steelhead reg's question

[rutnbuckhunting]

In the regulations it states for salmon and steelhead. You may only use single barbless hooks. My question is can you use two single hooks. Say a dropper fly?

Thanks
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[Got_Bait]

Man oh man people sure have a hard time with this one. 2 hooks is fine. Trebles are fine too. Or a double if you got one. Unless you are fishing on the ___________ River. Go read the regs again (closer this time) and see if you can fill in the blank.
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[mattdog231155]

its only the south fork you have to worry about only using one hook. and i quote "Only single-pointed barbless hooks are allowed when fishing for salmon or steelhead in the South Fork Clearwater River." page 39 of the fishing regulations.
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[rutnbuckhunting]

Thanks guys So I am still . yes I did read it. And no where did i read you can only use one hook What I did read copied from page 39 "Only single-pointed barbless hooks are allowed when fishing
for salmon or steelhead in the South Fork Clearwater River". Where as hooks is plural spelled with an S. Therefore single pointed barbless hooks vs. hook Call me retarded if you like but thanks anyway. I will be fishing the SFC. Wish it was clarified better.
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[Steelie30]

The way I understand it, and have seen it done by 99% of fly fisherman on the SFCR, you can have a dropper as long as any/all your hooks are single shanked and barbless. Rarely have I seen anyone fishing a single fly/bead in that river. Good luck! Tube some big B run fish for broodstock with the F&G. We were up there a week ago before it froze back up. We did well.
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[Steelie30]

Yes, it says hooks. No hook. Single pointed and barbless. By that definition, you are good with your dropper fly.
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[Got_Bait]

You are not retarded, but I have been reprimanded by a lot of guys that are (probably the same ones whose barbed hooks I pull out of the river). I'll lay it out simple:

You can fish 2 hooks on any river.

Your hooks must be barbless on any river.

Treble hooks are okay everywhere but the South Fork Clearwater.

Have fun, and good luck!!
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[Steelie30]

Interesting that you should mention the barbs on hooks that you pulled from the water..I pulled two rigs in by hooking the indicator last week. Both rigs had two hooks which is fine, but none of the hooks were barbed. Also, I don't know why you'd ever need 1/0 to 2/0 hooks while fishing beads for steelhead...=)

I also noticed that the rigs had HUGE!! beads on them. Are those very popular? I'm used to using smaller beads on the upper salmon. I have noticed these magnum sized beads on the SFCR these past 2 years. Are they effective? They were easily 5-10 times bigger than anything I've ever used for steelhead. Just curious more than anything. My smaller beads have worked great either way.
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[Got_Bait]

When you say "none of the hooks were barbed", does that mean that the barbs were still present (NOT mashed down)?

I am always astonished when hook into line in the river and pull tackle out of the hole. I would say 90% or better of the hooks I pull out of the river still have barbs on them. Crazy! I didn't even fish with barbs on my hook when I was an irresponsible teenager, but whatevs.

Ya those mondo beads guys have been using the last few years looks as big as basketballs don't they? Seems to be originating from the flypole contingent, but that's just my observation. Anyway when the water is big and/or heavily colored, bigger brighter presentations seem to help so I can understand the utility of the megabead from that standpoint.
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[Steelie30]

Yes, the barbs were still present, 0 effort to mash down the barbs whatsoever.

I've never fished the SFCR in heavy flows, we usually try to go around president's day to avoid it, but it would make sense that the bigger and brighter beads would work in that situation.

Back to the 90% or better of hooks found that have barbs present...We fished a semi popular hole on the Little Salmon for Chinooks a few years back (2015). The water got low and a snag that was obviously getting us gummed up became exposed. We were able to get out to that snag and used a net to pull a ball of dead line, hooks, sinkers, fish parts, etc from the bottom. It was foul. It had to weigh over 80 pounds, and that is not an exaggeration. When the fishing slowed up, which it didn't very much that year, we worked on salvaging everything off of that ball of line. We filled numerous, plastic, ice cream buckets with lead, and about 400-500 different hooks. I bet of those 500 hooks, 90% of them still had their barbs. Apparently people are not scared to fish with barbs. I'd be as nervous as a cat in a drier, but I am apparently the minority. As far as the lead goes, we donated that and the hooks back to the Little Salmon the next year while fishing=) That river just eats gear for breakfast. I can't imagine what kind of salvage one could do if that water became a trickle. You'd never have to hit the store up again...
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[Steelie30]

I have been checked twice this year, and each time they asked to see my hooks. So they are watching...
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[Got_Bait]

Ha, well I guess it's nice to know that I wasn't exaggerating, but in the end it's pretty disheartening that so many people have such little regard for the rules. Takes most of the glory out of getting one to the bank if you can't do it fair. At least to me.

Oh ya, and there's no such thing as a semi-popular hole on the Little Salmon. They are all popular, haha! [laugh] Especially since that Nazi on the other side of the swinging bridge shut down half our fishing! [pirate]
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[blacktop]

I always enjoy your chadder no such thing as a semi-popular hole same could be said of the South Fork. The fine is from 100 to 300 dollars. People using the big hooks are generally rookies as are the ones who don't barb. Very few use bigger than 2's with the vast majority using 4's. Most of the Spey guys in the main Clearwater are using at least one 14-16 mm bead on the top hook and am seeing more and more on the South Fork as well.
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[Steelie30]

Yeah, that 14-16 mm is what I was seeing. I like the size 2 hooks for drift fishing and size 4 executive for fishing with beads. They both seem to do the trick. This weather is throwing things for a loop. Hopefully it gets back to normal soon.
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[ineedtofish]

Just curious, other than the legality of it, do you guys think single barbed hooks are actually a problem?
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[nijimasu]

I'm not sure what you're asking, but I know when I hook myself in the ear that I'm glad it's barbless.

I think single barbless is undoubtedly much easier on the fish than a barbed version would be- not only because of tissue damage, but because of the time/stress involved in disconnecting the fish.

I'm glad to hear they are being checked. To be fair though, I can see how the best intentioned angler might forget to pinch them down when breaking off and tieing on a lot. But no excuse for 80% of hooks recovered to still have barbs on them.
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[Steelie30]

It's a pain, but I have always just barbed them while tying egg loops at home. Or, I barb the smaller hooks I use while nymphing with beads before I put them in the box. It helps me take the guess work out it. But that is just me =)
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[Got_Bait]

I wasn't sure I totally understood this question either, but I'm with Niji. If you've ever wanted/had to release a fish, an unbarbed hook makes a huge difference.

There are still real wild steelhead (and salmon) in our rivers, and it would be a shame to kill one (or even a hatchery fish IMO) trying to unhook it.
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[mattdog231155]

i asked the fish and game the other day asking if the bait holders counted as barbs, and they said that legally the bait holders are also barbs. So always remember to take those off even though the fish cops don't always check the bait holders.
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[Steelie30]

Does anyone really fish bait-holder hooks for salmon and steelhead? I've always stuck to octopus style and executive series for their hook setting abilities. Can't go wrong with a Gamakatsu! Plus the barbs on a size 2 or 4 gamakatsu are very small, easy to pop, and good on the fish in my opinion.

I agree that the barb will make it more difficult to get the fish back in the water in a timely manner. Even the hatchery fish are precious in my opinion and the quicker you can get them back (If you want to keep fishing) the better. That broodstock goal is very important, especially this year when things are down.
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