noy convinced. i think you will lose more fish than you are accustomed to. but at the same time, if it saves more fish during catch and release, more the better.

it's not so much of a negative attitude towards any new product as it is not being sold on everything that floats by. if we were to believe everything we hear we would all have a bunch of light up bobbers and remote controlled lures! we just want to make sure before we spend a lot of hard earned money. i don't get $300 tips every day of the week.

my thought exactly...

You guys are great. Reminds me of the time my son hooked himself in the head. I swear I tried to get that thing out for an hour and finally took him to the hospital. Three hours at the emergency room with no luck and they finally decided to call some crusty old retired doc to see if he knew what to do. Dental floss and a nice quick jerk and we were out of there five minutes later.

It is a nice idea but the proof will be in the field test no doubt. Hope you picked up a dozen or so... on F&S's dime. R&D?

JC ~ At last! You won't find a barbed hook on my trebled lures. Why? 'Cause I've pinched them flat, filed down.

Now, thanks to your report, I'll be able to change out
the factory provided trebles on Flat Fish and other hard lures with Maruto semis. Very cool.

Now the task of finding these locally...

I'm Capt. Russ Rivers , National Pro Team and Promotions Director for Castalia Outdoors.
First and most importantly, there are NO BARBS, small, microscopic,or any other type on the semi barbless hook. The "Ridges" on the inside of the point work with friction. By this I mean if you took the total distance( like an accordian) of the ridges and opened it up you would have more surface area on the hook. Simply the gaps in the ridges fill in with flesh, form a suction and hold the fish. I also knew "keeping pressure on the fish" would rear it's ugly head. I tested the first hooks, #2s on a walk the dog type lure in the Banana River near Melbourne, Florida where I have guided for thirteen years. The first fish caught was a six pound snook. I love top water and snook crush everything they take on top. They are turbo charged black bass on steriods. The fish also is a jumper and runs for cover every chance they get. In this case, Mangrove roots. Once they get in, it's a 25 to 30 percent chance they will not come out without you going in. I felt the fish bump root after root and shake like mad. The it swam out where it went in. First test passed. Then a series of jumps, second test passed. In the net the hook released without a hitch, out of the non rubberized net as well. Slack in the line happens, fish shake barbed hooks too. I do have a vested interest, but I have been fishing for over fifty years and boys, this hook is for real.
It is a BARBLESS HOOK, so it meets the requirements of that restriction. We had a guy from Canada confirm they would be considered barbless. None the less I am in the process of verifying compliance and if you have the contact in you state, I would appreciate the contact info. Price? ALL Maruto hooks are made with 100% virgin material and will be in the medium price range. Maruto was the first hook manufacturer in Japan 1892, first to mechanically make hooks 1910. You have to give them credit as the number one hook maker in Japan, after all some other manufactures came afterward, maybe using Maruto technology. They work. I still don't understand the concept of a angler with a negative concept of any new fishing product, well maybe the helicopter lure. Feel free to contact me anytime about any of our products and if you have an idea or comment we welcome them all.
Good fishing to all
Russ
www.captainrussrivers.com

Forgot to add,

I fish a lot from a kayak and land my larger fish with a net. This may solve my problem with barbs getting caught in the net and obviously the easier it is to get the hook out of the fish all the better for the fish.

Thank you Mr. Rivers for clearing up the barb thing. When I read "semi" in the name, it hints that a barb is present. Your explaination is clearly that it is barbless and will be good for the industry. I grew up in the fishing industry myself and have went through many changes. You see many new things come out one year and then be gone the next year. The people become very gun shy about new *GOOD* products that sometimes are hard to grasp the concept of. I have been having to come to grips with the concept of using hooks without barbs now for a good while. It is, I must admit, a way to help protect and promote the future of fishing for us all. I wish you well with the new hook. And I also welcome you to the blog. Just remember the boards here are not for advertising, but we do discuss products and brands and how they do work in the real world. There are a lot of wonderful people here on the answer boards and 1000's of years of combined knowledge.