Snaggin Fish?

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RickJ

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Mar 2, 2003
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Ok! I was in a store looking at some fishing supplies to add to my Survival Fishing kit, just a few odds and ends I am thinking about adding to it, then I ran across a snaggin hook! looks like a heavy trebble hook with a weight on it. I saw this on the show swamp people but theirs were much bigger to catch gators, same concept I think with the ones I saw just to catch fish.

Question, who snaggs fish? Under what conditions do you snagg fish? What kind of fish and how do you do it? I am thinking about adding one of these to my survival fishing kit if it is worth it.

Thanks for any info would be great!
 
Snagging fish is illegal for most spices in Missouri. There are seasons for paddle fish and it can only be done in below certain dams.

That being said, Ive done it using a 7.5 foot rod, casting reel , 40 lb test ,a one ounce weight and a big trebble hook. Its simple, cast then start ripping the hook back in. Where I snagged you could not let it settle to the bottom or the rig would hang up on every cast. Caught a lot of fish. Everything except paddlefish.
 
as soon as I saw the snagg hooks, I asked myself if it was legal, They are selling them so I guess it is at some time and place. I will research but like my OP stated it is for a survival fishing kit not active fishing, only in extreme survival situation. I will add again that this had a built in weight on it so it had some heft. I really want to learn about techniques with this snaggin hook, if anyone else has thoughts please chime in.
 
Thanks, what are paddle fish? Sorry never heard of them before.

Also If I am in a survival situation I am not out to throw food back.

What I am trying to do is see if this item and its technique are worth adding to a survival fishing kit, not active fishing unless I am in a survival situation.
 
Well a large hook could be used like a gaff, for frogs turtles and such. Trying to snag a fish , I think would be difficult. You could tie a piece of string to a limb, or sapling and try to snag at places where fish may gather, like water flowing out of a culvert.
 
I think I will just add more hooks and line to my kit and if needed set out bank lines.
 
We throw them hooks in a pod of bunker snag one and let it sink,if it gets past the bluefish then you might get a striped bass to eat it
 
I think that snagging fish started with salmon in clear water. I learned this from a friend of mine while fishing for salmon at Nimbus dam in Sacto. Using a large torpedo weight with a very large, shark, treble hook behind the weight. Cast out into the current and let a large bow form in your line. Up at Nimbus the salmon were diverted to go into the hatchery for milking but a lot got through and were trapped between the hatchery and dam in a large pool at the base of the dam. If you notice salmon they just kind of stay in one spot and sit there opening and closing their mouths while laying in the current. You could get the bow of your line in their mouths either manuvering your line or they could just run into your line. If you felt a bump, like a light bite, just reel in the line real quick and it would pull the hook up and slam into their jaw on the outside of it. Fight on.

This became against the law in no time in Calif.
 
I don't think any snagging is legal here in MD. I can't imagine getting a hook through the mouth is any better than a hook through the side. I saw a guy get a talking to on Alaska State Troopers for attempting to snag salmon. If the trooper had had any evidence he would have been in big trouble.
 
In a survival situation snagging might work but it depends on the water situation and you would have to do it by sight of fish not blindly. As far as being legal goes, who cares! like you said, its being added to a survival kit not an everyday tackle box. What are they going to do, give you a ticket for trying to survive!?
 
We use bunker snags which are exactly a large weighted treble hook to snag bunker. A bunker is not a game fish, but a type of large shad that is a popular bait for Bluefish and Striped bass.
 
RickJ said:
Thanks, what are paddle fish? Sorry never heard of them before.

Also If I am in a survival situation I am not out to throw food back.

What I am trying to do is see if this item and its technique are worth adding to a survival fishing kit, not active fishing unless I am in a survival situation.
Click to expand...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paddlefish

Because paddlefish are filter feeders, they do not take conventional lures. This and generally low abundance makes them an unattractive target for many sport fishermen. Also, because they will not take lures, the methods employed to catch paddlefish provide little possibility of releasing the fish in good health and usually result in the death of the fish. In an increasingly conservation-minded sportfishing community, using methods that result in the death of a fish which is in chronic decline nationally is considered unethical. Most anglers instead use conventional methods to catch and release more abundant species such as bass, walleye, pike, trout, perch, crappy, whitefish, suckers, salmon, catfish etc. However, a few states still allow sport fishing for paddlefish.[4] Where legal, taking paddlefish is done with a bow and arrow, a spear, or by snagging — Snagging, deliberately foul-hooking the fish in the fins or tail, is the usual method. Poachers also use these methods to target paddlefish in areas where paddlefish fishing is not legal. Snagging paddlefish is prohibited in most states. Suspect paddlefish fishing activity can be reported to fish and wildlife officers who will verify legality. Some jurisdictions pay a financial reward to citizens whose report leads to prosecution of a poacher.- emphasis added, end quote.

If you are going to carry a snagging hook, know that possession of equipment is considered evidence of use. In other words; if you are carrying a bow and arrow, you are bow hunting; if you are carrying a fishing pole you are fishing; if you are carrying a gill net, you are using that net; and if you are carrying a snag hook, you are using that hook to snag fish. Why do I point this out? Snag fishing is illegal in many places. If you are found with a snag hook on you in one of these places, you can be charged with poaching...
 
I have snagged salmon in lake Michigan and it is legal in ILL. My father too me out when I was a kid to a place with a log over a stream, it was next to a power plant. That probably explains most places on that lake. We used the same trebbel hook with a lead weight attaches( about 1 or 2 oz of lead) and we used fishing poles that looked like pool cues. I cought the biggest fish I had ever seen in fresh water. It took me about 1 hour to land it. I believe it was called a coho salmon. We took it home and dad cooked it and we ate it...
 
el bub brings to mind a popular way to catch migrating salmon in washington state before the 80s. it's been illegal for a long time & many a fisherman found the game warden waiting up the bank to issue a ticket.wardens stand well back & observe bank activity with binoculars. however as mentioned in survival situations one would not be worried about wardens.--dennis
 
In Florida it was to "snatch" fish, schooled mullet, which is not the same as a northern mullet... very good eating and often smoked...used a short stiff deep sea pole with heavy spinning rig, 30+ test mono.... I liked the hook without weight, and just added an egg sinker....illegal now
 
Dirty Greaser said:
In a survival situation snagging might work but it depends on the water situation and you would have to do it by sight of fish not blindly. As far as being legal goes, who cares! like you said, its being added to a survival kit not an everyday tackle box. What are they going to do, give you a ticket for trying to survive!?
Click to expand...

I would bet that the thinking is that is they are there to catch you you really weren't in a survival situation. But, that's neither here nor there.

Like someone else said - make sure they are ok to possess, even if they are illegal to use. To the best of my knowledge, only Native Americans in the state of WA are allowed to legally snag fish.

I just finished watching an episode of Alaska State troopers where someone had shot an animal out of season. He tried to claim "survival". Apparently in Alaska if you are within so many miles of a road you are not considered to be in a survival situation. The person in this case got a ticket.
 
That reminds me of this joke;

... A forest ranger is making rounds in a remote part of the wooded reserve when he comes across an unkempt man, sitting at a make-shift campfire, and, to the ranger's horror, eating a fish and a bald eagle. The man is consequently put in jail for the crime. He was soon brought to trial for his crime... The Judge asked the man "Do you know that eating a bald eagle is a federal offence?"
"Yes I do." replied the man, "but if you let me argue my case, I'll explain what happened."
"You may proceed."
"I got lost in the woods, and hadn't had anything real to eat for two weeks," the man
explained. "I was so hungry, I was eating plants to stay alive. Next thing I see is a Bald Eagle swooping down at the lake grabbing some fish. I thought 'if I startled the Eagle I could maybe steal the fish.' Low and behold, the eagle lighted upon a nearby tree stump to eat the fish. I threw a stone toward the eagle hoping he would drop the fish and fly away. Unfortunately, in my weakened condition, my aim was off, and the rock hit the eagle squarely on his poor little head, and killed it. I thought long and hard about what had happened, but figured that since I killed it I might as well eat it since it would be more disgraceful to let it rot on the ground."
The judge says he will take a recess to analyse the defendant's testimony. 15 minutes goes by and the judge returns: "Due to the extreme circumstance you were under and because you didn't intend to kill the eagle, the court will dismiss the charges."
The Judge then leans over the bench and whispers: "If you don't mind my asking, what does a bald eagle taste like?"

"Well your honour, it is hard to explain. The best I can describe it's a bit more tender than a California Condor but lacks the tang of a Spotted Owl."
 
Snagging for the most part is illegal here in NY. In a few places it's legal to snag for Salmon during the run. It might be legal for some salt water here too, Ive seen guys use it to snag bunker for bait.

But I don't think it would work well in a survival situation, unless you pack a rod in your survival kit. Its just not practical trying to throw it into the water and trying to snag a fish, you need to move it pretty quick to keep it off the bottom.

As somebody else said, you better be sure its legal to possess in the field.
 
Snagging is illegal here in Michigan as well..but during the salmon runs in Northern Mich. A LOT of people do it. just the simple fact that when salmon are on that mission to spawn they RARELY bite..snagging is pretty hard unless there is an abundance of fish and they are a pretty good size..its pretty hard to snag the salmon up here when they are running in the rivers but it can be done, so i've been told ;);), lol..the usual rig is just a treble hook tied about 6-8in above a 2oz weight tied to the end of the line..no special treble hooks with weights on them or anything..OR a really big spoon or anything with a decent size treble hook with some weight on it.
 
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