snagged again!

H

Hadleigh Dawson

Guest
Hi,

I am an experienced carp fisherman whose passion is for stalking. This season I have discovered a lake that has recently introduced hire boats on its 7 1/2 acres. The boat can reach a spot that has not been accessible to anglers until now and from this spot I have had many fish, primarily good sized tench and carp.

The spot in question is next to a fallen tree which has part landed in the water. Its about 6ft deep and very snag ridden so a float is the order of the day. Baiting both the inaccessible water where the tree has fallen and the accessible water tight against the tree with hemp and using sweetcorn as hook bait works wonders. I fish 15lb line straight through, an AA resting on the bottom with about 6 inches of line after that, size 8 hook.

Almost all bites are 'lazy' (i.e. they sink slowly, the carp/tench feeling secure that it is not an angler) but, naturally, the fish then bolts into the tree.

I may be asking an silly question, (following a very long build up) but has anyone got an excellent method through which they avoid getting snagged? I like fishing this spot very much but have hurt one or two fish through getting them caught, and have lost untold amounts of terminal tackle.

Thanks in advance.

Hadleigh.
 
R

Rob Brownfield

Guest
Well, I was fishing a spot in Norfolk where I had to hit the fish and not give an inch. I tried initially with a 2 and a 1/4 test curve rof and braid. I had hook pull after hook pull, to i wnet onto a 1 and a half test curve rod and 12 pound berkley big game. Problem solved. I had 2 20's and loads of upper doubles and not a single lost fish. The soft rod stopped the hook pulls.

Maybe this would work with u. Its amazing the amount of pressure u can apply on balanced gear.

Also, dont use split shot on the line, use putty, and just a bit of white quill for a flot attache with a flot rubber. If a carp does get into the snags, u are left with a clear line to fight it on.

Good luck!
 
G

GYPSY DAVE

Guest
Rob, your advice is absolutely spot on. If you can jettison all obsticle's from your line you have a very good chance of getting em' out. The only thing i would add is if they are confident feeding in the area,try feeding a bit further away from the tree. I have a fave place similar to your's and if you take your time the fish WILL,i repeat,WILL come out and should give you a better chance to ease them away from the snag's.
Good luck, G.D.
 
R

Rob Brownfield

Guest
GD, very true mate...stealth and cunning...thats the way to get em!

I found though that if they were in the snags, i could use 12 pound line direct, however, get them feeding outside the snags, and i had to go down to 8 pound line! I did try 20 pound line at one stage, on a floater, but I was lowering the bait onto the fish...however, it blew about in the breeze too much.

I also tried a multiplier...fantastic for under the rod tip...but the centrepin was the best by far!.
 
N

Neil Gaffan (Gaff)

Guest
when fishing snags (in my opinion) you have to weigh up whether catching that fish is as important as you arigionally think, bear in mind every fish lost with tackle attached, is a possible dead fish!

the lake i fish has a swim named (appropriately) 'snags' i fished two swims down from it last season cause another guy already claimed it before i got there! he had 16 runs in the night and landed 1 fish. he lost 15 leads, hooks and miles of line! i would hate to see the stateof that snag of it were ever removed!

if your a good angler and your catch percentage is high, then do everything you can to avoid losing fish, if your not and you lose too many, then stay away!
 
R

Rob Brownfield

Guest
Neil, fair comments. Thats why I will only fish a snag if i can get close enough to it to actually see the fish taking the bait (normally surface or freelined).

It ceases to amaze me when i see how easy it is to get a 20 out of a snag if its taken bt suprise :eek:)
 
P

Philip Inzani

Guest
On the tactics front I agree with all the above.

However going slightly off track and I will probably be slayed for saying this I love fishing near snags and I hate snag removal.....I think the word "snag" is now taken to mean any tree, bush, blade of grass that comes within 3 feet of the water. The anwser now seems to be to rope them off or rip them out. I don't want to fish waters that end up like goldfish bowls.
Hands up who Chub fishes in small rivers ? Overhanging bushes, fallen trees, reeds, weed, you fish by all of it dont you, but in a lake people scream in horrer if you cast in anything but open water.

IMO snags add charecter to waters and mean that the fishing is more than just chucking in as much bait as possible to create a hotspot as there are no natural ones left.
 
P

Peter Morton

Guest
"but have hurt one or two fish by getting them caught,and have lost untold amounts of terminal tackle"
I'm sorry,but i don't see how you can justify this approach if you are as experienced as you say you are.Anything that puts fish at risk of damage or leaves behind large quantites of terminal tackle is just bloody irrisponsible.
 
T

The Seeker of Truth & Justice

Guest
here come the fishing police again......... move over you antis.
 
R

Rob Brownfield

Guest
Peter...give him a break mate...he has admitted to having had a problem and is asking for advice on how to sort it...thats comendable in my book!

Better that than to keep slugging away.

Philip..I agree with u mate..nowt worse than fishing in a bowl with no features to fish to. Maybe we should remove all the bars at Darenth etc (gravel bars that is..lol)
Sensible tackle and a sensible attitude is all thats needed..no good casting up tight to a snag then walking 15 yards to your bivvy and zipping yourself up in the sack. U need to be on the rods and hit a run immediately...hence the reason i float/freeling to snags..nothing more instant...
 
P

Peter Morton

Guest
I'm sorry,but i just can't see how anyone can justify damaging fish and leaving "untold amounts of terminal tackle" in a snag.What about the risk to waterfowl.Surely it would make more sense to entice them out with feed,especialy as this is supposed to be a previously unfished swim.
 
N

Neil (Gaff) Gaffan

Guest
several good angles on this subject, but i do feel that too many (not as good as they think) anglers bite off more than they can catch. for instance, i would not like to begin to count the number of anglers that i have seen using lethal rigs with captive 31/2 oz leads on 25Ib shock leaders, on 12Ib main line and barbed hooks! how many fish can carry that lot around for more than a couple of days?

but i don't think it is a snag problem soley, its a competance thing totally!
 
G

GYPSY DAVE

Guest
If you have seen that many "Anglers" using the rigs described, the first thing that springs to mind is, to how many did you point out the error of their ways? and stop them doing it again.
 
R

Rob Brownfield

Guest
Peter...I see where u are comming from, but I think you have picked too big a tar brush on this one.

Most of the waters I fish are VERY snaggy and i would not go near them with conventional tactics. I see people lobbing 80 yards to a snag that is fishable from the opposite bank with a float! Now...these guys have vast experience, and some would even say they are in the upper bracket when it comes to skill levels...but they are so stereo-typed in there ways that they plod on regardless.

Go down to Waveny valley and look at the mess left in the trees there!!

IF...and its a big if...i have lost a fish in a snag, its been down to a hook pulling, and i have got the line back. Now i use very soft rods, I dont seem to have hook pulls and the fish come out no bother.

With conventional gear, such as 2 3/4 tc rods, I have many more hook pulls when fishing into open water...hence my preference for stalking and margin work.

I think it takes a brave man to admit he is doing something wrong..and a braver man to ask for advice.

(Just want to point out that Julian Cundiff once wrote that it was ok to use Hutchy Horizons for floater work near snags with size 12/10 hooks...imagine the damage that beast of a rod would do to a fishes mouth!!)
 
P

Peter Morton

Guest
Fair point rob,it's just that it gets right up my nose if people persist in this sort of thing even if they know that they are damaging fish.It's a matter of education,so i can see where you are coming from.It seems we have come at the same subject from opposite directions!
 
R

Rob Brownfield

Guest
Peter..no probs. You dont get educated until u ask the question and find the answer...or some such..lol.

What really worries me though are the guys that fish to snags with shockleaders. No way is a carp going to shed 40+ pound nylon/braid if its wrapped around a tree stump!

Seems worse on the continent...must catch a forty at any cost ..etc.etc.

Still...I have decided today that I am perfect...lol
 
N

Neil (Gaff) Gaffan

Guest
in responce to 'Gypsy Dave' yes everyone i see using dangerous rigs or not fishing 'safely' has been informed as such. i have nearly ended up in the lake on more than one occasion, but fortunately talked my way out of it!

but if these people realy cant see the errors in there ways, then no matter how much you moan/treaten/beg they will carry on regardless!

the best solution that i have witnessed, was on my most recent trip to France. the bailiff actually came round unanounced and randomly to check your rigs and skills, if found to be dangerous you would have your deposit kept and if found at fault again, kicked off the water. at first i found reeling a rod in at random a pain in the arse, but when analysis proved that it was better for the fish and venue in the long run, i accepted with pleasure!
 
B

Bob .Car

Guest
I have fished many times in France as my EX inlaws lived in the Lot Department, and I can honestly say that I have never been asked to reel my lines in just to show the bailiff what rigs I was using. My advice would be to ask Gypsy Dave where he goes fishing in France as well because to my knowledge he has'nt been asked either. Its not that I am disputing what you said but like you I would not be to happy and therefore I would not go there again.
 
P

Peter Morton

Guest
Interesting little report in the Mail about "death rigs".How to get the message across though? The people to target are the ones who don't read the mags or the weeklies,and belive me there are plenty of them.As Rob says EDUCATION but how do you reach those that need it?
 
G

Gary Holt

Guest
I wrote a letter in response to some angling criticism in my local paper a while ago and it is uncanny how similar that was to what is being proffered here. "Educate, don't castigate" was my theme. Trouble with angling is there are no barriers to entry. Hence, we have to constantly put up with so called anglers who have not got a clue about what they are doing - whether that be fishing in snags as described above, using death rigs, leaving rubbish or a simple lack of common courtesy towards others - (i.e. much of what you have commented upon above). In such circumstances, one is faced with a conundrum: you either ignore what's going on around you (and that is difficult if you care) or you intervene and are either told to eff off, or are treated in that "who does he think he is then?" way.

My suggested solution is some form of a crash course on angling, the environment, respect for others etc. etc., before one can be issued with a rod licence. And yes, we should pay for that in a similar way to paying to learn to drive a car. Radical maybe, but unless we do something tangible, we can continue talking until we are blue in the face, that is, without action, NOTHING WILL CHANGE.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top