# Preventing snags??



## Fishing4the Lamb (Feb 11, 2013)

Is there anyway to prevent or at least minimize snags?


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## dstiner86 (Jun 5, 2012)

Yes...don't fish  haha just messing.
.. and depends on what ur using and when the snags happen...I practiced line control in the yard with setting objects out and not just try and cast to them but also cast over and use my fingers on the line to stop it before disaster. .. that's helped with the number of tree bass I caught this year (last year I had to have a fish ohio maple atleast 10 times plus)... fishing cranks I learned from various youtube vids on how to work them over cover and logs to minimize snags and produce good bites in timber with raising and lowering the rod tip... as for under water snags on the return I like to live by a "you snag me one shame on you, you snag me twice shame on me" kind of mantra and try and remember areas of known snags... and as for the fish running you into snags... I guess play the fish and keep your fingers crossed (mentally not physically that might complicate the reel in)... hope any of this could help just a little last year I lost more lures then I want to count. 

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## 1mecheng (Jul 28, 2009)

Don't know what you're fishing with or for, but have you tried any weedless baits? I like to use a 7" white worm rigged texas-style and weedless ... great for bass and crappie.


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## ezbite (May 25, 2006)

casting, jigging, bank fishing or trolling inland lakes, its a fact, youre gonna snag. however, if you use a stronger main line then your leader, you will minimize the loss. if you're casting or jigging theres not much to be done, but go with heavy line and light wire hooks. try to pull until the hook straightens out. when a wire hook isn't an option because of fish size and im trolling or bank fish I like to use a heavier main line to my dropper/sinker or inline board/weight, (say 20# test). this way if I do snag, I can just keep pulling until the lighter line breaks (12# leader) this way I wont lose my sinker/swivel or inline board/weight, just a hook or a harness.


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## Bassbme (Mar 11, 2012)

Not knowing what kind of baits you're using, or what kind of cover and bottom conditions you're fishing, makes it hard to give anything but general suggestions. I'd say probably the number one reason for getting hung up a lot is using too heavy of a weight. Especially if you're fishing a rocky bottom, or some kind of wood cover. Go with the lightest weight you can, to get the job done. The shape and physical size of the weight you're using also has a bearing on how easily it will hang up. Weights that are skinnier come through weeds better, weights that are wider come through rock better. At least IMO. If you're fishing a Texas rig and allowing your sinker to slide up and down your line freely, it can increase your chances of getting hung up because the bait and the sinker aren't falling in the same place. If you're not doing what people call "pegging" your sinker, you need to peg it so the sinker stays with your bait. Just Google pegging a slip sinker and you'll find plenty of articles and videos telling you how to do it. 

If you're getting hung up a lot throwing say a "safety pin" style spinner bait for bass and you're getting hung up as you're bringing it through woody cover..... the reason you may be getting hung up is because you're slowing down your retrieve when your bait is approaching the limb or log you're trying to bring it over. Slowing your bait down when it hits the object gives the bait a chance to lay over on its side, which exposes the hook to cover you're fishing. Keep your bait moving as it approaches the cover and continue reeling when it hits the cover. Doing that will keep the bait moving and it won't be as likely to lay over on its side. 

If you're getting hung up fishing crank baits, it's going to take experience to get good at not getting hung up. Fishing a crank bait is feel when it comes to not getting hung up. Also the type of bait you choose has a lot to do with it. For instance you're probably not going to want to use a suspending bait when you're fishing your bait in cover. When fishing cover, a bait that floats back up when you stop the retrieve makes it easier to avoid snags than one that suspends or sinks.


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## Fishing4the Lamb (Feb 11, 2013)

Thanks for the tips. I fish predominantly off the bottom in the Maumee River. I switched up from a Carolina Rig to a Santee Copper rig and bottom bouncers. 


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## Bassbme (Mar 11, 2012)

Ohhhhh....... you're fishing current. That presents even more of a problem. Line control and lure awareness are huge in preventing snags in current. Too much bow in the line changes the angle of the line, and therefore the way your weight moves across the bottom. Long casts can also make a difference in the number of snags, because of the shallower angle between lure and rod tip. A long cast in current compounds the problem. The natural tendency is to put on a heavier weight to help control the bow in your line, which usually results in more snags. It's definitely a balancing act. 

When I Carolina rig for bass on gravel bars in the Ohio River, I use a walking sinker, like that used for a Lindy rig. It comes through rocks better than any other type of sinker I've used.


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## Fishing4the Lamb (Feb 11, 2013)

I started using walking sinkers as well. And fishing a slower moving section of the river. Thanks again for the wealth of knowledge. 


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## MassillonBuckeye (May 3, 2010)

Heavier line(20lb braid?), lighter wire hooks. You can't totally avoid snaggin, you'll do best to try to minimize the loss. Once I feel a snag, i like to stop and lightly pop it a couple times to try to work up and over, not drive the hook in deeper. letting it go may let the rig drop out of the snag. Once I know its snagged good, I give a couple more good pops, then do the "bow and arrow" pops.. Not sure of the physics of it, but it seems to work a good number of times. Pop it pretty hard and you may get lucky. After a bunch of pops, I'll give up and hold the bail with my hand and pull straight back with the rod parallel to the ground.. No stress on the rod itself, just the line and pull slowly until it either breaks or comes out. Heavy hooks and it'll be rare you get one back. You can always take pliers and bend a hook back into shape. I'm not a big fan of losing tackle, even jigs so I usually tie the braid straight to the lure. My worm harnesses are a lighter leader material than the main line as to sacrifice a hook as opposed to the whole thing although that can and does backfire depending on where at in the rig you snag ie; above the spinner blade, or the blade itself. Some of those guys don't come cheap either.


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## DblDinCincy (Apr 21, 2013)

I saw where a fella would snip off the forward facing hook of his treble hooks on crank baits (both front & rear) to prevent snags. I've never tried this yet but sounds like it could help. You can always replace the hooks if it doesn't work.


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## Bassbme (Mar 11, 2012)

DblDinCincy said:


> I saw where a fella would snip off the forward facing hook of his treble hooks on crank baits (both front & rear) to prevent snags. I've never tried this yet but sounds like it could help. You can always replace the hooks if it doesn't work.


Another option other than cutting off the downward facing hook off the trebles would be the use of a hook with an inward facing point. A look like the Mustad Triple Grip, or the KVD Elite treble hook have points that angle towards the hook shank and they don't hang up nearly as easily as a standard treble does. Beaked treble hooks are also another option. Personally I'd never cut a point off a treble hook just to make it less snag resistant. Especially not off the belly hook.

You can also use baits that dive at a steeper angle when fishing cover. The lip on a steep diving bait protects the hook from cover.


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