Hi All,

I fish a few different club lakes all of which have a barbless rule. I've not suffered any hook pulls at all in the last 3 or 4 years using barbless and never had any issues.

This weekend I fished a new lake (around 28 acres with approx 150-180 fish) it's not an easy water and for prospective only 1 fish has been out since Thursday and there were about 10 anglers+ on this weekend. One of them was me for 48 hours and I had two takes and lost them both to hook pulls, one I had on about a minute or so and then it just fell off(it felt a good fish)... and the next night I had a screaming run and then bent into a fish only for it to come off straight away. Another guy told me he lost one to a hook pull the previous night too.

I'm using quite small hooks (size 7) Nash chod hooks and I'm now wondering if I should up the hook size as it's really played on my mind.

The other guy did suggest the carp may have soft mouths... But I'm not so sure!

Any help appreciated, thanks

In reply to Post #1
I have had to get some barbless hooks for a new club rules.
Gone straight in with a meaty size 4 beaked point with a kicker.
I used Bank tackle classic wide gape and Korda basix wide gape, both with a diy sharpening.
Smaller hooks are more pointy so I have allowed for this by sharpening the 4s so they not only nick in (can't say pr1ck) but also sink in deeper much easier.
Having a bigger chunk of fish on the end of the hook makes a big difference , and the bigger, heavier, hook drops down and being sharpened finds a hold easier.

In reply to Post #1
Maybe there's a fish dragging some line about which is interfering with anglers rigs / giving false runs.

In reply to Post #3
+1

Don't over analyse it either, if your doing what you always do except for barbless not barbed then don't change anything, or experiment on one rod only.

In reply to Post #1
Small hooks, short hairs and larger baits is a recipe for hook pulls, kind of masks the hook point and you will get near on instant pulls. Fish a bigger hook, longer hair, or a smaller bait.

Hooks pulls cannot be avoided but hook pulls do damaged fishes mouths, we have pulled the hook out.

Would echo Scozzas comments below, try changing aspects of your set up. Fishing all pop up currently? Try bottom baits or balanced snowmen?
Try a size 4 hook, more separation from hook and bait.

Ring the changes, you’re getting the pick up so half way there. Keep going 👍

Quite an interesting podcast by Korda I listened to recently. One of the fellas on there mentioned he was suffering a string of hook pulls. They suggested it might be down to the time year( post spawning ) And the type of water they were fishing ( heavily stocked ) his take was. As the fish were so ravenous at this time of year and obviously competitive due to the stock. The fish weren't giving themselves time to take the hook back further in the mouth for more secure hook holds. Never looked at it they way. But makes perfect sense.

In reply to Post #7
Just to play devils advocate...

If the fish were ravenous I would have thought they'd want to swallow the food.
Therefore it would be on a one way journey...

Not the suck'n'blow "Shall I, shan't I eat it" that you often see on underwater videos where they drift in and pick a few bits up and then blow a lot of it back out.

In reply to Post #1
Size 4 kranks , my syndicate is barbless and been using these this season without a hook pull.

In reply to Post #1
Sometimes it is just poor feeding gusto, grazing or picking, not really having it...
or small carp picking the bait up in their lips, clamping their small mouths and moving off, Hooks not really far enough in the mouth for a decent hook hold.

I have also experienced this, different stock/older fish. Some have tough mouths like leather where hooks never come out, or the others that are soft, and tear a straight line the inside of the mouth, and only just make it into the landing net and fall out with a tiny bit of slack.

Just need some perseverance, decent weather/feeding conditions AND THE BEST QUALITY BAIT YOU CAN AFFORD, if those carp really find it attractive and want to eat it, rigs are not that important, as long as it is sharp.
I'm sure it will all come good.

In reply to Post #9
I'd never fish somewhere that enforces a barbless rule. It's one of the dumbest things in carp fishing

In reply to Post #11
Is it really?

In reply to Post #11
I prefer barbed but my syndicate is strictly barbless

I think barbless is a fair rule if there’s snags or lots of weed. Generally when I catch fish the Krank 4 is so firmly in the bottom lip I could play the fish all day long without fear of losing it.

If I had a break off and the hook link got tangled in weed I don’t think that fish would free itself, at least not very easily or quickly.

I’ve had the odd fish weed me up on barbless, and if I can’t wiggle the fish free easily then I slacken off and lay the rod down and then reel in the rig 5min later when the fish has freed itself

In reply to Post #13
The krank 4s are definitely the best barbless hook I've used and I've tried most patterns over the last few years .

In reply to Post #14
One of my clubs has gone barbless, so I had to delve into the unknown.

The bank tackle beaked point and the korda basix beaked point have both been excellent.
I do sharpen them up, and these then keep the point with a dab of my oil pen with no issues.