Pinch That Barb

I try to buy my trout flies with barbless hooks as much as I can. It's not as easy to find barbless flies as one would think in this era of catch-and-release fly fishing. So, it helps to have some strong forceps that do an efficient job of pinching a barb down onto the hook.

I've come to appreciate a particular type of forcep. And, there are about three different brands I regularly use and they all work just fine. Yeah, I tend to lose a couple each year. This time around, I purchased this Umpqua forcep/scissor model because it has orange handles. Those who know me, know why (OSU grad). I like the scissor feature because I sometimes can't get my hands on my nippers, for a variety of reasons, and it's nice to have the scissors handy to cut off a tag when changing flies.

You know, barbless hooks have several benefits. One of which it's safer for the fish...surely, the best reason for using barbless hooks. Also, it's easier to remove the hook from a trout when there is no barb. I like to keep the trout in the net at the surface of the water and use my forcep to remove the hook. Then I just tip the net and the fish swims out and back to its home in the stream. And, sometimes I don't even need to use my forcep for removing a barbless hook - with the fish in the bottom of the net, I can just shake the net side to side and often the hook will fall out on its own.

Yup, go barbless. It's good for trout and less hassle for you when removing the hook. Oh, I almost forgot another benefit. If you accidentally sink a hook into yourself, or a fishing buddy, it doesn't hurt near as much as a barbed hook when ripping it out. Doesn't bleed as much either!

FEATURES:

• Precision-Tip Jaws - a unique jaw that combines very fine tips for precise work, like pinching barbs on small flies, along with scissors and a base for crimping/smashing at the back of the jaws. Front jaws are smooth for pinching and back is serrated for better grabbing.
• Finger Extension - gives an extra point of contact to help guide the tool with exacting placement and pressure.
• Double-dipped Handles - handles are double coated for maximum grip and comfort. The bright orange color helps to locate the forceps when dropped into the stream bed or grassy bank.
• Surgical-grade Steel - considered the best available for hand-tools, using the best raw materials.