I don't know if any of you have seen the news regarding recent studies on fish and the ability for fish to feel pain. The studies that I saw on Yahoo concluded that fish do feel pain. Other studies referenced in the article conclude that fish lack the portions of the neocortex necessary to recognize pain stimuli.

At any rate, maybe its just because I went to Berkeley, but a part of me wants to do what I can to minimize harm to fish. I thought about my recent surf fishing adventures, in which I release 99% of my fish caught. I realized that I've never tried to use barbless hooks.

Does anybody use barbless hooks when fishing in the surf, either for halibut or for perch? Or, does anybody file off the barbs on their hooks? I've never done it when fishing saltwater, but the idea just occurred to me, and I was curious if anyone else does it or has tried it?

** tight lines make all my troubles go away **