Single Barbless Hook

The barbless single hook is standard in trout bfs for targeting wild fish, for several reasons.

• Minimize damage to fish
• Meet field regulations
• Improve C&R success rate
• Better penetration
• Enhance game characteristics

Minimizing damage to the fish:

The damage to the fish’s mouth is very different with a single hook point versus the three points of a treble.

Unhooking a barbless single with your fingers is a breeze, even when both front and rear hooks are in, but avoiding scars is next to impossible with trebles.

Field regulation:

Barbed hooks are strictly prohibited in many protected wild fisheries.

Simple and easy: never carry barbed-hook minnows, and you can fish anywhere.

Other restrictions apply field by field, so we still need to check the local rules regardless.

Improve C&R success rate:

The stunning beauty of wild fish is treasure to us and future anglers. Proper catch and release is the absolute mission for anglers targeting wild fish.

Having wild fish in this country is a great privilege, and Fish and Game and other organizations work tirelessly to preserve them.

Barbless single hooks are a big part of how we take part in this.

Better penetration:

Barbless hooks penetrate better than barbed ones, especially with a finesse-powered rod.

Most trout bfs rods have minimal hooking power because of the light line and thin-gauge wire hooks, so full penetration is key to keep the hook from opening up on large, strong fish.

Enhance game characteristics:

The barbless single hook dramatically enhances the game of trout bfs, because the tackle balance must be precisely matched.

Rod strength, bend curve, reel drag, line type and fighting style all have to work together flawlessly.

Wild fish unhook themselves easily if the tackle balance is not right.

Fortunately, Shimano Japan has started equipping single hooks on the Cardiff REFRAIN series minnow. Remember to pinch the barb.

Replacing factory barbed trebles with barbless singles is a time-consuming task.

We hope all trout minnows will come with single hooks in the near future.

A single hook has a huge benefit over a treble.

The wire gauge can be much thicker. Wild fish over 20in can easily open or break thin-gauge hooks when fished with short trout bfs rods.

Short rods physically absorb less of the fish’s pull than longer rods.

So thicker wire is necessary for targeting large wild fish, to keep the hook from opening up.

The surface coating of a forged hook is also important, since it affects penetration and the landing ratio.

Fluorine coating minimizes friction and ensures penetration, while also increasing hook strength.

The smoother it goes in, the less force is needed for full penetration.

Better penetration comes with the downside of easier dislodging, so the rod’s responsiveness must work together to keep the fish pinned.

Given the physical limits of a short trout bfs rod, choosing the ideal blank material is the best solution, and it is what makes the trout bfs rod so specific and unique.

Our choice for wild fish has been the Vanfook PLB-59F pinched-barb for its strength, even on our lightest model, the 410L, in fields with occasional 16in+ fish.

Owner SBL75S for fields with only 16in and smaller fish, thin gage for its superior penetration.

For us, the curved hook point secures fish in the pocket and gives a higher landing ratio than a straight point.

Oh, quality snaps are a must for quick minnow changes.

High-quality snaps give worry-free strength even in small sizes such as #00 and #0.

Owner (Cultiva) offers excellent snaps for each need.
They give a positive click, which is crucial with frozen fingers, and their strength is unmatched.

Enough snap failures cost us the 'fish of the trip' before we settled on Owner snaps.

Superior performance and quality we can rely on.