Barbed Vs. Barbless Fishing Hooks

For successful catch and release fishing, does hook type matter?

Intuitively, you would say yes. Reading new research on several saltwater gamefish from the University of Tampa, you might say no.

Researchers, Jeffrey Schaeffer and Elizabeth Hoffman, know more about the effects of barbless hooks on near-shore marine fishes -- and fishermen.

Forty-two fishermen volunteered for the study, fishing a combined 53 hours with a barbless hook and 53 hours with a barbed hook. The hooks were baited with squid and fished in about 30-foot deep water over an artificial reef on the Gulf Coast; sand perch, blue runner, black sea bass, and red grouper were four of the 15 species caught in the study.

The fisherman hauled 479 fish to the boat where Schaeffer and Hoffman noted hook location, injury, and the amount of time it took to remove the hook.

Also for comparison purposes, they recorded the catch rates, bait loss, and average length of the catch, according to hook type.

On average, it took longer to unhook and release fish caught on barbed hooks, but the rate of bait loss, catch rates and average length of fish caught was about the same between hook types. The one major difference was the fishermen using barbed hooks landed 22 percent more fish. Significantly more fish got off barbless hooks before landing. Most fish were hooked in the jaw for both hook types and bleeding and injury rates were about the same.

Fish caught on barbless hooks were easier to unhook, but Schaeffer and Hoffman believe that barbless hooks probably did not reduce hooking mortality. In fact, they believe the real effect of barbless hooks is a reduced catch rate. They argue that marine fishery managers should focus on educating fishermen about catch-and-release techniques instead of hook type.

Craig is a member of the Professional Outdoor Media Association and the Outdoor Writers Association of America. He has earned excellence in craft awards from OWAA, American Fisheries Society, and Association for Conservation Information, Inc. He holds degrees in fisheries and wildlife management from Hocking College and New Mexico State University, an M.Sc. in fisheries science from the University of New Mexico, and an M.A. in rhetoric and writing at the University of New Mexico