The Trophy Snag

To the untrained eye, this piece of wood simply looks like a decorative landscape accent. However, anglers may recognize this stump actually as a tribute to a grand, formidable foe – the snag. Once a submerged productive fish structure, it was covered with algae and tiny invertebrates and thus attracted and held fish of various sizes.

Anglers love submerged wood. They seek it. They also fear it, but cannot help but throw near it. Casts constantly taunt snags because anglers know that big bass love to lurk nearby using the sunken object as cover to ambush prey.

If the lure gets too close, there are several options. A lure retriever can be helpful. In a short video, BassMaster Elite angler Byron Velvick shares how it works. If you do not have a retriever handy, Bass Resource offers a few good suggestions for getting the lure back, like moving directly over the snag and snapping the line “like a rubber band.”

Extremely low water conditions here in Oklahoma and Texas have exposed structure in many ponds and lakes, confirming what our sonar and broken lines have suggested and perhaps showing us some new ones. Digitals photos can serve as handy reminders when the reservoirs finally do refill.

Though I am not sure how to “score” this trophy (17 points? 29 pounds?), I would be proud to have this beast on the wall of my office.

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Andy Whitcomb

Andy is an outdoor writer (http://www.justkeepreeling.com/) and stressed-out Dad has contributed over 380 blogs to takemefishing.org since 2011. Born in Florida, but raised on banks of Oklahoma farm ponds, he now chases pike, smallmouth bass, and steelhead in Pennsylvania. After earning a B.S. in Zoology from OSU, he worked in fish hatcheries and as a fisheries research technician at OSU, Iowa State, and Michigan State.