It's your
first cast with the new lure. You start retrieving it back and bang!
It's
stuck, snagged, hung up, and caught on an immovable obstruction.
Getting your lure back sometimes is more of a challenge than, catching
bass after a cold front.
Resourceful
anglers have developed many methods for retrieving snagged lures.
The first thing you should not to do is pull on it. This only gets
the lure imbedded deeper into the obstruction. One
of the easiest and effective ways is to pull on the fishing line between
the first rod guide and reel, then snap it like a guitar string. This
action causes the lure to back up and free itself. If this does
not work, try moving over the snagged lure and push your rod tip underwater
past the snag.
OK,
still hung up? Try using a telescoping lure retriever
to unhook your lure from the obstruction. Frabill (www.frabill.com)
manufactures one which extends up to 15 feet. It has a unique
cam-lock handle system. This makes changing the length to reach
your lure very simple. This is how it works. First, you
rotate the fishing line around its spiral head. Second, guide
the spiral part of the retriever down to the snagged lure. Finally,
push the snagged lure away from the obstruction. Telescoping
lure retrievers can also be used successfully for getting back lures
from tree tops, the back end of log jams, boat docks, and bluff banks.
If your lure is snagged in over 15 feet of water a different
approach may be necessary. Try attaching an old spark plug or
bell sinker to your line and let it follow the line down, knocking
your lure free from the obstruction.
Still
Stuck? Break out the Bill Dance Lure retriever (www.lurenet.com). It was
designed to retrieve a snagged lure from underwater obstructions up
to 25 feet deep. Although primarily used for crankbaits and jerkbaits,
it can also be used for other lures that become snagged. The
lure retriever has an enclosed reel with a cord that has a push button
release to drop and retrieve the weighted retriever. The weighted
retriever is shaped like a crankbait and has chains attached to it,
along with guides that the line to your snagged lure attaches to. To
free the snagged lure, an angler needs to position themselves directly
over top the lure and drop the weighted retriever down. Once
the retriever reaches the lure, bounce the retriever up and down; either
the weight from the retriever will dislodge the lure or the chains
will entangle themselves in the lure's hooks. If the chains become
entangled, then pull on the retriever's cord to un-snag the lure
and reel in retriever and lure. After retrieving the lure, the compact
reel and retriever can be stored in a rod locker until needed again.
Anglers
are always saying, "If you
are not getting hung up every once and while, than you're probably
not fishing where the fish are." Next time you get snagged,
try using one or all of these methods to get free. It will
make getting your lure back, well, a snap.
Brad
Wiegmann is a full time fishing guide on Beaver lake and Lake SWEPCO
in Northwest Arkansas. Brad guides for Largemouth,
Spotted, Smallmouth, Stripers and White Bass. He is also a free-lance
writer who's weekly column "Speaking of Fishing" appears
weekly in several local newspapers. You may also see him doing
seminars, working outdoor shows or featured in outdoor magazines such
as BASSMASTER Magazine, Outdoor life and Arkansas Sportsman. He
also fishes the FLW Tour, Stren and local open tournaments. He
is currently on the Pro staff, promotional staff and guide programs
of numerous tackle manufactures, lure companies, and fishing related
companies. You can contact him at (479)756-5279, at bwiegmann@cox.net or
visit his website at www.bradwiegmann.com for
more information.
