I think bad mouth damage has something to do with 1) use of heavy leads 2) use of heavy lines and over-powerful rods 3) poor unhooking skills
Some also argue that barbless hooks are worse.
The weight of the lead is of no concern if its free-running, however even semi-fixed leads (fixed near the hook with safety lead clips) can cause damage.
Never did understand the barbless hook argument... why else would the majority of modern day fisheries ban barbed? Must say I'm a complete convert and even crimp down old barbed patterns I still have left over for river fishing too.
Barbed are harder to shake and lose, also a barbed will always prick and then tear whereas a barb
less will just prick.
I'm on the committee and we have the place netted every few years to sort out the stock, keep tabs etc and the guys who net it, are adamant that the most common cause of mouth damage is tiny hooks and fine lines. Tiny hooks rip out and fine lines act like cheese wire and saw through the corners of the mouth.
The barbless hook thing...I've heard that too but have never been able to work out why. I thought people insist on using barbed to stop the hook pulling in a fight, which could then end up in the fishes eye, flank or any other part of it.
I don't know why people insist on barbed, other than it holds firm... the only disadvantage I see is that you could loose the fish in a fight if using barbless. I'm yet to be convinced, but I see any reason given for using barbed as an excuse to continue using them for fear of losing fish.
Where as the profile of Hook link Braid is flat, therefore causes no damage! Silkworm for example.
complete tosh
Not exactly complete tosh, nonetheless please read my responses below
please read my responses below in which I have tried to provide a balanced view.
Yes what happened to angling skills in the intervening years..
Fixed bolt rigs shouldn't have any place in freshwater angling.
They should only be used in specific sea fishing situations eg; where the fish is for the table.
And can anyone please explain to me where angling skills are involved in fixed lead bolt fishing???
Apart from the initial positioning of the end tackle I fail to see any
.
Agree fixed leads are a death rig setup
If i am fishing for silvers with a size 20 hook and thin line how can i be sure i will not hook up on a carp?...this makes me laugh when people say never use hooks under a certain size for carp fishing,there is no way you can be sure you will not catch a carp unless there are no carp in the water to start with
Unavoidable. Agree that small hooks and thin/inappropriate line can damage fish mouth parts. Its inexperience or inappropriate angling practices thats to blame but on a mixed fishery you will inevitably hook into something bigger than you might have intended.
Do you think rig tubing over the hooklength would help especially if that goes all the way to the hook eye.
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i'd see this as something that might help with self hooking methods especially if I akso fish a bomb and use a pva bag.
Easier to use a high dia line than increase the line dia with tubing?
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On Braid;
"When a correctly constructed braided hooklength is passed over an object such as a fish's mouth the braid has the ability to flatten by following the contours of the mouth. "
If it is under tension it becomes flattened and spreads the load, this is a positive though I submit the 'edges' of a flattened object also has the ability to cut through flesh, the same way a blade of grass can cut your finger.
"Many braids are actually thicker than their mono counterparts and consequently have a surface area greater than mono."
That is true. Flattening it under tension though still produces an edge which has the ability to cut.
"Think of the difference of the load being spread between a cheesewire and a tape measure."
The edge of a tape measure can cut.
"totally safe because of the cushioning effect of the plastic coating."
Agree that coated braided hook lengths are safe as hell and certainly better than uncoated braid or thin mono. My own reasoning is that a coated braid has a rounded edge compared to a non-coated braid that flattens more.
"There are now braided lines on the market made for use as reel line or mainline. These lines are of an extremely low diameter and should never be used as hooklengths! "
A flattened hollow hooklength designed specifically as a hooklength will also become thinner in diameter under tension - with the added danger of having an edge that will cut the same as any comparable mainline braid of the same diameter.
