One technique I use to free a snagged lure is to let out some slack on the line then repeatedly pull the line tight and let it go, kind of like a slingshot. I will move around and 'slingshot' the line from different angles until the lure is free. Anyone else have any other techniques?
I am a fly fisherman and over the years have become well practiced at flipping a small loop in the line and having it telegraph down the line and snap tight at the bait pulling it loose from the back. you fly fish along a wooded bank ya learn that move fast.
When fly fishing I do something that sounds like what Cappy does, snapping the fly line the way you snap a blanket to create waves in it. In a boat, I first get as close to the snag as possible and submerge my rod tip as deep as possible and tug in the opposite direction of the way I was retrieving/trolling. If that doesn't work I will let out a lot of line and paddle/row/motor in the opposite direction. I then tighten the drag and point the rod directly level with the line so as not to put pressure on it, then yank. Sometimes it comes loose, sometimes that's where the line snaps. From shore I will pretty much the same thing that Simplify says he does in his OP. I know there are tools that some anglers use with some degree of success but I've never tried them.
A couple tips when fishing with a float or jigging. Never fish if possible past the end of your pole. Thats why jig poles are so long. When fishing in brush ease your hook and line straight down avoid dragging it in brush it will hang. lift it slowly straight up to move it. If it feels hung just set it back down or giggle it a little it helps if your weights are 3 or more inches above the hook. if you feel a snag on the way up dropping the line back down often the weights free the line. If you feel you are hung do not pull it will only stick the hook worse just gently wiggle jiggle and work it loose.
Another technique I use to help reduce snags is cut treble hook lures down to one hook facing up. When using soft plastics I try to bury the hook in the plastic with only the end coming out and keep it flush with the body of the soft plastic.
Not a bad idea. Isn't there a saying somewhere about how lures are designed more for catching fisherman than fish?
I use one of those extendable retrievers with a spiral on the end. 15 feet. It's saved me countless times and is also good for pulling lures out of trees where bank fishermen have lost lures and other terminal tackle. Not counting the lures that I've almost lost myself, selling the stuff I've pulled out of trees at yard sales has paid for the retriever a few times over.
