Please read my entire post before you reply - I am not looking to get rants back!

Always good to keep an open mind. It is amazing how often an 'accepted truth' turns out to be false or not correct in all circumstances. So, I saw a local TV show recently (couldn't get out that day so had to watch someone else doing it ) and the host claimed to have info that trebles caused less damage to salmon than singles, can't recall if they were in a river or on the chuck.

Have just finished a search on the WWW and a few forums looking for solid info on my topic - didn't want to rehash a topic that was considered done.
Most quoted research on salmon&trebles&mortality was from an Idaho (meaning a river) study dating back over 20 years. I suspect salmon on rivers behave a bit differently that those still swimming in salt

I use trebles in certain situations and singles in others - always ensuring it is legal.
When fishing for salmon that are close to home (meaning that virtually every one hooked will be legal size, ie chum and sockeye) with the kids I almost always use trebles. When fishing in situations where there is a decent chance of some of the salmon caught needing to be released (undersize or wrong species) I use a large siwash.

Can any of you point me to recent research as to differences in mortality rates for salmon released after being hooked by singles or trebles please? If it turns out that there has been good info that trebles actually cause less damage to the fish then I will have to consider changing gear.

Thanks all!

Smiley.

Barbless trebles work o.k. for me.......whereas with a single Siwash I've often had them come back up through the eye of some fish.

Trebles for bottomfish (other than hali's)?.....well, I use both single and treble for bottomfish jigs. IMO trebles hook better......BUT!......often it is a surgical process to get the treble out when they are "buttoned up" top and bottom lip.

I tried going semi-barbless on bottomfish trebles......pinched one or two of the barbs off to make it easier to remove the hook. This works not too bad.

Then I tried going totally barbless on trebles for bottomfish.....this worked too but I was losing more than if they had at least one barb on them.

Single Siwash on jigs for bottomfish........"barbed" worked o.k. but not as many hookups as trebles........"barbless" Siwash works too.......but because it is barbless and the lead jig flops all over the place when the fish is writhing around, it often comes out.

I don't use trebles much for salmon (hoochies,spoons etc.)......but I use them for trolling strip and bait, sometimes I have a treble up front and a single trailer.

I don't have any problems with trebles. However if you want to release a salmon boatside, the single Siwash is your best bet for removal.

Most people should worry more about the amount of scales that came off the fish when they brought it into the boat,took the hooks out, and then released it.

I also use trebles on bottomfish, but only use singles when salmon fishing. I don't know about differences in mortality, but trebles can be a total pain to remove. BTW, rather than land the fish I intend to release, I use a long needlenose and release alongside the boat whenever humanly possible. I would rather release the occasional marginal fish than have to over handle them. Doesn't always work out that way, but most of the time it works fine. Keepers though...