Don't cut leaders unless you have no choice, and if you must leave a hook in a bass, leave a foot or more of the leader outside the fish to let it feed normally while recovering and eliminating the hook naturally. The barbs on hooks require harder hooks sets, and bass anglers will more easily hook more bass with barbless hooks. We use them much of the time, and lose very few bass in the process. There are drawbacks, however. The barbs hold live bait on the hook, and therefore barbed hooks must be used with live baits.
Circle hooks are best here, unless the water is full of snags.
Moreover, the barbs keep worms and other plastics in position for repetitive casting. But, If the bite is slow, I use barbed hooks to let me cast and cast again without realigning the plastic baits. Each sportsman angler must make his choices. Decide for yourself when the health of the fish and the fishery is more important than slightly increasing your own fishing success Ralph Manns Author Information. Ralph Manns is a distinguished outdoor writer whose materials appear in popular publications such as In-Fisherman and other outdoor magazines.