Barbless Hooks

Circle Hooks are Less Harmful

With quick strike rigs you need to set the hook right away. A Pike first takes the bait then turns to kill it. This is when they will swallow the hook into their gullet which could decrease the chance of the fish surviving.

Remove the hook, the fish has a much better chance of recovering from an injury rather then a hook in its stomach. It is a myth that the hook dissolves. The fish is unable to swallow to eat with a hook in its gullet. This is why you have to get to the tip up quickly to prevent swallowing of the hook.

Circle hooks on the other hand are less harmful to the fish because they are designed to hook the fish in the corner of the mouth thus making it easier to remove the hook. With circle hooks you need to feel when the Pike is running away from you then you pull on the line with no jerking. Then the hook is just hooked in the corner of the mouth of the Pike. 

Submitted by Kurt Stein of Big Strike Outfitters