.. Then Jim said "cut the skin open...With that tough
skin and rusty knife nothing doing... I FINALLY, after he was white
as a ghost and about to go into shock, pushed the hook shank
through and cut the barbed end off, and slid the lure back
out....He had to get a tetanus shot, stitches, and had a sore thumb
for a month... And I don't know who hurt worse.. Me trying NOT to
kill my best friend with pain, or Him nearly passing out from the
pain... Anyway, we packed a first aid kit, GOOD pliers, and bought
NEW lures without rusty hooks...That brackish water is bad on
hooks... Anyway, Bottom line.. I think I'll start debarbing them
all.... Cause I can see his face, and thumb in my memory right now,
and don't want that to happen again to ANYBODY, SPECIALLY ME LOLOL,
Chuck
----- Original Message ----- From: "Wes Wada" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Friday, December 23, 2005 3:10 PM
Subject: Re: [VFB] Barbless Hooks
Hi Chuck,
Add me to the list of folks who always fish with barbless hooks.
Never have felt that I was at a disavantage that way as opposed to
using barbs.
Two additional advantages of barbless: it is easier to drive a hook
point home while barbless because the cross section of the hole
required is less with a barbless hook.
Also, I never want to deal with a barbed hook embedded in somebody's
finger (like my wife had long ago) or in my own ear (as I saw in a
Brian O'Keefe slide presentation recently). Guy had this big
saltwater fly hooked into his ear lobe like an earring, barb and all.
That would put a damper on your day on the water!
Wes Wada
Bend, Oregon
