I don't as a practice use barbless hooks, but if the catching is hot and heavy I will pinch the barb on my hook down to make the release easier. When I fish live bait I almost always use a circle hook to cut down on deeply hooked fish. They take some getting used to and you do lose a few fish but it is a small price to pay for the reduction in mortality. I just wish more companies offered octopus circle hooks in a full range of sizes. Seems Gamekatsu is the only company offering these hooks in sizes smaller than 2/0. Tom

I prefer hooks with smaller barbs.