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getting snagged ,,again,again

M

Mark Thompson

Senior Member & Supporter
In high water (very snaggy part of the Wye) I rarely get snagged,,, compared to in low water virtually every other cast for some reason ??
More often than not I am losing hook and feeder.
Using 12lb line, heavy feeder , and whether upstream or straight out with bow in line etc
Never really understood that.
Any explainations / therories or me becoming paranoid ?
 
Not fishing so far out in high water? Try fishing inline feeders, they tend to be less inclined to snag up I find.
 
Mark (sent you an email)

When you lift up to retrieve in the heavier flow, the drag on the line lifts the feeder straight from the bottom.

In the lighter flows it will tend to pull it along the bottom of the river...into a snag.

Try lifting sharply and with the rod at a higher angler in lower water.

Graham
 
I fish many pegs on the Wye where if the feeder or lead moves it snags in the rocks. As Graham suggests it is probably that your lead comes of bottom quicker when there is water on.
 
Andrew Burt said:
I fish many pegs on the Wye where if the feeder or lead moves it snags in the rocks. As Graham suggests it is probably that your lead comes of bottom quicker when there is water on.
Click to expand...

Mark,

Probably teaching people to suck eggs here but if you get snagged then paying off the largest downstream bow possible from the reel and then doing the mother and father of strikes upstream will get the feeder free on at least 50% of occasions. This works much better if you are fishing braid mainline. Just a thought does anyone use a home made "otter" these days and if so would they like to post details of its makeup and efficiency?
 
Richard Hamlyn said:
Mark,

Probably teaching people to suck eggs here but if you get snagged then paying off the largest downstream bow possible from the reel and then doing the mother and father of strikes upstream will get the feeder free on at least 50% of occasions. This works much better if you are fishing braid mainline. Just a thought does anyone use a home made "otter" these days and if so would they like to post details of its makeup and efficiency?
Click to expand...

The 'Otter' is used around these parts to retrieve often snagged Devon Minnows by the Salmon lads, will ask around to see what is available.
 
Neil,

I have toyed with the idea of making something simple like a floating plastic thingy that could clip onto the mainline and slide along it with the current to enhance the downstream pull effect when striking hard against it. Anybody tried anything like this?
 
The guides in India make an otter out of a water bottle,they tie some nylon around below the cap, loop it around the main line and tie it back around the bottle.Throw the bottle into the river paying out line,when below the snag you jerk the line and out pops the lead etc. Easily done on 40lb mainline and an uptider,works every time.Possible rubbish issue on 12lb on the wye.
 
Richard Hamlyn said:
Neil,

I have toyed with the idea of making something simple like a floating plastic thingy that could clip onto the mainline and slide along it with the current to enhance the downstream pull effect when striking hard against it. Anybody tried anything like this?
Click to expand...

Hi Richard
I have only seen the Otter once being used and it worked well, given that this area only allows Devon Minnow as a lure up until the 16th June, and the rocks in the weir are as big as cars. I would think there should be some local knowledge of the thing. Will try and get some information from Rob' tackle in the town later.

Just searched... Yorkshire Game Angling do a Otter board for just £2.45, can't put up the link Richard but you should see it on their website.
 
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Andrew you win the prize,it a julien's prize golden carp,i think its one of the most beautiful coarse/carp/barbel type fish in the world.The other is a golden mahseer. Its latin name is something like Barbus Juliens. I bought 4 otters on ebay a couple of years ago,about £1.50 each.They are yellow discs, 5 inches in diameter with a slot to put the line into ,you turn the middle to insert the line,twist it back to secure, drop it into the flow ,let it kick downstream in the line bow,until its directly below snag than yank on the rod like with the the bottle,i have used them a lot and they do work,but again always on heavy gear.Just checked Ebay none being sold at the moment. I think the otter board in a previous post is used for trolling
 
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Just searched... Yorkshire Game Angling do a Otter board for just £2.45, can't put up the link Richard but you should see it on their website.[/QUOTE]

Neil,

Many thanks I may just give this a try,
 
Richard Hamlyn said:
Just searched... Yorkshire Game Angling do a Otter board for just £2.45, can't put up the link Richard but you should see it on their website.
Click to expand...

Neil,

Many thanks I may just give this a try,[/QUOTE]

Richard, Mark Swaby is almost right, an otter board is a huge triangular piece of wood, one of which is used each side of a trawling net to hold it open on some small, old fashioned style trawlers while fishing at sea. I don't know what weight of tackle you use for barbel, but my guess is one of these might be a tad overkill to free your hook.

The bit of kit you want is as he said, just called 'an otter', a slotted disc with a central hole for the line. To save you ages of searching Yorkshire Game Angling site to find one, look here......

Yorkshire Game Angling Spinning Accessories

I would of course had prefered it if it were the furry critter of that name used in much the same manner....but no such luck, lol.

Cheers, Dave.
 
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