A fish harvesting head with a rotatable barb device that is held in place with a piercing tip and is configured to move between fish piercing, fish retaining and fish releasing positions. The fish harvesting head is formed from a fish harvesting body having a barb receiving slot positioned in the forward portion of the fish harvesting body that extends along a longitudinal axis of the fish harvesting body. The barb receiving slot enables the barb to be quickly replaced or removed. The fish harvesting head may also include a piercing tip retaining device positioned in the barb receiving slot and in contact with an inner surface of the piercing tip for increasing resistance to movement of the piercing tip relative to the fish harvesting body and prevent accidental loosening of the tip.