using yellow bellies

[catfishfreakjosh]

yea but then again if u keep pressure on the barbs they cant come out nd if the shovel hits it head on nd its pallot keeps pressure on the barbs it wont get barbed.. right or would the bellie still b able 2 stick em out?? most of the time when u set the hook if the fish dnt have all the bait the hook will get n the mouth nd the bait jus falls off so idk its watever the fish prefers i guess..

[jrbaco]

I don't know the original intent of cutting off barbs, and I haven't used them in a while but, I would imagine trimming the fins would alter the way the belly would swim and make it look injured. Maybe catfish have the same instinct as some other fish and want an injured fish as easy prey, not to mention the belly is a tasty morsel for din din.