A lip wound is much less severe than a gut wound. Set the hook quickly when using natural bait so the fish does not have time to swallow. Use barbless hooks. Barbless hooks can be removed from a fish much easier than barbed hooks, causing less damage and reducing time out of water. Anglers who have fished with barbless hooks for years say they hook and land just as many fish.
Barbs can be bent or filed down easily on bait hooks or artificial lures.
You can leave a bump instead of a barb to prevent the hook from coming out too soon. Some barbless hooks are made with a bend to serve this purpose. Reduce the use of treble hooks to minimize wounding and time out of water. Often, single hooks can replace trebles or tines can be clipped without ruining the action of the lure. Saltwater fishermen have several choices of hook material.