i would like to see someone try it for a full season with barbless before anyone decides it could go into a rule book. i fish barbless alot on streams and rivers and after a fish gets 60 to 80 feet away they come off easily, if you can keep them close your fine but the ones that take line and really run seem to get off. thats been my experience fishing out in montana and newmexico on the bigger places. not sold on how it would work here but if the barbs were pinched say halfway down, i bet it would work and be better on the fish as well. i fish barbless on the conneticut river up north as well, its small enough that the salmon doesnt get too far from you and you have to play them with the rod down low to the water and keep the line tight and try to get them not to jump which is something i like to see on a lake caught salmon, jumping. give it a try, maybe if the guides worked on it on practice days and kept records on it we could get some good feedback on catching barbs verse barbless, most of us want to land that fish so im not sure how many will put an honest effort into it