Crushing barbs on hooks and replacing treble hooks on lures makes unhooking fish significantly more easy. Going barbless is less damaging to striped bass which results in greatly reduced mortality on those fish you plan to release, and it’s also safer for the angler during those times when head-shaking bluefish are fighting against being unhooked. To make release even safer, consider swapping out those trebles with inline singles for those hard plugs you’re using on striped bass.
