5280 ANGLER GUIDE HACKS – Why Crimp the Barb?

Pinched barb, crimped barb, what’s the big deal, right?
Wrong.
There are many reasons to pinch (crimp) the barb of a fly fishing hook (or any hook for that matter).
1. Conservation (better on the fish, quicker release time, less injury, more likely to fall out in foul hook/break off situation,
2. Personal injury (another main reason guides crimp their barbs…much easier to remove out of human flesh in the case of an errant cast
3. More pleasant! Fly hooks are tiny and packs (umpqua zero sweep link) are designed to minimize snags these days, but they find ways to get stuck in everything we wear. A crimped barb is just simply less of a pain in the ass
4. LDR (Long Distance Release) In most instances, we aren’t playing for keeps anyways, good hook initial hook sets and well played fish fighting techniques are going to help us all land our fair share of fish, regardless of a barb. Besides, we aren’t choosing to fly fish because it’s an easy way to catch dinner.
For more, check out www.keepemwet.org.