Tackle Tactics » Tips-Techniques » Pro-Lure-Fishing-Tips » Unlocking the Snags
Unlocking the Snags
Justin Willmer
(This story was written prior to the release of the TT Lures ChinlockZ & ChinlockZ SWS jigheads, which are designed to lock your ZMan soft plastic in place on the weedless hook. Replace the SWS with a ChinlockZ SWS and start extracting fish from the snags!)
There's some big fish in those mangrove prop roots...I know they're there but the trick is how am I going to get my lure to them and then get it back out without snagging. There is an answer to this question and it's three magic letters, SWS. The TT Lures SWS (Snagless Weight System) allows you to cast that plastic right into heavy cover and work it back out with a pretty good chance of it not hanging up. It consists of a worm hook, allowing you to rig the soft plastic snagless and a belly weight on the shank of the hook that gives you the casting distance required and sinks the lure slowly and with a seductive, natural drift down into the snags.
I recently fished Hinchinbrook, an area loaded with a myriad of species including Barramundi, Mangrove Jack, Cod and Fingermark. It's also an area that is loaded with structure, predominately the prop roots of mangroves that form cages the fish call home. Fishing in cooler weather meant the fish were holding right up inside these cages and it wasn't going to be easy to draw them out of the snag...we needed to put the lure right in their face to get them to eat it.
Our weapon of choice was the SWS jighead rigged with a ZMan 3" ShrimpZ or 3" MinnowZ. Tough plastic, snagless rig, it was time to hit some snags. When fishing shallower water or less run we fished the 1/8oz with a 4/0 hook and when the tide was higher, the run stronger or wind blowing we switched to the 1/6oz 4/0 for increased casting distance and slightly faster sink so that we could stay in touch with the lure.
Applying a tiny amount of superglue on the shank of the hook, near the eye, will lock the plastic in place and stay in position and swim correctly even after a strike (no longer required with the ChinlockZ SWS). With the durability of the ZMan and the snagless presentation, we were able to land 20 or more fish on a single lure.
Our approach was to target open water snags on the flats when the tide was higher and then work the mangrove edges during the second half of the run out tide and first half of the run in. Cast the SWS right into the structure, targeting lay down timber and especially any forks in this timber, areas of dense branches and sticks as these always seem to hold bait and also get that lure into the cages of prop roots.
There were a couple of retrieves that worked well for us. Firstly we cast the SWS into the structure, allowed it to sink for a second or two and then gave it a sharp lift and wound up the slack as the lure drifted back down. We continued this lift and drop back to the boat but it was often on the first or second lift that the lure was belted by barra. This technique produced plenty of barramundi and as the lure moved further from the snags the queenfish and trevally took over, which was great fun.
The other retrieve we used involved casting the SWS / ZMan combo tight into the structure and allowing it to sink to the bottom before lifting the rod tip sharply in a long twitch of the plastic. We then wound up the slack as the lure drifted back to the bottom, paused the lure on the bottom for a second and then repeated this twitch, pause and sink to the bottom all the way back to the boat. This retrieve produced most of our magrove jack and cod as we were deeper in the snag. Anytime you hit the water though it's a matter of varying the retrieve until you find what works on the day.
If you are looking for a solution to extract fish from snaggy country check out the TT Lures ChinlockZ SWS, Snagless Weight System. it allows you to punch that cast into the nastiest cover with the confidence that you should get the lure back...unless a big nasty jack eats it that is and then it's up to you, some quick rod work and a little bit of luck!