# Hookless Fly method.... Fishing or Snagging?



## corndawg (Oct 24, 2007)

I Read this article in the current Field and Stream issue. Its a new concept (at least to me) that seems pretty controversial. Almost sound like the fish is being lined but then again its not because the fish did strike the hookless fly. The article says that they tried it steelheading on a Lake Erie trib but doesnt say which state, and yes, I know what it says in the Ohio regs under snagging so no need to quote it. Anyway I sent it to ODOW to see how they would interpret this method with the law. Ill post their answer as soon as I receive it. 

http://www.fieldandstream.com/articles/fishing/fly-fishing/how-fish/2009/03/look-ma-no-hooks


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## c. j. stone (Sep 24, 2006)

I read the same article-sounds like fishing to me. If I'm not mistaken, the guy if from the greater Cleveland area and his methods are condoned by some of the better fly shops in that area. He did say that the fish are all hooked automatically in the side of the mouth and easily released. Why snag if you're releasing the fish like he seems to do?


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## liquidsoap (Oct 22, 2005)

Pretty interesting article... I think its legit way of fishing. But it does not seem to make much sense. I understand the concept.. But does it really out fish a normal fly?


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## BigDaddy300 (Nov 1, 2004)

I bet they say "foul hooked" and must be released.


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## Fishaholic69 (Apr 6, 2007)

I also seen the moffit system. I will stick to fishing the regular way tho.


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## reo (May 22, 2004)

As a reformed fly flicker and having caught MANY steelhead on the fly I can say that swallowed hooks were not an issue when I was fly fishing.:eyeroll:


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## Patricio (Feb 2, 2007)

I have never had a trout swallow a hook.

also, as a side note, fish dont have nerve endings in their mouth. thus they never feel the hook. which is why when they are fouled hooked in the back they flip out because that they feel. just another way the noobs to flyfishing are destroying the sport. 

this guy is a thieving hack. as one of the comments says, theyve been using this method in alaska for quite sometime. and IMO, its snagging. just another form of _lining_


in fact, here is as W&M ad thats been running for years I think in the Drake Magazine showing the result of this method.


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## Buckeyefly (Apr 28, 2007)

Thumbs down on HOOKLESS FLIES! I love it when a fish crushes my fly. I thought that was the point, fool the fish with your artficial bait. Most of the time I never even take the fish out of the water, seems pretty easy to pop the hook out with pliers. I have never had any problems releasing fly caught fish. Who wants to drag a fish in by the side of its face?


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## steelheader007 (Apr 8, 2004)

That method ranks right up there with beads yea sure it works, but it will never be used by me. After I figured out just how the hook impales the fishes face I said nope this is not right!


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## riverKing (Jan 26, 2007)

I'll throw into this one.
I think its totally legit, the fish take the flies so I wont say its wrong, and there using circles so as with most forms of fishing, if done right the fish will survive. however, I wont ever use it, I like pinching my barbs at the vice and tying my own flies, but if somebody likes the idea I say try it, I dont think its lining if they eat it. ...beads, tom you would love the rants about beads out here....guys get more pissed than they do when someone bounces a spoon off thier boat.


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## steelheader007 (Apr 8, 2004)

Rol imagine that! I knew I was not the only one, and hey where are the pictures Boy!


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## corndawg (Oct 24, 2007)

Although not surprised, heres ODOWs response to whether this method is legal in Ohio......

Here is the answer from an administrator in fish management: 

A fish hooked anywhere other than the INSIDE of the mouth is considered snagged, and therefore illegal to keep. Anglers could use the method if they were only planning to catch and release.


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## steelheader007 (Apr 8, 2004)

"Anglers could use the method if they were only planning to catch and release. "

Legalizing flossing fish great!


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## riverKing (Jan 26, 2007)

they should just go back to stocking mudsharks then I guess, the rocky will look like burt


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## steelheader007 (Apr 8, 2004)

Rol.....how funny! Rocky already looks like Burt w/o the mudsharks!


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## fishwithjim (Apr 4, 2009)

I have done a lot of reading these message boards and cannot understand why we as a community are not more open to new ideas. If the "fish" bites the lure and you hook them outside the mouth, who cares! Especially with steelhead as a great majority are released. Just stop and think, how many walleye that are caught in the lake on a crankbait or a jig with a stinger are hooked outside the mouth, a lot. What is the difference, we put those in the cooler. This is a funny deal as I have played with the trout bead during the last two steelhead seasons and it works great. Just to clarify I am not "fly snagging" as I do see a whole lot of that going on especially in the spring when the fish are in 8 inches of water or less. All of the fish are hooked in the corner of the mouth!


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## steelheader007 (Apr 8, 2004)

fishwithjim said:


> I have done a lot of reading these message boards and cannot understand why we as a community are not more open to new ideas. If the "fish" bites the lure and you hook them outside the mouth, who cares! Especially with steelhead as a great majority are released. Just stop and think, how many walleye that are caught in the lake on a crankbait or a jig with a stinger are hooked outside the mouth, a lot. What is the difference, we put those in the cooler. This is a funny deal as I have played with the trout bead during the last two steelhead seasons and it works great. Just to clarify I am not "fly snagging" as I do see a whole lot of that going on especially in the spring when the fish are in 8 inches of water or less. All of the fish are hooked in the corner of the mouth!



I'm not being a smarty pants! Ok so the bead thingy. when you hook a fish what percentage of the hooked fish are hooked by the hook penetrating from inside of the mouth vs hooked from the outsideof the mouth. Well the ppl and the guides you see doing that are the reel sportsman for sure...lol... 8" of water..lol.. I guess if a fish has bitten a 12" deciever and you set the hook your driving the hook into its face or mouth. So point taken, but I'll never use it.


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## Patricio (Feb 2, 2007)

fishwithjim said:


> I have done a lot of reading these message boards and cannot understand why we as a community are not more open to new ideas. If the "fish" bites the lure and you hook them outside the mouth, who cares! Especially with steelhead as a great majority are released. Just stop and think, how many walleye that are caught in the lake on a crankbait or a jig with a stinger are hooked outside the mouth, a lot. What is the difference, we put those in the cooler. This is a funny deal as I have played with the trout bead during the last two steelhead seasons and it works great. Just to clarify I am not "fly snagging" as I do see a whole lot of that going on especially in the spring when the fish are in 8 inches of water or less. All of the fish are hooked in the corner of the mouth!


your reasoning is faulty, people dont set out to snag walleye or most other fish. but that's what youre doing here. youre purposely trying to snag them, and yes, youre snagging them. nice attempt at validating this method though.


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## vkutsch (Oct 28, 2005)

I'm calling bulls#$* on this. Beads and hookless flies are legit methods predicated on the fish striking the bait presented. It is not snagging. Because the hook is free floating and unweighted, it lessens chance of inadvertent snagging. If you think you are being 'nicer' to the fish hooking the inside instead the outside of the jaw than you are fooling yourself.


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## bubba k (Mar 29, 2006)

I don't understand the logic in it.....so the fish doesn't swallow the fly??? How often does that happen to where it injures a trout?? 1 out of 500 trout hooked??? There's no way that this method increases hook ratios.


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## bubba k (Mar 29, 2006)

fishwithjim said:


> I have done a lot of reading these message boards and cannot understand why we as a community are not more open to new ideas. If the "fish" bites the lure and you hook them outside the mouth, who cares! Especially with steelhead as a great majority are released. Just stop and think, how many walleye that are caught in the lake on a crankbait or a jig with a stinger are hooked outside the mouth, a lot. What is the difference, we put those in the cooler. This is a funny deal as I have played with the trout bead during the last two steelhead seasons and it works great. Just to clarify I am not "fly snagging" as I do see a whole lot of that going on especially in the spring when the fish are in 8 inches of water or less. All of the fish are hooked in the corner of the mouth!


hooking a fish outside of the mouth accidentally is a lot different than doing it on purpose so you're comparing apples to oranges. We can be open to new ideas while also objecting to those that don't seem to make any sense. I could care less about whether anyone uses this technique or not, but the original post was such to where opinions were going to follow. IMO it's a technique that doesn't make sense considering I can't see how or why you'd catch more fish doing this, and it's extremely rare (at least for me) to have a trout swallow a fly to the point of where it's injured. If someone else sees it as useful then that's fine with me.


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## fishdealer04 (Aug 27, 2006)

I read that article too. I thought it was pretty neat. However after talking to some friends and looking into it some more, I guess a lot of states consider this snagging, and that a lot of the time you are actually not hooking the fish in the mouth but more around or outside of the mouth which would be considered snagging.

I have never tried the method and never seen it in person so I can't verify it one way or another. It is pretty interesting though on the new techniques people come up with to catch fish. Always something new out there.


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## ShutUpNFish (Apr 17, 2007)

As long as the fish is being hooked in the mouth, no matter how you look at it or how its done, as long as it is hooked in the mouth it is perfectly legal.

Anyone may consider hooking a fish, even in the mouth, snagged....IMHO, what it all boils down to is our own protective nature and how we feel about what it is that we are doing. If people are going to take all these issues to the extremes that they do, maybe they should re-consider what they are partaking in all together. And I've said this many times before, maybe bird watching would be the better pastime for those who display such sensitivity toward their quarry.


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## ShutUpNFish (Apr 17, 2007)

Patricio said:


> your reasoning is faulty, people dont set out to snag walleye or most other fish. but that's what youre doing here. youre purposely trying to snag them, and yes, youre snagging them. nice attempt at validating this method though.


And might I ask you fine sir...what is it that you're doing with an artificial fly which contains a hook? None other than snagging a fish when it attempts to eat the fake offering. What is the difference really other than the location of the hooking instrument? I have seen this method used first hand and even tried it for myself and every hook was imbedded in just about the same place as it is when using traditional methods. Although I don't see the big advantage to this method other than decreasing the odds of a fish actually swallowing the offering. This news may actually help some of you more sensitive types sleep better tonight.

Bottom line folks...we are catching fish here, thats what fishermen do and have been doing for hundreds of years. A majority of fish that we are fishing for will be replaced in "put & take" fisheries anyway. As long as we respect the species and if we plan on releasing them, do it as effectively and safely as we can....what the Hell more do you really want? Get over it or go bird watching!


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## ohiotuber (Apr 15, 2004)

My opinion?.....
Whatever turns your crank!
I am a traditionalist, & I have my preference, but that's for me. Do what YOU enjoy.
Mike


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## riverKing (Jan 26, 2007)

if its not a dry fly tied on a barbless hook fished with a can rod and a horsehair tippet its not fishing, it cheating by most gastly of methods. thats why this technique is pure evil. what next, hookless nightcrawlers!


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