Barbless Hooks: Who's Confused?

Five States Mandate Barbless Hooks Without Definition

Oct 24, 2007

None of us want to fish illegally. But what are we to do when states that manadate barbless hooks do not define that condition?

Last summer while we were fishing in Southeastern British Columbia, Tall Rodman's buddy nearly got his fly rod confiscated and his wallet emptied when a BC conservation officer busted him for fishing with a barbed hook. The CO used discretion - this time - and let him off with a warning in the form of a stiff lecture and a formal letter from the Province which followed in the mail a week later.

The great fly fishing state of Michigan mandates barbless hooks on several trout streams in the state. But the DNR has not defined the term in their Michigan Fishing Guide 4/2006 to 4/2008. Am I legal if I just push down the barb and an itsy bitsy bit of barb is left on the hook bend? Will a conservation officer bust me even if I make an attempt to push down the barb? How "less" is barbless?

Defining barbless might seem obvious to the experienced angler. We assume the regs mean no, or nearly no, barb showing or that a substantial effort has been made to squeeze the barb down on the hook. In fact, most states that mandate barbless hooks do a fine job of defining the condition. Take Arkansas' regulations as an example. On page 14 of the Arkansas Trout Fishing Guidebook 2007, the definition is clear: "Crimped completely, the hook is smooth and will not snag when passed through cloth." Arkansas gives it's anglers a clear test--if it snags cloth it's not barbless and you are not fishing legally.

Eighteen states in the US mandate the use of barbless hooks on one river reach or another. Five of these states - Michigan, Minnesota, Georgia, Maryland, West Virginia and Pennsylvania do not define the term. In Georgia, barbless hook regulations appear to be a brook trout conservation practice in the Upper Savage River watershed. Minnesota has extensive barbless regulations of southeast Minnesota trout streams especially for fishing in the winter. In fact 34 references are made to barbless hooks in the MN DNR - Minnesota Fishing Regulations . The state of Minnesota owes it to its anglers to define the technique. Pennsylvania makes a meager attempt to define barbless with, "Pinching down the barb with needle-nosed pliers works." Tall Rodman finds this unacceptable from a state that is so steeped in fly fishing history. Maryland and West Virginia regs are lame.

So Tall Rodman is fighting for legal definitions here, friends. No one, including me, is interested in fighting with a state CO at the streamside. For the five states mentioned above, let's get some useable barbless regulation definitions so we can all fish legally.

The copyright of the article Barbless Hooks: Who's Confused? in Hunting & Fishing is owned by Lev Wood. Permission to republish Barbless Hooks: Who's Confused? in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.