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.