How to De-Barb a Fly Hook

Use barbless hooks or de-barb fly hooks on your own.

Fly anglers may prefer to use barbless hooks because of many advantages. Barbless hooks penetrate fish better because they have smaller cross-sections. They also remove easily from the fish or other parts, including your clothing or skin, because of the lack of a barb to latch on. De-barbing fly hooks is especially useful for catch-and-release fishing because anglers can release the fish faster with less tear and tissue damage, causing less trauma to the fish.

Things You'll Need

• De-barb pliers
• Vise

Instructions

1. Lock the hook onto the vise by the hook jaw with the shank parallel to the ground or tabletop.

2. Place the hook point in the jaws of the de-barb pliers from the tip.

3. Press the pliers and crush the barb down to flatten.

4. Remove the pliers and take it to the side of the hook point. Press the pliers down and crush the barb completely.

Tips & Warnings

• Use only de-barb pliers, because they are designed specifically to crush the barbs on fly hooks.

References

• National 4H Sportfishing; Barbless Hooks: De-barbing, Sharpening and Using Them; Phil Genova and Ronald A. Howard Jr.