Making Your Own Barbless Hook

April 9, 2020

Question: Is there a test to see if “mashed” barbs are mashed enough? Also, is it an offense to be in possession of barbed flies while on no-barb water? (George)

Answer: 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,” per California Code of Regulations, Title 14, section 1.19. Barbless hooks are often required in coastal waters where protected species like steelhead come upstream. Further inland, barbless hooks are designated to protect trout, salmon and sturgeon from harm that can come from ingesting hooks or from losing scales due to being handled or netted. “Barbless requirements allow an angler to get the fish off the hook quickly with minimal handling,” said CDFW Capt. Todd Tognazzini.

If you’re attempting to create a barbless hook by bending the barbs, make sure the barbs are smooth enough so there are no protrusions. While there is no official test, try rubbing a piece of nylon or fabric along the barbed area. If the hook snags it would likely be considered barbed. If there’s no snag, you probably have a permissible barbless hook. The bottom line is that the bent barb should be so smooth that the hook can be removed from the fish without impediment.

There is no prohibition against possessing a barbed hook on your person or in your tackle box while angling in barbless only waters. A wildlife officer can issue a misdemeanor citation if they witness an angler fishing with a barbed hook in waters that prohibit using them.

I haven't had good results with bending down the barb on hooks, as a bent-down barb can still be pretty grabby.  So I clamp the hook in a vice grip and completely remove the barb with a round file.  A chain saw sharpening file works well.

I've removed the barb by pinching the barb with some needle nose pliers and usually hear a snap when the barb breaks.  I then us a hook sharpening file to grind it down smooth.  You can then check it with a cotton ball or Q tip to see if it snags.  Never been checked, but I feel confident it would pass inspection.

Being anal about things like that, I put it in my old fly tying vise and use a dremel with a grinder bit. If you fish and don't have a hook vise yet, get one they're pretty inexpensive for the benefits they offer, "that third hand"

Some brands of hooks are easier to de-barb than others. On some the barb bends nicely. On others it snaps off leaving a questionable little rough spot.
Gamakatsu Big Rivers do this, which annoys me as they are my favorite hook. Very sharp, but the barb always snaps off.

In my experience, sometimes the barb snaps off, and sometimes it doesn't. If it snap off, it's usually smooth, but sometimes I still file it a bit just to be safe. But, when it doesn't snap off, I usually can't get it really smooth no matter how much filing I do, even using my chainsaw file.

Thanks for the suggestion to get a hook vice. It makes sense that filing would be a lot easier with that.

small hooks, bend shut with small pliers and rotate the pliers a little to smooth it over
big hooks, I buy barblese or use dremel tool


all our trout, salmon , and steelhead lures have been switched to single siwash that I debarbed and bent a little for better hookup ratio

I have a fly-tieing vise, but it's pretty flimsy for filing hooks, especially larger ones, so I improvise with two pairs of vise-grips - clamp the hook in one, then clamp that VG in another by the handle, or just hold onto the first one while filing or Dremeling.