Whats your definition of a Snagger?

[Shawarma]

Two honest questions here:
1. why does a shorter rod matter here? can't you snag with any rod length?
2. what's line type have to do with it? Can you not use braided line and a fluro leader?

Those two seem a bit sketchy to me to judge whether someone is snagging or not.

 

[yush_gta]

lol. i remember this episode.

 

[Kleiner]

x3 i use 20lb line, admittedly lower quality waders ( im not gonna get simms anytime soon, sorry remy ) and a short rod because quite frankly i dont like 15ft long lightning rods, but am i a snagger ? I hope not

Same here, I don't river fish very often, so a pair of crappy tire waders for my 2 or 3 outings a year is good enough for me. I am also out there with my bass gear as it makes no sense to me to spend a couple hundred dollars on a setup that wouldn't get used much. If I start to river fish more (or get any good at it lol) I may invest in some better gear, but for now I guess I look like a snagger. (Minus the part about using the big hooks of course, that is just stupid)
Thanks alot I will definately be more self conscious on the river now :lol:

 

[Kleiner]

Pretty much it. I have seen people like this who intentially snag fish everywhere with head to toe simms gear. Gear doesn't matter. Ethics does.

Yup! Nailed it

 

[yush_gta]

yup. i've seen snaggers come in all forms.

i was mistaken for a plain clothes CO before when i encountered them. i just happened to be passing by at a not so popular spot but a spot that held fish nonetheless. i parked and wanted to take a quick look at the water level and clarity and i saw three guys in their 20s with all the bells and whistles including neoprene waders. i was at a distance and saw what was happening.

i continued walking to that spot in my regular clothes with no gear on me because i still wanted to have a look see. as soon as they noticed me come around the path all 3 of them stopped everything completely. took their lines out of the water and basically pretended that they needed to change tackle, etc and were acting very awkwardly. i could tell that they kept looking at me from the corners of their eyes wondering if i was going to do something and couldn't wait for me to leave.

i also got the feeling that they didn't have licences either.

 

[fishfearme]

Gear, rods and reels included, has no relevance. I've ran into guys carrying big, cheap rod and reel combo's who wanted nothing more than to catch a trout for the first time, and had no idea on how to go about it. Ran into that same guy a year later and he had all the top of the line gear and out fished me. A snagger is based on actions and actions only. Nothing gets me more than these so called "float fishermen" who pop the float (set the hook) at the end of every drift. There is nothing this is going to accomplish other than snagging an unsuspecting steelhead that just happened to be sitting there. Watch someone fish for a few minutes and it becomes clear whether or not they are snagging.

 

[BASSMASTER19]

Two honest questions here:
1. why does a shorter rod matter here? can't you snag with any rod length?
2. what's line type have to do with it? Can you not use braided line and a fluro leader?

Those two seem a bit sketchy to me to judge whether someone is snagging or not.
well I know longer rods are used to protect light lines and leaders. I guess a short rod would give the snagger more leverage and power to yank the fish in, as for the line thing I have no idea, the only hi vis line I have is 50lb bright orange braid which I use but I use a 8lb leader

 

[staffman]

A snagger is someone that snags fish, regardless of the length of their rod.

 

[BASSMASTER19]

A snagger is someone that snags fish, regardless of the length of their rod.

or anything for that matter

 

[rich_ace_G]

Its not about gear and equipment. Its the individual and his methods of catching the fish.

 

[LURE]

nothing to do with gears, there are pro snaggers out there well equip, I fish the river before with bass set up and mono leaders, high end rods were invented for handling/comfortability purposes on long hours fishing on cold weathers.

 

[remyboy1]

Gear, rods and reels included, has no relevance. I've ran into guys carrying big, cheap rod and reel combo's who wanted nothing more than to catch a trout for the first time, and had no idea on how to go about it. Ran into that same guy a year later and he had all the top of the line gear and out fished me. A snagger is based on actions and actions only. Nothing gets me more than these so called "float fishermen" who pop the float (set the hook) at the end of every drift. There is nothing this is going to accomplish other than snagging an unsuspecting steelhead that just happened to be sitting there. Watch someone fish for a few minutes and it becomes clear whether or not they are snagging.

this is so accurate man--I will never understand why that has become such a habit for the float guys man--its annoying--scares fish and does zero except rip your roe sack off sooner..it simply stupid IMO

 

[remyboy1]

they ALL do it even guys that have been pinnig for years--and they even try to justify it like its some sort of technique that works...best is when they float past you when they are 10000 yards upstream and do the fih scare jerk in front of you...unreal man

 

[MuskieBait]

yup. i've seen snaggers come in all forms.

i was mistaken for a plain clothes CO before when i encountered them. i just happened to be passing by at a not so popular spot but a spot that held fish nonetheless. i parked and wanted to take a quick look at the water level and clarity and i saw three guys in their 20s with all the bells and whistles including neoprene waders. i was at a distance and saw what was happening.

i continued walking to that spot in my regular clothes with no gear on me because i still wanted to have a look see. as soon as they noticed me come around the path all 3 of them stopped everything completely. took their lines out of the water and basically pretended that they needed to change tackle, etc and were acting very awkwardly. i could tell that they kept looking at me from the corners of their eyes wondering if i was going to do something and couldn't wait for me to leave.

i also got the feeling that they didn't have licences either.

I am not a snagger, but I do that all the time when someone happen to walk up to a spot I'm fishing. I may have found something at that spot which I wish to hide that information from you. I may have found a fresh pod of steelhead or browns...and I certainly don't want some Joe Blow watch me catch one, and then come sliding in next to me because they've just seen someone landed a fish. That type of sheep behaviour happens too often...and I've now learned to protect myself against it.

No, I'm not trying to hide any illegal fishing methods...I just don't want company...and I don't want hordes of people scaring the fish I just found with a lot of footwork if they flog the water or pop their floats at the end of every frigging drift.

I had even intentionally cast into dead water to drift for nothing in particular while someone stand there to watch me. It's okay...I've got all day. I'm not going anywhere...and if I drift the dead waters, you'll see me catch nothing. You can keep watching until the cows come home...I'll reveal nothing. Nothing is going on and there is nothing to see. Most of the time, people move on. I'm giving the fish a break while drifting dead waters. So it's a win-win for me most of the time.

So no...sometimes those people who look suspicious are legit...they just have other secrets to hide. ;-)

 

[CanadianAngler87]

Long rods and a pin make for line being stripped off the water quickly. With a quick lift on the rod and spin of the pin it will make it seem like float ripping when really they're just retrieving their bait. But im also not saying that guys dont set the hook after each drift(witch is pointless), but not all..

 

[MuskieBait]

Long rods and a pin make for line being stripped off the water quickly. With a quick lift on the rod and spin of the pin it will make it seem like float ripping when really they're just retrieving their bait. But im also not saying that guys dont set the hook after each drift(witch is pointless), but not all..

You don't really need to accelerate the line so fast to retrieve, even with a pin. I don't fish with a pin, but I do fish with guys that do not rip floats at the end of a drift.

With a long rod, you can lift the float off the water before spinning the spool to retrieve your line. By lifting the float off the water first, you prevent that "pop".

We've all seen fish spook from the "pop". Do that at the end of every drift and you spook the fish every drift.

 

[CanadianAngler87]

I dont pin and I don't pop floats either im just saying there are explanation for some of the float popping not everyones intentions are to set a hook on an un expecting fish like stated...

 

[MuskieBait]

I dont pin and I don't pop floats either im just saying there are explanation for some of the float popping not everyones intentions are to set a hook on an un expecting fish like stated...

That's cool. I'm just replying to your explanation by saying that there really isn't a need to pop the float every time, even if the intent is merely to retrieve line with speed. ;-)

 

[remyboy1]

I use a long rod when I nymph for steel--even with a float indicator all you need to do is lift the rod in the air because at the end of a drift the line is tight--it will unload the line so a retrieve is possible still zero need to rip the line and scare the fish.

 

[BowSlayer]

well I know longer rods are used to protect light lines and leaders. I guess a short rod would give the snagger more leverage and power to yank the fish in, as for the line thing I have no idea, the only hi vis line I have is 50lb bright orange braid which I use but I use a 8lb leader

50 lb bright orange braid, lol, even though you are using a leader, people may think you are snagging, there is no need to use that kind of line, even for salmon, all i use is 10 lbs main line and 8 lbs leader, if fishing with a shorter rod, like you stated, then 12 lb main line, 10 lb leader, try it out, not trying to make fun of you or anything, just a suggestion, i know it works for me, it will probably work for you and then you have a better chance of catching the fish too. :razz: