I was out fishing one of my favorite areas this past weekend and I ran into the only other fisherman on the river. He told me make sure you pinch your barbs the ticket is very expensive. I asked him how much, and he said the fine is $800.00!!! He received a ticket and said he nearly quit fly fishing after it. I think that is ridiculous. Some guy in Dunsmuir was catching like 20 fish in a day to sell at his restaurant and I think his fine was only like $2,000.
If you don't want a big ticket buy a pair of those flat pliers. I purchased a pair of light aluminum ones from Tiemco for something like $20. Much cheaper than a ticket, and they work very well on those small hooks.
I got a ticket on the Merced a few years back for the Barb and was fined $120. I just forgot to bend it down. My buddy bent his down but the fish and game guy kept working his hook till it finally grabbed a strand of thread off his shirt and he wrote him a ticket also. I have not been back since.
So if your using a two fly setup and both barbs are not "pinched" enough do you get double the fine ? I've been thinking of getting a small file to remove the barbs. I know this subject has come up before and technically a barbless hook is a hook that is manufactured without a barb, Technically a barbless hook is not a hook with a pinched down barb. I agree that pinching it is enough and its what I do. Also always be curtious and cooperative with your fish and game wardnes.
