im a huge fan of the barbless thing and i fish barbless everywhere i go. it definitely does help keep fish alive because not only the damage done by pulling the barbs out, but also saves a ton of time when the fish is out of the water. i also think theres a hidden element of protecting people by the barbless route because its much easier to just back a barbless hook out of your hand than it is to pull a barbed one through and nip the barb, then back out. i also tend to favor single hooks on spoons and baits of that nature because the treble hook can really do damage to fish.

thats my opinion and i favor the making it sporting and giving the fish a pretty good chance of beating me. i use light line, no barbs, single hooks, unscented soft plastic baits (i hate gulp with a passion) and i never once have had issues catching fish up in the Q or even around my home waters of wisconsin.