Most fishing hooks are still made with barbs. Most responsible fishermen nowadays remove them before they start fishing, not wishing to cause unnecessary harm to their catch. The crazy fact is that actually barbs were originally devised to stop the bait coming off, not to hold the fish when hooked. Fish don’t generally come off, providing you maintain some tension in the line when playing them and, in my experience, they usually stay on even when you don’t.

Hooks without barbs are easier to "set" - they go in more easily. This is just as important when discussing keeping fish on. We all "lose" fish occasionally. I’ll bet as often as not it’s because the hook has not actually penetrated properly. The fact is that we actually lose as many fish from using barbed hooks - quite the reverse of the old myth that barbless hooks are less effective.

Barbless hooks are however easier and quicker to remove - from whatever you hook – hopefully fish, but more often than not the mesh of your net, your jersey and sometimes even yourself. Once you’ve sunk a barbed hook into a part of your body and gone through the painful process of having it removed, you will never consider using a barbed hook again. Be kind to what you hook. Your shirt won’t get ripped and nor will the trout’s lip!!!

The speed and ease of release from other places also means you can avoid the almost unbearable frustration of watching that rising trout and not being able to cast to it because your fly’s stuck in your jacket.

More importantly it also means that we can reduce the time spent handling fish that we catch and want to put back and thereby improve their chances of survival.

If you regularly release fish you should use barbless hooks.