August 29, 2010
Carp Hooks - Barbed Vs Barbless
The most essential piece of equipment that you need is the hook, which will connect the carp to your rod. However, if the hook is dull or lacking strength, even your most expensive rod won’t make the catch.
The fishing community has always discussed the pros and cons of barbed hooks verses barbless hooks. It's not always just a question of which you prefer, but there are also some areas that prohibit the use of one or the other; researching area laws is important. Both the barbed and barbless hooks play an important part in the carp industry, but the decision on which one to use varies greatly.
There are many things to consider about barbed hooks, naturally, more fish can be caught using these types of hooks. The barb enables the hook to successfully latch onto the inside of the mouth of the fish, while hooks without the barb can often be spit out by the carp, especially if there is extra slack in the line.
The catch rate increases drastically when using the barbed hooks, but there are some down falls to them as well. If you have any respect for the carp, and many carp anglers do, then you know what can happen if you lose a catch that still has your hook in its flesh. Additionally, if you catch a carp and don't remove the hook properly, you will cause significant damage to the carps mouth. For fishermen who do a lot of catch-and-release fishing, it can get quite frustrating to catch good looking carp with sides of their mouths cut up because of carelessness.
Barbed hooks may yield more catches for you, but using barbless hooks provides a better challenge and makes the sport of carp fishing that much more interesting. A barbless hook rule at a lake is a sure fire way to ensure that the carp stay healthy looking and populate. Because it's not as easy to catch carp with barbless hooks, the game is much more fun. On the contrary, some carp have become adapted and find easier and more intricate ways to eject the hook faster than you have time to realize what happened. It's essential that your carp gear contains both barbed and barbless hooks
Aside from choosing barbed or barbless carp hooks, you must also take into consideration the hook wire you will be using. A good general rule of thumb is the bigger the hook, the thicker the wire. The thickness could lead to the difference among hooking the fish and missing it completely. Before heading out on a carp fishing trip, look over your equipment and learn the area rules. This will ensure that when you arrive, all you need to do is catch the carp and have some fun.
Filed under Fishing Rod Building by Mick
