Lets talk barbless

Okay gang, I'm already chomping at the bit for some plunking action on the Big C. Then, I started remembering my nightmare of last Spring. I lost more fish than I tagged! I'm not here to trash barbless hooks, just hear to deal with it. I'm gonna switch to a softer action rod this year. An old fiberglass my Grandfather built. Thinking more flex will help take up slack as a Chinook does a head shake and roll or decides it wants to go kamikaze and head straight for me. Also switching from my trusty old Penn 320 GTI to an Abu 6500 C3. Higher retrieve rate may make difference? Then thinking hooks and line...... ugh. I used to catch fish no problem....ugh. So what have you guys found that works, well better, for keeping them on?

This may sound a bit crazy but I switched from Mustad hooks to Gamakatsu big river bait hooks. The angle of the hook just seemed to make a difference. They work better out in the ocean and at buoy 10.

Thanks for the input Irish. I will add those to my list to try. This winter I have switched over to the Owner Cutting Points for steelhead and have been pretty pleased with them, so was thinking I'd give them a shot.

Not sure if it makes sense, but I use circle hooks for sturgeon fishing and they are hard to get back out once the get past the sharply bent tip. Not sure if they are feasible to use when trolling herring (I admittedly no next to nothing about salmon fishing) and they probably make no sense on a plug or a spinner. Still I wonder if you perhaps your hook up rate might go down a bit, but I think you would land most of the fish that you hook. Maybe overall it leads to better numbers.

I talked to a guy I saw landing a lot of fish last Spring, thinking he probably was using barbs, but turned out he was using the circle hooks. So I gave them a shot one day. Had atleast 5 takedowns and missed all of them. Found out few days later when I saw the same guy, that you aren't suppose to set the hook. Just start reeling in. If you set the hook, you just end up pulling it out of their mouth. Think I did give them another go, but think I still missed some fish. The design does look great for holding a fish, just wish it was easier to get the point in them.

That scenario with circle hooks applies to halibut too. They work great if you let the halibut take the bait but if you like to set the hook stay with the standard J hook. I was thinking of putting some peanut butter on my hooks, you know how that stuff sticks to the roof of your mouth.

I do a lot of my fishing in Puget Sound, where barbless hooks are required. My main target species are coho, which change directions and spin like crazy when hooked up.
Keeping constant tension and not allowing any slack in your line will help. Another thing I did is switch from regular Gamakatsu Octopus hooks to Gamakatsu Barbless Octopus hooks.
Next time you are at the store, compare the two. The barbless hooks have a different shape, more like a circle hook. My hook-up to landing ratio has been better with the barbless versus pinching the barb down on a standard octopus hook.
I use the barbless octopus hooks now on all my coho stinger flies.
Good luck on your springer season.
SF

mmmmm peanut butter and coon shrimp. Just might be the ticket!? Will do Stonefish. Odd they have different shapes, but definitely will take a look. Thanks.

3/0 Owner Needle Point does the trick for me at Diblee!

I dread the day that barbless becomes the law around here. The majority of my steelhead fishing this winter has been done on the Skagit, Sauk and Cascade rivers in northern washington this year where it's all barbless. I guess if you're used to fishing barbless it's no big deal, but I had some heartwrenching losses lol. I mistakingly grabbed a pack of cutting points instead of needle points and ended up giving them away. I hate those hooks. Those big river's are the only gamakatsu hooks I run, but I haven't used them barbless and only use them for fall fishing, but I imagine they have good sticking power with that nice bend even without a barb.

Toyracer, your on the right path with the softer rod and faster retrieve reel........................Hooks for me are Gamakatsu.

I don't believe barbless hooks cost people nearly as many fish as they think, sure 10 maybe 15% more get away.. But frankly I used to lose a ton of salmon anyway.. I think guys are just counting better now that they are pissed about it.

one Huckleberry..........................two Huckleberry

Well today I hooked into my first Springer of the year! Little over a minute later, I lost my first Springer of the year. I did land a smolt. My spinglo and shrimp setup was about half its size, yet it attacks. That beats the skunk right? Thanks all for the replies. I'll keep ya posted if I find the perfect setup.

Oh, the smolt was released unharmed. Thought maybe I should of added that. jic