Dear Anonimous,
The subject of barbless hooks.
After 2 years of intensive fishing, I find very little if no damage to the mouths of my fish. Unfortunately, there are a few who think they are marlin fishing and are rough with the fish. This bad treatement would damage the fish whatever the hook used and I try to keep this under control. There is a local lake I know of here where there is no control on hooks and many of the fish are without lips. Also, if a barbed hook is swallowed deeply, in my experience, the fish would normally die. Whereas barbless hooks offer a much better chance of survival, as the fish will naturally, in time, expel the hook.
There are very few snags in my lake, so you do not end up having to drag the fish through banks of weed or lilies, etc. This means that generally here the fish are cleanly caught and I believe this to be an important fact in the wellbeing of my fish.
PS. The rule here is: If you encounter any damaged fish, please advise me and I come to your peg and apply healing gel.
Cheers,
Mike