[Ben Dixon]

Interesting thread......

On the hooks, Partridge did (do) an excellent range of barbless hooks of all weights and profiles but ATM they are not really in circulation.  The company that distributes Varivas & Marrayat has taken over the Partridge brand and I believe that the Partridge range will be available via this new distributer over the coming months.  On the subject of hook profils and barbless Vs de-barbed, many hooks that are designed as barbless have a much longer point, Tiemco's are a good example, I have fished their barbless hooks and really rate them, superb hook up rate.  De barbed hooks or barbless hooks don't really loose me any more fish than barbed hooks do and I have landed more salmon hooked on doubles than on trebles, think this is probably due to it taking more force to set three hooks than it does to set two.  I really do think that purpose designed barbless hooks hook better, look at the profile of a Tiemco 103BL against the equivalent weight of barbed Kamasan.

Problem is, getting heavier hooks in barbless format I think they tend to be aimed at the "purist" dry fly angler and the rest get forgotten about, anyone know where I can get size 2 4x longshank light wire long point barbless streamer hooks from?  On the subject of fishing barbless on the river for salmon......  Should be mandatory before 31st May on the Don and trebles should be banned, I cannot see why anyone would fish a barbed treble in spring when all spring fish should be returned and all kelts must be returned  

Cheers

Ben

[Iain Goolager]

I've seen, heard of and been on the receiving end of a fair few lost Salmon this year to both double and treble hooks which were barbed.

Just to clarify the above statement for my own peace of mind - I don't spin or use trebles for Salmon.

Can I still use my gaff?

Iain

[Mike Barrio]

Can I still use my gaff?

Iain

As long as it's barbless!      

[Irvine Ross]

Regarding salmon, if you fish the Dee you are expected to use de-barbed hooks as the Dee is 100% catch and return. Treble hooks are also frowned upon. I see no justification for using barbed trebles if you intend to return the fish.

The one salmon I caught this year was on a de-barbed double hook. I brought it to the net and had it unhooked in a second without ever taking it out of the water. I also feel a lot safer using de-barbed hooks. You can drive the hook a long way into your own flesh with a #10 salmon rod.

Irvine

[Iain Goolager]

Hey Irvine,

You must have too much disposable income to fish the Dee

I'm beginning to feel like a leper using barbed salmon flies but as stated I'm going to try barbless next season.

Iain

[Irvine Ross]

Hey Irvine,

You must have too much disposable income to fish the Dee

I wish!

I have a good friend who sometimes invites me to take his rod on summer evenings when he can't be there. Otherwise the Don or Deveron is more my price range.

Irvine

[heartlander]

I would think if you could supply a really nice barbless hook then people would buy them.
Especially if they have a nice shape (like a B175)

Some of these would go to Germany for sure!

Petri and tight lines

Peter 

[Iain Goolager]

Partridge BIN Barbless Ideal Nymph hooks arrived today. Not as chunky a wire gauge as I'd hoped for.




Looks like I will be back to Knapek Nymph hooks next season unless someone finds a decent alternative.
I have a couple of issued with the Knapek but cest la vis.

Iain

















 

[Mike Barrio]

Excellent Iain, the photo is great for comparisons

Yes, I've got some that are similar to the Partridge Ideal Nymph and they are too long for wets and the gape not wide enough for my liking.

I guess we'll keep looking

Cheers
Mike

[stickleback]

I like the Tiemco range of barbless - it's a pity they're expensive and only available in this neck of the woods via mail order. 

I particularly liked the TMC3769SPBL for nmyphs and traditional wets - you used to be able to get them from Lathkills in packs of 25 but now it looks like you can only get them from Lakeland in boxes of 100 which is way too many for me.  I've now run out so use Kamasan and flatten the barbs.

Here's a link to the entire TMC range - download the PDF if you want the full description and pictures of hook shape
http://www.tiemco.co.jp/english/products/flyhook.html


Cammy

[Mike Barrio]

Hi Cammy

Yes, I really like the Tiemco ones too. I can get the TMC3769SPBL from Fulling Mill as I already have an account there for flies But they retail at £5.25 for a pack of 20, which my calcu-traitor tells me is about 26p per hook

The Lakeland X100 for £8 deal is suddenly more appealing ( although I see they are only listing the TMC3769 )  and they had none of these in stock

Hmmm ............................

So, it looks like none of the "big guns" in the fly retailing sector are willing to take a risk and produce a barbless fly range and yes, fly tying barbless hooks are available, at a price, and in a pretty limited range of types in the UK market?

Interesting topic this one

[Rob Brownfield]

I have read this with a bit of a look of confusion on my face. Why not just debarb the available patterns?

I understand it would be nice to be able to buy barbless, but i don't have an issue with debarbing fly hooks and trebles.
I like the slight bump that de barbing leaves as I think this helps keep the hook in place when a fish jumps, but still allows it to me removed with ease.

I seem to recall an article that was on the Partridge website, saying barbless where harder to make. Something to do with the hook being held in the machine. IIRC the machine cuts the barb and uses it to lock the hook in the machine while it bends. Without the barb the machine cant grip. Something like that anyway.

[Paul Rankine]

Fulling Mill Scorpion Fly Hooks - Barbless Nymph (31810) in Bulk   sizes 8 - 16  - Tacklebargains.co.uk

@£20 + P+P for 1000 of each size.

Paul .

[Duncan McRae]

Hi folks

I'd be interested to know if anyone has had success fishing barbless for seatrout?

A few summers ago,during a spell of low water, i was having real difficulty reviving seatrout when returning them to the river.
I decided to de-barb my fly hooks so that i could release the fish while still in the water.Unfortunately,by the end of my first "barbless" nights fishing i was back using barbed hooks, having lost several good seatrout.
Given the acrobatic and unpredictable nature of a hooked seatrout i have concluded that barbless does not work for seatrout.I'd love to be proved wrong.

Duncan

 

[Rob Brownfield]

Given the acrobatic and unpredictable nature of a hooked seatrout i have concluded that barbless does not work for seatrout.I'd love to be proved wrong.

Which is why I prefer debarbed rather than barbless. The little bump that is left really helps the hook hold better, especially if the fly hooks into the hard "scissors" of the mouth. The hook still pops out easy when you want it too.

The hook shape also has a bearing on how good a hold it gets. You only have to look at Carp hooks to see how curved shanks have been developed to dig deep and hold well.

Sometimes I have struggled to remove small buzzers from trout when the buzzer has been dressed on a Buzzer/grub type hook.

With long shank hooks the fish has the ability to lever out the hook by using the shank. Wether this is intentional or not does not matter as the result is the same.

Lastly, the shape of the point can have an effect on the hold.

This is the old patern Ad Swier hook, renowned for a great hook hold...




and this is the new version...note the point shape...and this hook has a bad name for fish dropping off...