Barbs

[92xj]

I know the best method to make a hook barbless is to file the barb off, nice and smooth.
In your personal experience, have you ever had any issues with LEOs with barbs pressed down with some pliers creating a smooth surface? 
In the South, that was plenty good for the LEOs and we never had an issue.  Out here, I have been hearing some stories of the cotton ball check as well as a barb that is pressed flat is still considered a barb, it needs to be completely off the hook.
I have a ton of salmon stuff I need to make barb less, hooks won't fit in my grinder so it's hand filing or pressing with pliers.  Hand filing is not a desired way I want to spend a few nights.

[cohoho]

Dremel!!

[letmhunt]

Buy barbless hooks and yeah they will do every kind of check on your hook! Guilty until proven innocent is how the GW roll around here!!

[lokidog]

Just smush it down so your, or your girlfriend/wife's fingernail won't catch on it.  Hint:  Don't  have both of them check it... at least at the same time.   

A cottonball seems pretty extreme to me, I would be taking that hook with me to show the judge....     I like having the bump there as I figure it might help a bit keeping something on but still allows for a hands-free release if necessary.

Factory barbless is probably the best way to go, but more expensive.  The negative to smushing is that the hooks seem to rust there more quickly.

[h20hunter]

Just buy barbless.....about 12 years ago some smooth cheeked newbie game me a ticked.....I had smooshed it down with pliers...he ran thread up along the inside bend of the hook....it caught....I got written up. My one and only F&G violation ever.

[lostbackpacker]

Just buy barbless.....about 12 years ago some smooth cheeked newbie game me a ticked.....I had smooshed it down with pliers...he ran thread up along the inside bend of the hook....it caught....I got written up. My one and only F&G violation ever.

that's a bunch of crud....

[fishcrazy]

just buy barbless. I just picked up another small tackle box to keep the barbless hooks in so I don't accidentally grab a barbed and tie it on like I did the other day. Found it later the next day when I was getting rods out. Glad I found it and not the GW.

I'm not messing around. I buy barbless hooks and keep them in their own box. I've also found that they work better than crimped hooks because they have a little different shape. I'm adding some bends to them to help them hook up better. Still wish I could use barbless but Ive gotten these figued out to work about 75% as good as barbs.

Kris

[Moose-head]

I smash mine with pliers, but have never been checked.  After I have had them on for a while I switch them out to barbless siwash hooks

[Hunterman]

I smash mine down with the pliers and when ever I'm checked I've never had a problem. Sometimes the barbs are down to the shank and sometimes not.

Hunterman(Tony)

[92xj]

For those that say replace them...

What hook would you recommend going to on kwikfish and brads cut plugs?  I have plenty of each and just curious what the best option is.

I'm going to bend most of the barbs down, but also open to purchasing a pack or two of new hooks and replacing a few of them. 

[h20hunter]

Just buy barbless.....about 12 years ago some smooth cheeked newbie game me a ticked.....I had smooshed it down with pliers...he ran thread up along the inside bend of the hook....it caught....I got written up. My one and only F&G violation ever.

that's a bunch of crud....

I agree....however......what you gonna do. I even went to court...told them I pinched it and had been checked before....judge said nope.....doesn't matter....pay up.

The officer at Lake Stevens PD this year was giving me some good natured grief about it when I renewed my CPL....she said what is a spotless fella like myself doing with a F&G violation. Told her the story and she made a pretty smart jab at young men that can't become police and look for a different carreer...in F&G!

[lokidog]

I like the shape of the hooks that come with the coho killers.  One thing that helps with not losing salmon are the break-away dodgers as they don't pull back behind a running fish quite as much as the traditional type.

[Ripper]

I just mash mine with pliers. I got checked last year and it was not a problem. I do buy barbless now, but haven't gone thew and replaced all the ones on my plugs.

[fishcrazy]

on plugs like larger kwik fish the Big River bait hooks work well. You can do some digging around in the intraweb and find some good ways to modify them to work even better. Be sure to buy the big river hooks with the open eye. They make them both ways.

on smaller plugs like a U-20 your not going to like the big river hooks because they are in my opinion to heavy for them. Use the regular Gami Si-wash hooks with the same trick bend as you find for the big river hooks.

Kris

[Kola16]

When I was younger, I had a game warden crimp my hook with pliers for me

[jechicdr]

I crimped mine and then twisted the hook in the pliers to essentially break the barb off.  This essentially leaves a rough spot on the hook.  Suspect it would not grab a thread, but it does offer some resistance to the hook sliding out, though it does not prevent it from coming out.

[Smossy]

I'm crushing it down with pliers every time unless I have the convenience of being near a sporting good store that sells barbless gom's. If they want to ticket me for crushing the barb to nothing. They will see me in court.

I crimped mine and then twisted the hook in the pliers to essentially break the barb off.  This essentially leaves a rough spot on the hook.  Suspect it would not grab a thread, but it does offer some resistance to the hook sliding out, though it does not prevent it from coming out.

This is the same technique that I use, but sometimes It doesn't get the barb completely off. Regardless. Its good enough.

[tmike]

Spend a little more and buy Gami barbless or go with the Matsuo Sikles and crimp them down good. Depends on how you are fishing and what you're fishing for. Just my 

[Smossy]

Spend a little more and buy Gami barbless or go with the Matsuo Sikles and crimp them down good. Depends on how you are fishing and what you're fishing for. Just my 

We exclusively only use Gami's here!
Maybe not always the barbless, but nothing some pliers cant fix, they have really weak/small barbs so they're easy to crimp.

[Skillet]

I do the same thing Ed does - bend the barb back and leave as big of a bump as I can.  Most hooks seem to break off at the base if you just crush them with pliers, and it seems that sharp edge would hang way more than the bump I get when I bend the barb back...  Been checked with the bent barbs and they never gave me any grief.