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[Prettyfly]

I have, what might seem like an odd or. even.. silly question... to some of you...

Why is it that here in BC you cannot fish with barbed hooks, yet they sell mostly barbed hooks? Shouldn't they be sold as barbless hooks if that's all that's supposed to be used?

They even sell barbed hooks in the kiddy packs. What's up with that? Family friendly packs would be a good idea.

[Addicted To Steel]

Probably because the hooks are made in countries where barbed hooks are allowed. Gamakatsu makes barbless hooks though.

[Prettyfly]

hmm.. just seems odd that other products must meet regulations before being sold here and yet hooks don't seem to be regulated.

The reason I'm asking is I'm native. I've never had to buy a fishing licence to know what's what. I've never fished for anything bigger than a creek rainbow.I don't like being lumped in with the few bad seeds there are. So I've tried to be a good fisher person and then I learn that I'm prolly killing these poor little fish *sniff* and I thought I was being so good 

And then I started reading more about the regulations etc and I'm thinking.. holy.. why aren't we told about these things?? I just fish for fun. I usually end up buying my salmon (rarely and even rarer if it's fresh) from the supermarket because I can't stand the stigma that's attached to being native and having salmon. (sometimes people ask "how'd you get your salmon") Except I often feel like crap when I buy salmon from the supermarket because I know it's the commercial fisheries that is causing so much friction for everyone else. So.. damned if I do, damned if I don't. Needless to say I haven't had much salmon in the last year. And I really love salmon too.

Anyway, so now I'm trying to restock my tackle box and the kid's tackle boxes with hooks that are appropriate and I'm learning better catch and release techniques so I don't kill the little things.  It's also one of the reason I'm learning to fly fish too, might be easier to just have flies that are already barbless so I don't have to think about it. 

[Rodney]

Barbed hooks are available because they can still be used in saltwater fishing and some of freshwater fishing (eg. Lower Mainland lakes), but I agree, barbless hooks should also be available by some brands to keep us customers happy.

And then I started reading more about the regulations etc and I'm thinking.. holy.. why aren't we told about these things?? I just fish for fun.

Totally understand the frustration, as I have heard this from many parents who want to take their kids fishing. Things will improve hopefully, as all sectors recognize this problem and solutions are being developed to make the regulations more user-friendly.

[Xgolfman]

they make them and sell them, they just ding you more for um..which to me is ridiculus so i just pinch mine..

[Gooey]

Prettyfly, most fishermen I know buy barbed hooks and pinch down the barb with pliers...this is all new to you so you probably don't realize that that step (pinching a barb down) qualifies the hook as a barbless. 

that said, there is no reason to have to restock your tackle box just pinch all your barbs down.  same with those little spinners and spoons tha come with treble hooks (3 points).  As you may or may not know the regs call for SINGLE barbless hooks, so you could cut 2 of 3 points of of a treble hook, pinch the barb and you have a legal single barbless hook!!!

[Prettyfly]

oh right, actually I was told that not long ago. Thanks for reminding me.

I don't buy the treble hooks.. I usually end up hurting myself..lol

[Coho Cody]

Gamakatsu= made in japan
i find the barbed hooks are sharper than the non-barbed ones.

[funfisher]

agreed birdman.

[Sam Salmon]

BC is a tiny tiny market-a company like Mustad has thousands of different kinds of hooks and it would be very expensive to produce a small run of certain models.
Gamakatsu is faced with a similar situation as mentioned.
Pinch the stupid barb down and don't worry -if you have all the time in the world you can use a Dremel tool to grind them off.

[Prettyfly]

I know it may seem stupid to some of you but honestly, I've been fishing my whole life and never knew to pinch the barbs down. It just never occured to me. I always thought if they sold them that way, that was the way they were intended to be used. I even went to a smaller hook because it seemed like a better thing to do. Although.. now that I think about it, that might have been the wrong thing to do...

The thing is, there are many first timers out there who don't know, who don't know where to look and don't know what to do. If all a kid wants to do is fish, chances are a parent is just going to go to Can tire or Walmart and buy a kiddy pack and say - here you go lets go fish - barbs and all. Not fully realizing all that is involved. Kids under 16 don't have to have a license.

[Rodney]

It is not stupid at all, but a very legitimate concern that often keeps those who manage the fisheries scratching their heads. Some of the events in recent years are slowly improving public awareness, such as the BC Family Fishing Weekend that takes place every Father's Day weekend. Good tacklestore employees would also keep newcomers informed, as everybody wants to see their customers coming back instead of being discouraged by complicated regulations. Discussions like this among anglers also help.

[Fish Assassin]

Just use a needle nose plier to debarbed the hook. Easy to do

[THE_ROE_SLINGER]

yup

[Pantharen]

I wouldn't be using a Dremel tool to grind down the barbs. I tried that years ago and my hooks were breaking where the barb was ground down because the grinding heats up the hook and takes the temper out of it.

You can grind off the barb without de-tempering the steel, it just takes a heck of along time. Crimp the barb with pliers is much faster, and easier :lol: