# Trebles - Do you flatten



## theclick (Jun 25, 2007)

Hey all.

Just wondering if people flatten their barbs on trebles.
I've had a few issues lately with irremovable hooks, lures getting caught on nets and gloves ect.
So i've been flattening barbs and havnt lost a fish to them yet. *touch wood

Does anyone have experience with fish loss due to barb flattening? ect

General opinions welcome.

Thanks

Andrew


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## Peril (Sep 5, 2005)

Lost a large bream in the racks on the Hawkesbury in a social comp. Had it under control between the racks but it was hooked in the side of the head. Another kick and it was off. Lure was an sx48 and I'd flattened the barbs


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## Astro (Nov 27, 2006)

always....especially in a yak.....


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## wopfish (Dec 4, 2006)

I'd only flatten barbs as a precaution not to get hooked by them or they hook into something....... In general I dont have a problem releasing fish that are barbed hooked - or them doing damage to the fish...


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## Dodge (Oct 12, 2005)

Yes always crush barbs on hooks


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## mentally-unsound (Apr 17, 2007)

nope I have never crushed the barbs. Never really thought about doing it, never really had a problem with the barbs.. though I do see the sense in doing it, as i have made a mess of a fish or 2 by trying to get a hook out.

Dave


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## SharkNett (Feb 20, 2006)

Used to flatten some barbs after hooking myself a few times. Now I am in the yak and consider myself at much higher risk I debarb every hook that comes onboard.

Have I lost any fish? A few but may have lost them anyway.

Rob.


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## Davey G (Jan 15, 2006)

i never did, until I watched Tugboat impale himself on a large Rapala lure treble (with an angry kingfish still attached to the other one) off Clovelly late last year. The treble went straight through his thumb and out the other side, and because of the barb he was stuck fast. Luckily he was carrying a small pair of bolt cutters and I was close by to give him a hand. Still - it took a bit of effort to cut him free and I'd hate to think how he would have managed had someone not been nearby.

If the barb had been flattened, he would have been able to simply reverse the hook out.

I now carry some bolt cutters (don't think you'll be able to cut a heavy treble with small side cutters) and I've flattened all the barbs on any hooks I use (including trebles, jigs and normal hooks).

So far I've been lucky and never impaled myself, but I reckon that it will probably happen one day so I'm minimising the risks.


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## wopfish (Dec 4, 2006)

Lets hope you catch a fish first before you catch your self BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHAH


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## bazzoo (Oct 17, 2006)

Yep , always flatten the barbs , in fact if i could buy trebels without barbs , i would replace all my trebels ,i hate them , especially as they are prone to catch everything within sight but fish , a month back , i caght a smallish 26cm bream in Hacking , and when i tried to get the hook out , one of the prongs of the trebel caught in the seat of the quest , and then another in my thumb , i hadnt flattened the barbs enough , its no fun with an active fish captive to your person and held fast by the kayak seat and wriggling its bum off .


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## Peril (Sep 5, 2005)

occy said:


> If you don't flatten them, and you are a bit of a clutz like me you very soon get to know why you should have. The doctor calls the procedure "removal of foreign object". I can vouch for this as that's what he writes on the Medicare slips. And I do mean slips to be in the plural. Doh. ;-) :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:


How much does he charge you Paul? I forgot to send you my invoice


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## ryber (Mar 13, 2008)

bazzoo said:


> Yep , always flatten the barbs , in fact if i could buy trebels without barbs , i would replace all my trebels ,i hate them


They are starting to make barbless trebles but you dont seem to have the selection yet compared to the barbed kind. I have seen Owner Barbless in the shops.

Bluewater have an article on Makingthe switch to barbless and makes a good case for getting barbless to begin with rather than crushing the barbs.

http://www.bluewater.net.au/catalog...id=78&osCsid=d51e67125d3f5e0878c48e0afe343d48

I have also found they are stronger and maybe corrode less - or perhaps I just remember to rinse them some more after fishing!


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## craig450 (May 11, 2007)

Yeh, ive been using barbless trebles for a while now, ive hooked my fingers at least 10 times in the last few months!!!! im hopelees for that :lol:

Owner and TMC are the ones im using.


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## LoboLoco (Feb 1, 2008)

i once got a lure caught in the seat of a bus once.... couldn't get it out and my stop was coming up..... ended up missing a few stops but managed to luckily get it in the end, i still don't crush my barbs tho i probably should


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## Tim (Nov 11, 2005)

Still haven't seen any barbless in a store.

Saw the Tiemco ones online though, looked the business.


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## Shorty (May 11, 2008)

I will be crushing all my barbs after reading a few of the posts here.

I have heard of people getting rid of the trebles on lures and replacing with a single hooks, makes life a lot easier with removing etc and less damage to the fish,(hook up ratios was around the same it has been said) i am going to start that as well, theres to many places a treble can hook up on a yak, IMO. 8)


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## Astro (Nov 27, 2006)

Shorty said:


> I will be crushing all my barbs after reading a few of the posts here.
> 
> I have heard of people getting rid of the trebles on lures and replacing with a single hooks, makes life a lot easier with removing etc and less damage to the fish,(hook up ratios was around the same it has been said) i am going to start that as well, theres to many places a treble can hook up on a yak, IMO. 8)


yep..i am one of those who doesn't use trebles, mainly focus on sp fishing but if i use a hb then only with singles....and if concerned about hook up rates..check my trip reports....


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## fishydude (Dec 30, 2007)

Always. I do a lot of catch and release and I try very hard to not have the fish even slightly damaged on return to the water. It also stops the really nasty tangles in pfd pockets etc. It has cost me a couple fish here and there but ups outweigh the downside.
Cheers
Mike


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## reefcheck (Jul 20, 2006)

Yes,I flatten or use barbless trebles/singles in the yak most times and also when fishing with the kids. Don't seem to drop many fish if I'm using old style monofilament line (nylon), which is stretchy, or a longish soft rod which can keep tension on the line. Do drop a few more if I'm using braid and carbon type rods, which are less forgiving and seem to require a more attentive approach to maintaning the tension on the hook.


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## yaker (Aug 29, 2005)

.


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## paffoh (Aug 24, 2006)

I dont, but probably should... Only one accident so far.

If not for my safety, maybe for the fish I plan on releasing ( Natives etc etc ). I will definately consider it for my larger lures, especially if they are crappy standard trebles. I tend to lose a lot of fish anyway ( Trout included ) so have rigged some of my smaller minnow lures with barbless single hooks, they still havent had any major swimming action yet though.

Poor Squidder copped one in the hand the other day... Dr. Paf operated and sent the bill off the next day.


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## Guest (May 31, 2008)

After wearing a treble straight through the bridge of my nose a few years ago, I try to make a habit out of flattening my hooks. I am not perfect however, and do sometimes forget. I find my hook up rate better without the barb as the hook itself is finer and penetrates easier. I for one would stand behind the banning of barbed hooks


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## beefs (Jan 30, 2006)

i've just started doing it on larger lures purely from the catch and release aspect - way less damage to the fish upon removal of the hook. I suppose I should do it on all lures though.


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## Redfin60 (Nov 30, 2006)

Ouch, seen too many trebbels buried in hands, heads, ears, feet and legs to not flatten them! Keep the pressure on and it is pretty rare to loose a fish.


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## andybear (Jan 15, 2006)

Grrrr.

Yep its on my "to do list".

I probably won't get around to it until its too late though!

cheers all Andybear


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## bazzoo (Oct 17, 2006)

UUmmmmm DR . Paff hwtas that good looking lure Squidder jagged his hand with , looks like an interesting surface lure and i would think the Bass may be interested in that , name please Derek, thanks mate


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## jimmy34 (Apr 20, 2007)

I think you can take lots of precautions to avoid injury and make fish release easy but I reckon you can expect being impaled on a hook from time to time. I had one sizeable barbed treble stuck in my leg up at Melville island and it had to be extracted manually... came out with a bit of muscle fibre wrapped around the hook. The photo below is a grasshopper fly that got stuck under my chin when I was being taught how to fly-fish. There was no budging that one and it needed a trip to the emergency dept of the hospital, a local anaesthetic etc followed by a $200 bill. The skin under the chin is quite elastic and no matter how I twisted and turned it it didn't come out. Bugger! I reckon I have had a few more hooks go in the flesh but nothing too severe.


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