Definition of Barb-less Hook

September 20, 2013
 
Question: I want to try fishing in the Sacramento River this year for Chinook salmon and most of the area will require barbless hooks. Can barbed hooks with the barbs crimped down be legally considered barbless? (Eric V.)

Answer: Yes. Just be sure the crimped barbs are completely smooth so that no projections can be detected. To be sure, push it through any type of fabric and if no threads are snagged, you have a barbless hook. In the regulations a barbless hook is defined as a “hook from which the barb or barbs have been removed or completely bent closed, or which is manufactured without barbs” (CCR Title 14, section 1.19).

I do the same on the upper American.