I recently posted a picture of my favorite lure for Lake Winnipeg and had a couple comments regarding the appearance of barbs on my hooks.
Even if the comment was meant in fun I would like to reiterate that I try and fish by the rules at all times....no matter where I fish. Quite frankly, I don't want anyone thinking I'm a slob fisherman, as it couldn't be further from the truth.
So I went home at lunch and felt the hooks again, and although I did feel a couple areas where it was a little sharp, there was no biting or grabbing of my skin when I ran my thumb against the barb. I am quite confident a game warden would have no problem with the bait.
When I am pinching barbs I do not do it visually, instead I will pinch and then feel, and pinch again until it doesn't grab my skin.
I will admit that Live Targets do have the most difficult barb to pinch because the hooks are awesome quality. Jigging Raps are also quite hard, but they are brittle as well and you bust hooks on the Rapalas more than any other bait.
I have included pictures of a few new hooks without pinched barbs for comparison to the pinched Live Target hooks.
Sorry if this seems silly, particularly since 99.5% of you don't know me, but the implication was bothering me.
Even if the comment was meant in fun I would like to reiterate that I try and fish by the rules at all times....no matter where I fish. Quite frankly, I don't want anyone thinking I'm a slob fisherman, as it couldn't be further from the truth.
So I went home at lunch and felt the hooks again, and although I did feel a couple areas where it was a little sharp, there was no biting or grabbing of my skin when I ran my thumb against the barb. I am quite confident a game warden would have no problem with the bait.
When I am pinching barbs I do not do it visually, instead I will pinch and then feel, and pinch again until it doesn't grab my skin.
I will admit that Live Targets do have the most difficult barb to pinch because the hooks are awesome quality. Jigging Raps are also quite hard, but they are brittle as well and you bust hooks on the Rapalas more than any other bait.
I have included pictures of a few new hooks without pinched barbs for comparison to the pinched Live Target hooks.
Sorry if this seems silly, particularly since 99.5% of you don't know me, but the implication was bothering me.