Crimping Barbs

So last year I had a run of badly hooked bass that were caught on a 4" Senko style bait with 3/0 hook. In more than a few cases getting the hook out was a slow, ugly and distressing on the fish (and a PITA for me even with hemostats.). Not wanting to kill fish for no reason, I changed to a different style hook ( so it wouldn't get swallowed) but also started crimping the barbs down as an experiment. ( I have been crimping my barbs in fly fishing for years. Not sure why it took so long to try in on the conventional tackle side.) The result was that I lost no more fish and all caught fish came unbuttoned quickly once at the boat. Man , it worked so much better for me.!
So fast forward to mid summer this year, I was having a spectacular week of bass fishing with slowly worked swimming plugs up in Maine. However, the fish were also inhaling the plugs and getting hooked deep/badly on a regular basis. Long story short is that I crimped the barbs down on both set of #4 trebles as an experiment to finish the week.
Interestingly enough, I still lost no more fish than deserved (Read: Unless I messed up) but also was able to unhook the bass SO much faster and with less hook damage. Since then, I've been crimping he barbs down on most of my bass baits regularly with equal success.
I pass this experience on not to argue that everyone should follow suit, just to offer a alternative to those who struggle as I did .
Tight Lines!
Dave

I used to do it with my hooks when fishing plastics but got out of the habit for some reason. One drawback is trying to keep the hook in the plastic on a Texas rig. It certainly is easier on the fish and a much quicker release for the fisherman. As long as the pressure is kept on the fish you will not lose any!

I used to do it with my hooks when fishing plastics but got out of the habit for some reason. One drawback is trying to keep the hook in the plastic on a Texas rig. It certainly is easier on the fish and a much quicker release for the fisherman. As long as the pressure is kept on the fish you will not lose any!

Thanks for the feedback. FWIW, one of the things I figured out is that if I just lightly crimp the rear pointed portion of the barb (and not mash the whole area flat) you'll still have a hump left which helps hold the plastic on. Some hook styles/brands do hold better than others.

Nice post!! I totally agree. I crimp my hook when I fish most plastics. Always when i wacky and Carolina rig. Anytime you are letting a plastic soak you should crimp. Otherwise you are going to kill some fish. Nothing worse than a big bass gut hooked.

even though I'm probably missing some hits; I do it to treble hooks on lures.

Sorry to post on an old thread, but what is a good tool to flatten the barbs with? Will pliers be alright, or is there a better tool for it?

Sorry to post on an old thread, but what is a good tool to flatten the barbs with? Will pliers be alright, or is there a better tool for it?

Old thread but still relative topic as we go into a fresh season.

I use needle nosed pliers for my hooks. It allows me to put the force only where needed without weakening the rest of the hook.
Tight lines!

Pliers are fine. It doesn't take much pressure to flatten the barb. On my trebles I keep one barb per treble. Keep the pressure on and try to keep the fish down. <(((((><

Roger that, thanks for the tip!

For deep hooked fish, works every time ! many different videos online, learn it and save fish.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCSx4PuLEnQ

This is a great repost and reminder! Always worth the effort to save the fish!

I've been crimping barbs down for years, not only for the safe catch & release of the fish, but for safety of us fishermen as well. I do it religiously now on all my hooks, especially trebles, with no detrimental effects on my catch/landing ratios. Anyway, the way I look at it, what's the big deal if I loose a fish anyway? It's not all that important to me anymore to land everything that bites. And I do not find any draw backs to Texas rigged Senkos with crimped barbs. Sure does make releasing the fish so much easier!

I've gone a step further as well and that is removing the trebles all together on my lures and installing single hooks (again, with the barbs crimped down). I thought for sure my success would diminish. Not so. Single hooks are every bit as effective as trebles.

One of my favorite bass & lake trout lures are blade baits. This can get real costly, real fast when using trebles (if you fish them right). So, now my blade baits (1/2 & 3/4 oz.) have no hook on the lead hangar and a barbless VMC In Line single hook on the back:



This is the lure I took my gold pin C & R lake trout with last season. I posted a picture of this brute in the "Trout" forum.

I was having this issue with circle hooks so I started using barbless hooks. You can get them on Amazon.