So it had been a roasting hot day. My wife and I had a hectic day rushing about; it got to around 8pm so I decided to go fishing. Alas as soon as I went out the door I could tell there was something a little different in the air, it was a lot colder. Still, I was hoping that the trout might have been turned on to the sedges the same way they were turned on the night before but a proper hatch did not materialise.
I ended up spending a fair old time at this little spot trying to tempt some rising fish, I found that I was deceived as they were mostly those wee sea trout that have been stocked.
Eventually I managed to hook what feels like my first brown trout in ages from this part of the Kelvin. I thought at first it was a lot bigger however before realising it was foul hooked in the back, it made for an interesting fight and thankfully the hook came out easier. Mike, a guy I fish with uses barbless hooks all the time; however I just seem to use them when I remember to flatten the barb. Would be interested to know just how many of you use them.
Oh and don’t forget the caption competition, mind that anyone can enter, just choose a photo and write a caption, jiggery pockery with Photoshop is allowed but not mandatory. Read this post here for more details.
3 thoughts on “Sizzling…….nah Brrrrrrrr.”
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Lovely fish there Alistair, the fights I have when foul hooking fish tend to be very hard and very unpredictable. I was once foul hooked a trout in the head! 😮
I use barbless/crushed barb hooks all the time, even for my stillwater fishing where I may take fish home. Just makes it easier if I need to return the fish I suppose. I know some people claim they lose more fish with barbless, although I’ve never experienced any problems.
Gareth
I try to crush the barbs. But sometimes I forget.
A lot of the waters around here are barbless hooks only. I don’t have many barbless hooks, so I end up squeezing down the barb before I fish a fly with a pair of foreceps, or right after completing it at the bench.
There’s a “right” way and a “wrong” way to crush the barb as well.. if one does it the wrong way, they could end up weakening the hook. Always crush the barb with the entire hook point held inside the foreceps – in other words, don’t crush with foreceps or pliars across the barb and hook.