How far down does the barb need to be to be considered barbless? I’ve done what I’ve can with my hemostats but I can’t get completely flush with the body of the hook. Is this good enough?
It has a barb so it isn’t barbless. Use a file or something to get rid of the rest
djBIGsquirt on
I usually pinch where the barb is with my hemos and carefully roll the fly back and forth over the barb to smooth it out.
FunFlat403 on
I carry a mini leatherman with pliers. Perfect for the job
Grillmaesterflex on
I use a pair of pliers. My hemos dont do the best job either but my pliers make it disappear
Revolutionary-News62 on
My rule of thumb is if it looks like it would get stuck in the back of my head, it’s not barbless
FWIW if you tie your own flies doing this at the vice makes it way easier
keyalerong on
Push fly through a rag or something and pull through if it gets caught it’s not barbless
Macywilliamson209 on
I was always told if a game warden does come and ask about barbless and it’s a regulation area, they usually will put it through a piece of cotton ball and if it sticks your getting a ticket. We tie all of our flies on barbless hooks.
Fishnfoolup on
There’s still a barb on that IMO.
country_mac08 on
It’s kind of tricky to tell with the pic, but in my experience most forestry narcs are just looking to see if you made a decent attempt to de-barb the hook.
F1shbu1B on
I use needle nose pliers and grab the barb “medium” right and then twist side to side. It’s part plying action but also has a filing effect. Hemostats don’t have the strength you need but regular 6” pliers with some texture should do the trick.
Thank you for going barbless!
pickles_in_a_nickle on
Depends on how good you are and how much you care about the fish you catch
11 Comments
It has a barb so it isn’t barbless. Use a file or something to get rid of the rest
I usually pinch where the barb is with my hemos and carefully roll the fly back and forth over the barb to smooth it out.
I carry a mini leatherman with pliers. Perfect for the job
I use a pair of pliers. My hemos dont do the best job either but my pliers make it disappear
My rule of thumb is if it looks like it would get stuck in the back of my head, it’s not barbless
FWIW if you tie your own flies doing this at the vice makes it way easier
Push fly through a rag or something and pull through if it gets caught it’s not barbless
I was always told if a game warden does come and ask about barbless and it’s a regulation area, they usually will put it through a piece of cotton ball and if it sticks your getting a ticket. We tie all of our flies on barbless hooks.
There’s still a barb on that IMO.
It’s kind of tricky to tell with the pic, but in my experience most forestry narcs are just looking to see if you made a decent attempt to de-barb the hook.
I use needle nose pliers and grab the barb “medium” right and then twist side to side. It’s part plying action but also has a filing effect. Hemostats don’t have the strength you need but regular 6” pliers with some texture should do the trick.
Thank you for going barbless!
Depends on how good you are and how much you care about the fish you catch