Editing Fish hook (section)

=== Points and barbs ===
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[[File:Barbed vs barbless hooks.jpg|thumb|Barbless hook (top) vs. barbed hook (bottom)]]
The hook point is probably the most important part of the hook, because it is the point that must penetrate into the fish's flesh first if the hook is to have any anchorage whatsoever. Both the profile of the hook point and its angulation influence how well the point will pierce the tissue. Hook points are mechanically (ground) or chemically sharpened.

Most modern hooks are ''barbed'', with a backward-protruding spike (i.e. barb) that helps secure the hook anchorge by catching surrounding flesh to stop the point from sliding back out of the penetration. Because the barb increases the practical [[cross-sectional area]] of the hook point, it also negatively affect how far the point penetrates under the same force (especially when piercing harder tissue), although the tissue-grabbing ability of the barb alone is usually sufficient for maintaining the hook anchorage without needing a deep penetration.

Some hooks are ''barbless'', with a simply tapered point and lacking any barb. Historically, ancient fish hooks were all barbless, but today barbless hooks are still used mainly to facilitate quicker hook removal and make [[catch-and-release]] less hurtful for the fish. The downside of barbless hooks is that because there is no barb to help secure the point anchorage, the hook is theoretically more susceptible to dislodging unless the penetration is maintained with a constantly taut line tension. There are however also some arguments that a barbless hook point will penetrate more smoothly into the fish tissue and thus allow a deeper [[hookset]], compensating for the absence of barbs. Having a deeper hookset also means the [[stress (mechanics)|stress]] tends to be concentrated nearer towards the hook's bend rather than the point, allowing it to better withstand a heavier [[mechanical load|pulling load]].

==== Hook point types ====
Hook points are also described relative to their offset from the hook shank. A kerbed hook point is offset to the left, a straight point has no offset and a reversed point is offset to the right.

Hook points are commonly referred to by these names: needle point, rolled-in, hollow, spear, beak, mini-barb, semi-dropped and knife edge. Some other hook point names are used for branding by manufacturers.