How to Stop Snagging??

[BHH]

Hey everyone..

Do you guys fish really snaggy areas? How do you rig your SP's to stop getting snagged?

Ive been fishing some creeks latley that have really heavy snags (heaps and heaps of fallen trees) and I seem to always get hooked up trying to get to the right spots.. lose a good jig head (nitro's).. re rig.. 2 or 3 casts.. happen again!!! then get the POO's with it and go back to HB's

I have a feeling that Im potentially missing heaps of fish cause I cant fish the snags the way I want to.. Im thinking of trying some Gama/ Mustard mega bite hooks that are supposedly weedless.. has anyone tried these hooks?

What Can I then do for weight? Ive heard of a style called tex's rig.. will this work? Where can I get bullet weights from? Or will the Owner (online store) jig heads, that are weedless do the job?

Any help/ advice would be greatly appreciated,

Thanks everyone,
Blake

[torvic]

How to stop snagging?? - me...I dont!! I'm down to 3-4 jigheads left after losing numerous rigs to anything u can imagine including some crazy lengths of vanish leader already ....:eek:

If there are sunken logs and all that I dont really think u can do anything...just not soft plastics country. Even if u just flicked out a lead ball it'l still sink and snag up somewhere and if it doesnt, u'l tear ur leader to shreds I'd think.

Otherwise, using weedless hooks would help?

[Craig_S]

BHH, those Owner weedless jigs are definitely worth an experiment or two. You will find snags significantly decrease although personally I remain unsure as to whether the hook up rate is as good as when you use an exposed hook.

[bubba]

Ira showed me a way to rig normal jigs as weedless.. What you do is put it through the end of the SP at a 45 degree angle. Then you squeeze up the SP and put the hook through it. The hook point will lay flat against the plastic but as Craig said it may decrease your hookup rate..

[madsurfe]

I would say that you need to hone your technique. I personally feel a touch from rocks, sticks/stumps and fish differently. You can control the snagging rate by understanding the structure you are fishing. Try techniques like moving the lure faster or slower taking note of the vibes through the line as it touches submerged objects.

[panger]

I'd definitely give those owner weedless jigs a good go. I've used them on my last trip and they are looking at becoming my new favourite jig. Didn't notice much of a difference in hookup rate but there were many hookups were alot less deep. The missed hookups are probably more than made up for by the extra fish caught by being able to fish really nasty territory bream hang out in.

[BHH]

Hmmm...

The interesting thing is that the bass fishers in the USA use that Texas Rig all the time.. and it seems to work...

The type of snag Im fishing to describe it.. creek about 10 to 15 meters wide.. fallen gum trees.. HUGE amounts of branches etc.. and there is no way you can fish it any other way.. sure you can fish the outside edges but not really into the heart of where a bream might be that why I wanted to try the hooks/ owner jig heads..

I wanted to get an idea if anyone else fishes snags like those and what techniques they use??

Its very hard to hone a technique.. perfect casts to the right spots is one thing but how to do put even the slightest of actions onto a sp if as soon as you twice/ jig etc.. SNAG? Thats the problem Im having.. if for instance you cast at a bank.. on a hop back to the boat you cast over a log (that you didnt know it was there) how do you get the sp to "hop" over the log as say a hard body would without the super sharp hooks we use getting caught?

Thanks everyone,
Blake

In the barra circles, there is a saying, if your not getting snaged now and then, then your not in the strike zone:D

Samurai

[donfish]

Try using a tackleback you will get most of the jigs back

donfish

[TheJigJedi]

have ya seen those jig heads that are flat? Like, so when they drop, they sit flat/upright (hook facing up) on the log or rock instead of falling to the side like round heads do and snagging up...haven't tried em yet myself but.

[zimeric]

yeah i have used the texas rig exclusively before i came to perth and started fishing for bream. Problem is i didnt bring any of the bullet weights with me as they are the key 'ingredient', and of course you cant get them from ordinary shops

i would guess 1/8 and 1/16 bullets will do the job well!

and yes they are probably the most weedless rig you can get for fishing heavy timber , not so good for rocks though cause the sinker gets jammed in cracks n stuff.

[BHH]

Thanks for all the input guys..

Like I said its really really snaggy the area where I fish and its hard to use normal jig heads and not get snagged up plus its just a total pain always re rigging when you bust off on a snag.. not to mention it can get expensive!!

Well I will try a few different things.. the owner weedless jigs from the online store and also try and get some bullet weights so that I can rig texas style.. see if that works..

Blake

Gday Zimeric...mate pop down to the breammaster store. they stock bullet weights!

Dave

[Angry]

To make bullet head weights, I have been cutting size 1 and 0 barrell (torpedo) sinkers in half (carefully roll with a knife blade) and counter sinking the flat end with a drill bit (just by hand). Takes a couple of minutes each. Very cheap.

[Ravin]

The "texas" rig with a worm hook is pretty snag proof I use it a lot. A word of warning with steel bullet weights you need to check your leader regularly as most of them have a tiny burr where they have been drilled & it can wear your leader after a while. I normally roll a bit of 600 grit emery into a small cone shape & rub the burr off.

[BoofHed]

i fish the same teritory north of midland and i lose about 20 sps a sesion but as was said if u are not in the snags u wont catch the big bream so il keep an eye on this forum incase someone comes up with a idea i mite see jef and get a tackle back.

[Backlash]

I find my tackleback retrieves about 90% of my snagged softies................when snagged dont try and pull..........only bury the hook deeper.Run the tackleback down the line and it usually comes free. ( talking from a boaters perception )

Cheers
Gavin

[chris_lemess]

Do you use the first snag-removal technique? Only works when you're hooked on something hard like a rock or log... anything like ropes it won't work. Goes like this: load your rod up, and pull the line between your reel and stripper guide the other direction. Load the rod up by pulling back on the line and the rod. Now drop the rod tip and let go of the line at the same time. The kinetic energy in your leader (even the minimal stretch in the Fizzalizza) should 'bounce' the jig backwards off the snag. Rarely works with lures but should work very very often with jigs once you've mastered the technique. Learnt it off my mate and I'm surprised at how many people haven't seen it and are surprised that it actually works!

As for losing 20 jigs a session... I'd only ever do that if I was losing them to fish. I lose a fair few in the snags, but in the deep ones this little trick should work. Works the best on rocks.

cheers

[Wacko]

Originally posted by chris_lemess
Do you use the first snag-removal technique? Only works when you're hooked on something hard like a rock or log... anything like ropes it won't work. Goes like this: load your rod up, and pull the line between your reel and stripper guide the other direction. Load the rod up by pulling back on the line and the rod. Now drop the rod tip and let go of the line at the same time. The kinetic energy in your leader (even the minimal stretch in the Fizzalizza) should 'bounce' the jig backwards off the snag. Rarely works with lures but should work very very often with jigs once you've mastered the technique. Learnt it off my mate and I'm surprised at how many people haven't seen it and are surprised that it actually works!

As for losing 20 jigs a session... I'd only ever do that if I was losing them to fish. I lose a fair few in the snags, but in the deep ones this little trick should work. Works the best on rocks.

cheers






The "banjo" technique for getting jigs out of snags works a treat.
;)


It also works on timber but not as well as on rocks.
The trick is not to pull the jig too hard into the snag initially, then you can just 'pop' em' out without too much fuss.:D



Wacko.

[chris_lemess]

Nah man the banjo technique only works when I'm wearing my team shirt! That's why Dave and Jimi are both so good at it as well.

*twangg!*

:D