Ya ive never pinched my barbs closed but ive had quite a few hooks land in my arms and hands and once in my shoulder. I hate doing this because I always bleed a lot. The bass in my profile picture jumped up as I was taking the lure out of his mouth and the hook landed in the side of my finger. The lure was a rebel popr magnum and it was a treble hook. Hurt like a you know what but I continued to fish and when I lipped the bass I was bleeding all over its mouth.
You will lose a fish or two. but that's fishing.
Hello; I have been pinching down the barbs on my hooks for a number of years now. I know that I lose a number of fish due to this. I also feel much more of a sense of accomplishment when I do land a fish on a barbless hook. I generally release the fish caught regardless and have seen most fish with very little injury with the barbless hooks. As stated by others, the barbless hook slides out without ripping flesh in either fish or fisherman.
I've never really had any problems with this
