[sanclara]

It comes down to the user.. barbed hooks aren't "bad"... just like guns aren't bad, or computers aren't bad, or high speed vehicles aren't bad... they can't be good or bad because their just inanimate tools.. it's the user that's bad... same goes with barbed hooks. They can be used or abused. From my own experience I can think of situations where having a barbed hook would be more useful and better for my set up.. and in some other cases having a barbed hook would be more of a pain and it would make my life easier just to pinch.. same goes for using a pickerel rig.. it has it's time and place.. an experienced angler that knows what he/she is doing can make these judgment calls, so the real issue is education.

The only situation where having the regulation makes sense is with kids, just in terms of safety. If a kid happens to get a barbed hook in the thumb, it might require a hospital visit.. whereas barbless would likely come right out.