What have you done to get a lure back? 2025

Lard_Bass reply :

The main reason I ask is that I have rescued the same lure on 2 different occassions after getting snagged close to shore. I just bought a Smithwick Suspending Rogue jerkbait to learn how to use jerkbaits. Well, on a local pond (the first time), it get stuck about 3 feet out in murkey water. I see a branch popping out of water so I decide to go get it. I walk out and the water goes from 1 foot deep to 3 foot deep in a hurry. In the process of saving my $4 lure, I got my car keys wet and my blackberry cell phone wet. Both electronics eventually worked once dried out.

Last week, same lure gets stuck at another lake. This time I decide to forget it. I go back to same lake a couple of days later and see it in the water. I decide, what the heck, it doesn't look deep so let's get it. I go in. It gets waist high but the water is freakin frigid. It got so cold that I turned back twice. I finally thought, heck I got wet, might as well show something for it and I got it out.

I a curious to hear other stories for a sanity check of my own. My wife already think I am nuts for trying to get those lures out. ;D

PS - Next time a get a lure snagged, I rigged a 12 oz sinker on a snap with some line. I plan on sending down the snagged line to hopefully knock it loose.

guest reply :

Ive climed tres,Dove outta the boat and even challanged a dog on private property along the shoreline Thats what happens when You insist on using 5 Dollar expensive lures ;D

BucketmouthAngler13 reply :

I'll do just about anything to get a nice lure back. Swim, wade, climb, or even trying to snag my snagged lure with another lure, and pull it out with two lines.

My friend saw a rapala DT in a tree from his canoe. It was about 1ft out of his reach holding a paddle.

So he stood on the seat, and jumped up trying to knock it out with a paddle. Dangerus stuff you know, jumping up and down in a canoe.

After several "leaps" he managed to get it out. +1 lure for the baitmonkey!

edbassmaster reply :

All summer long I wade in just shorts and sneakers in waist high water...in some cases some pretty nasty water. Obviously retreiving lures is usually not a problem for me. I beleive as an outdoorsman getting wet is all part of the experience. Although I wouldnt recommend my type of fishing if there are gators where you fish...or if your afraid of snakes and snappers.

edbassmaster reply :

Oh yeah...I live in Philly, one musnt be afraid of the occasional floating body!!

BASS fisherman reply :

Usually if I get any lure snagged, whether a jig, crankbait, or whatever, I will first try going to the opposite side of the snag and tug on the lure to get it unsnagged. If this doesn't work, and attack from different sides trying to get it back. If I know the water is at most 6-7 feet deep, I reel in the line all the way so the rod tip goes down into the water and is up against the lure. Usually a little push or pull with the tip will dislodge the lure.

Now if the lure is up in a tree, I will try to pull it out as carefully as possible so that the hooks don't catch in the tree.

To answer your question, I had made myself a topwater walk the dog lure. One day while fishing, I casted the lure aiming just a little to high. The lure landed about 12 feet up in a tree. At first I tried pulling on it, which made the hooks dig into the wood. So I get the boat under the lure, and about 5 feet to the side of it and I tried casting a jig into the tree with 20lb mono on, and pulling the small branch it was stuck on down. Well the line snapped, and I also lost the jig in the tree. I didn't care one bit about the jig, I just wanted to get MY handmade lure back. That week, I was unable to get my lure back.

I decided on the way home to bring a saw and cut the whole tree down. That lure was important to me. Well in a weeks time, I decided that cutting the tree down was just not feasable. I ended up rigging up two- one ounce sinkers to a 32 ft piece of jute, or twine. We went back the next week, and I threw the sinkers over the branch and pulled the branch down, and got my lure back. I didn't see the jig though. I have used the jute to get back another lure that I could see up in a tree. I also use the jute as a po mans depth finder. I just marked the rope in 1 foot increments.

Once a while back, I snagged a black jitterbug on a stump and decided to go in and get it. I got about two feet into the water, and couldn't bring myself to go any farther. The mud was thick, and probably would have been too hard to get out of by myself. So I went home with wet boots, and no black jitterbug.

edbassmaster reply :

Also if you cant get to the lure...tighten your slack almost to the point it feels the line is gonna break...then with your fingers pluck your line real hard...like snapping a rubberband, against the rod. This works rally well

Lard_Bass reply :

I like that plucking tip! There's nothing more frustrating on losing / snagging a new lure right out of the box. It's funny, I buy some cheap lures to survey the area when I am casting from shore. When I think the contour is safe, I break out a nice crankbait and then snag it on the next cast.

Anyone ever lose a lure to a fish and eventually get it back? I saw a picture once where a guy lost a spoon to a Pike while trolling. He ventured back to the same area and caught the fish and his jig back.

Captain Cali reply :

Last winter I waded up to my waist to get a Huddleston trout swimbait back.

I once lost a crank to a fish. I grabbed the line to pull it out of the water and SNAP! The line broke a few inches from the knot (I had caught a few fish without a retie). About a week or two later I caught the same fish and it still had my crank stuck in it's lip.

5bass reply :

You should see all the bugs and spiders that live and grow under docks.You can see alot when you're swimming up under them retrieving your favorite Lucky Craft thats gotten hung on some stray piece of rope.It's even scarier when you hit the water and you see a huge Rottweiler barreling down the hill towards the dock.....you dont know if he's planning to swim or what.

mud reply :

Every now and then me and the in laws will go out looking for lures in trees and other stuff floating on the canal. Well I must say the first introduction to the family was like that and I love it. You wouldn't believe the stuff we find. I've fallen in the water a few times, but I always get what Im going for.

Now for my own personnal Lures, I've climbed trees that were definatly not strong enough to hold my 240lbs. I have a bad habit of wanting to cast under that fallen log or tree and having that one errant cast that I get caught in the tree every time. If I think I can get it I'll go for it. Even walked out shoulder deep in 50 degree water cause I'm too cheap or the boss (fiance) bought me the lure and threatened me to not lose it.

mud

Bream Master reply :

I can't swim. But I've gotten waist deep in muddy lake water to retrieve a 1.79 BPS crankbait. Yes, I'm stupid. I've stood on those paddle boats while pontoons went buy trying to get a plastic minnow I got stuck in a tree. It's still there. Let's see, I've taken a rake out on the paddle boat to rake down floats that are stuck on the neighbors tree. Hhahah, that tree looks like a Christmas tree. I swear it glows in the dark. ;D My buddies and I have about 11 orange floats just hanging everywhere. I did apologize to the guy. Next summer, we'll have to find a new bream spot.

When fishing for stripers near a dam, my buddies and I lose lures and floats all the time. We use tennis balls as floats for stripers and one time I spent about 8 minutes trying to hook a loose ball with a crankbait. Pretty creepy for a guy who doesn't swim. The drop off is like the great abyss, guys. We usually have to climb up beyond the "No public access" fence too. I'm going to start wearing a life jacket next time.

Bryant. reply :

In my local tackle store I overheard these guys talking about how one of them brings scuba gear whenever he's swimbait fishing, and when they would get their bait stuck they would just dive in. I guess if you had access to some scuba gear it might be a good idea. :-? :-?

guest reply :

Quote
All summer long I wade in just shorts and sneakers in waist high water

You should move to Florida. You'll find alot of good looking lures stuck at the bottom of waist high water. Just be sure to say hi to my friend and his good buddy /img]

edbassmaster reply :

id love to move to florida...but i wont be wading...ill be on the boat with you

Daniel My Brother reply :

Climbed a tree with a bow saw to retrieve a $3 Rat-l-trap.

I'm cheap, and a bad caster...not a great combination.

L-Train reply :

Quote
You should see all the bugs and spiders that live and grow under docks.You can see alot when you're swimming up under them retrieving your favorite Lucky Craft thats gotten hung on some stray piece of rope.It's even scarier when you hit the water and you see a huge Rottweiler barreling down the hill towards the dock.....you dont know if he's planning to swim or what.

Favorite Lucky Craft? how about any lucky craft? At $15.00 a Lure, it kind of feels like Vegas when you get it back. 8-)

BD reply :

I have gone to extremes too, but it seems my number 1 problem is, I get too good of hooksets, so no matter if I try and take the lure back the other way (from a boat too), or try the rubberband trick, it seems I get a good hookset in, so lure is not coming back from yo-zuri, or p-line cxx.

Hawgin reply :

Quote
Last winter I waded up to my waist to get a Huddleston trout swimbait back.

For what those big boys cost, there isn't much I wouldn't do to get one of those back. The thing I would be most afraid of is one of those moster Cali Bass mistaking me for a swimbait.

bocabasser reply :

when chatterbaits were all the rage about a year ago, i got snagged in what i thought was about 5 feet of water. i jumped off my boat and realized that it was about 10feet and continued to follow the line down to my chatterbait. i got it, and was scared shitless, because i live in florida and at the time people were getting killed by some big gators. look at avids pics, that is what i was woried about.

Lard_Bass reply :

Guy who lost his Lucky Craft lure vs. Gator. Gator has no chance. ;D

scott000 reply :

walked to a bridge, crossed it and walked again to get my popper out of a bamboo type bush. atleast i didnt get wet but i was pretty angry

Whopper-Stopper reply :

We actually went out last winter when the leaves were off the trees to look for lures. We then cut them down with a pole saw. I got back a lot of the ones I lost plus a bunch that other people lost. I probably broke even for the year.

Yakfish reply :

Lost a red craw DT in a tree one evening in late September and not being able to see it I left it for another day. The next time I visited that spot all the leaves had changed (red of course) and I still couldn't make it out so I let it go until all the leaves dropped. Climbed the tree last week and got it back along with a Rat L Trap.

MADMAN MANIAC reply :

Ahh ponds with trees on the bank. Let me guess, been there done that. Had a quad shad spinnerbait, bout a week old. I decided to hang it up in the tree behind me at the end of the day, when it was to dark to see. Went back the next day on a mission to get my spinnerbait. Came upon the tree to find out, well, yeah its up there. In all the excitement of finding my lure, I climb the tree and retrieve my lure.

Moral of the story (Please remember to remove $100 pair of waders before climbing tree)

Minuteman reply :

One of the only times I remember fishing with my dad as a young child is when he got a lure stuck in some brush about 10' out from the bank he was fishing from. The sun was just coming up and I remember him sending me into the misty, foggy water to get it out. I must've been 6 years old and the water was cold.

I don't even remember if I got it back. I was probably crying and carrying on. No wonder my dad didn't take me fishing much when I was little. He rarely fished near home and spent his fishing trips in Canada. If he had live longer I'm sure he would've started taking me when I got older.

Catt reply :

While I've never done it for a lure, I've gotten out of the boat twice in the marshes of Southwest Louisiana and waded 20 yds. to get a 6 lb+ bass that were tangled in lily pads.

guest reply :

Ats the end of eva fishing season I just goes out wit me chain saw and cuts down evey tree overhangin de lake. I finds me lotsa goody good stuff.

Can't understand why the sherrif put my as$s in the pokey.

I told him "Thems lucky crafts up dere" but he don't never listen.

probably jes want em for his own self.

edbassmaster reply :

thats hilarious avid ;D

paparock reply :

I made the lowest ranking member of the crew retrieve it, the daughter-in-law. ;D No, seriously she volunteered, I swear! :

I try to retrieve them but here on Bull Shoals due to all the rock you can do thousands in damage to your boat trying to retrieve a lure so sometimes as hard as it is I have to just leave them. I have not lost one of my Luck Craft lures yet so who knows what will happen then.

mudcatwilly reply :

I'll do whatever it takes to get a lure back. First, I'll move my boat around the snag to try and free it up. Second, I'll put my arm in the water as far as I can to try and reach it. During the summer, I've been known to dive in after it.

mudcatwilly reply :

Sometimes when I fish, I'll reel in someone else's snagged lure. Sometimes I lose mine. I think it all evens out in the end.

ScroGG ToGG reply :

Several times (in warm water) ive had a buddy hold my rod (haha ) and ill follow my line down the water to my lure and and manually retrieve it till its mine again.

NATHAN_JAMES reply :

you can always get some scuba gear ;D One thing that i saw in a bargin bin in a Pulaski,NY bait shop was pretty cool device. Its a clip that you attach to your line (snaged lure at other end) below the clip is a small piece of metal with severa small chains dangling from it. The idea is to use your taunt fishing line as a sip line, you attach the lure retriever to your line and with a separte string attached to the retriever you slide it down and the chains should get tangled on the treble hooks. Now using the sting attached to your retriver you yank that lure off of what ever its caught on.

Although i can't testify as to how well it works, because i've never had to use it, the idea seems very feasable.

Low_Budget_Hooker reply :

lol,...beat me to it,..we just send Nathan down ;D

Gatorbassman reply :

Quote
you can always get some scuba gear ;D One thing that i saw in a bargin bin in a Pulaski,NY bait shop was pretty cool device. Its a clip that you attach to your line (snaged lure at other end) below the clip is a small piece of metal with severa small chains dangling from it. The idea is to use your taunt fishing line as a sip line, you attach the lure retriever to your line and with a separte string attached to the retriever you slide it down and the chains should get tangled on the treble hooks. Now using the sting attached to your retriver you yank that lure off of what ever its caught on.
Although i can't testify as to how well it works, because i've never had to use it, the idea seems very feasable.

It works great. This is the one I use.

Lard_Bass reply :

Hey where did you get that lure retriever and what is it called?

I am currently using just a 12 oz sinker and sending down my line with a snap. It works knocking a lure loose.

buzzbaitfool12 reply :

He got it from Bass pro shop..That is the one I have also..

Funny story I live on a big lake that has million dollar homes and I live in one of the homes that is halfmillion..anyways not bragging just part of the story..I threw a $5 bandit flat max crank bait by one of the houses in the that has a few submerged stumps..It gets hung and no problem I will use my 10 lure retriever to get it..I get the lure however the line breaks and my lure retriever is lost in about 5 feet of water..It is summer so I decide to get out,im not catching any fish anyways so I decide to become Jaq Costeau..Any how I am wading in the water by this guys house..my dog is barking and the guy that owns the house comes asked to see what is going on..Well I am quite embarrassed needless to say to I instead of telling him how cheap I am that I am looking for the head of the 10 dollar lure retriever I tell him I lost my rolex in the water and I am trying to find it..He decides he wants to come in and we are looking and he finds the head of my retriever..Lol..We never find the rolex..I felt bad about the white lie but me, my wife, and my mom laught about the missing rolex all the time.

sirmo reply :

awesome thread....

I'd say craziest thing I ever did to retrieve a lure....

Was land the seagull who flew through the line as my uncle was casting.

Even though the bird wasn't hook...he insisted on reeling the getting the bait back, even if it meant bringing in the bird.

We netted the bird as it was snapping at me, my uncle, AND the rattle trap.

Everyone made it out o.k.

Not to be a debby downy on the issue, but make sure if you ever have to cut a line, you leave as little line as possible as to not harm any wildlife.

poopnel reply :

paparock reply :

If someone where to go out once a week here on Bull Shoals to the ridht places with some scuba gear they could probably keep their own tackle box full of other peoples lost lures. :-?

Schaefer reply :

I was fishing in the upper niagara river with my brother, and my cotten cordell got snagged on a rock. The pain in the *** thing was it was close enuff that I could clearly see it. I sat there for liek 10-15 minutes trying to bounce it loose from all different angles. I eventualy got fed up and stripped down to my boxers (took off as much clothing as I could so I would have some nice dry warm ones when i got out LOL), I was up about chest deep, and I was JUST able to poke it out with the tip of my rod. My whole rig was totaly submerged. Thank god for the durability and reliability of Shimano reels ;D.

Lard_Bass reply :

Try getting this lure back:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3AepYiNcDQ

For a nice laugh:

10940

What have you done to get a lure back? 2025

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