Barbless hooks? thoughts?.... My personal opinion is they are great for de-hooking and for sharking just to mess around, but for tournaments i want a barb on the hook just incase i dont get a good hook set i still have a chance for the hook not coming out and losing a potential winning shark.
In my opinion barbless are useless for shark fishing. When the shark can swing its head three or more feet to one side on a head shake even if the line is tight the weight of the hook and the steel leader can easily pull the hook out.
I haven't lost any fish on my barbless 10/0 and 20/0 hooks. ray will stay on forever, but fish sometimes comes off. makes for super fast and easy un-hooking process. no jaw wrenching, or tools required. much better for the sharks over all.
When I have a hard time getting a hook out due to the barb and the release is taking too long I just cut my leader right up against the eye of the hook. Or if my truck is close enough I'll cut the hook shank with my cheap bolt cutters and slide the hook all the way through. I really like the Owner Jobu 12/0s, they have a small barb but it still does its job very well. I cut off my Mustads and VMC when they get stuck. They have pretty high barbs.