Always getting snagged! Tips?

[G1V]

Fishing in Brisbane river around structure and especially the banks with sinker swivel setup I’m getting about 70% snags. 
 

I can easily throw s float on but I was hoping someone could suggest a technique. Rigging change or ideas on how to avoid snags in rocky areas. 
 

or is it just part of the territory?

[AUS-BNE-FISHO]

Hey mate, 

Try downsizing the sinker to the minimum you need to get to the bottom, or rigs like a paternoster rig where your hook isn't on the bottom. Sometimes some spots are just much more snaggy that others, though. 

[G1V]

Thanks mate you e been awesome helping. If on boat would dropping straight down help instead of casting away from the boat?  It’s odd we fished a certain spot once and did really well no snags and then came back sand marker snd snagged all day?!

but I’ll try this rig and see how we go. 
thanks again.

[AUS-BNE-FISHO]

I don't do heaps of boat fishing, but I can't imagine it would make heaps of difference. Potentially less snags if you have less line out as your rig won't be drifting/moving as much. 

[mangajack]

The snaggier the area, the less I fish it with baits during the main part of the run.

I usually fish plastics if I am intent on fishing that spot during the run.

At the ends of the run and change of tides i fish with just enough weight to get me to the bottom then lift it up a metre or so, or fish unweighted livies if it is shallow enough.

During the change of tide large predatory fish often rise to the top 3m of water feeding.

As a side note, during the peak run larger fish are often just up current from the structure riding the pressure wave....this sometimes occurs in rivers as well.

[Bob9863]

I always fish a Paternoster style rig using what's, called a T knot. I usually tie the lightest sinker on I can using a length of lighter mono so if I get snagged I only loose the sinker. 

I cast my own stuff so sinkers are cheap. I also have a, few techniques for getting unsnagged, from tapping on the butt to a an angled flick, one thing about fishing where I do is you get snagged a hell of a lot. 

[Pete_NewFarm]

You don't say what rig you usually use, but if you are using a standard rig running the sinker to a swivel, then I've seen it suggested that running the sinker right to the hook can reduce snags - and when I've tried it I think it may have helped. I guess the idea is that when you reel the line in, the sinker sits immediately above the hook and 'shields' it from snags. The sinker and hook then act as a single unit with the sinker leading the way and if the unit encounters a rock, the sinker is more likely to just bounce off, taking the hook with it. A ball sinker would make sense for this and it would have to be big enough to provide some sort of shield - so there are trade-offs. At the very least, it probably reduces the number of snags simply because the single-unit is less likely to get caught up than two units - hook and sinker - flailing about independently in the vicinity of rocks. If the sinker does get caught up, it is more likely that you can free it by pulling the line away in a different direction. This was what I found when I tried it out at a spot where I was getting a lot of snags on rocks. I got caught up twice and was able to free it, which rarely happens if I snag the hook. If you do give this a try, please post the results, as my sample size is pretty small.

Of course, it is also possible to get snagged because a fish takes your hook and runs for cover. This may need a different trade-off - give the fish a bit of slack to work with, but don't allow them much drag. I find this can be necessary around piers where the fish charge underneath as soon as they're hooked.

[G1V]

S as maxing info team thank you. Some really good tips snd personal experience. I will do some testing and post results.

[Thorbjorn Hale]

I have been using a locked running sinker recently will good success but I have realised if I am using 60lb mono for the hook to swivel and 60lb for the swivel to swivel sinker portion I will lose a decent amount of sinkers. To combat this I have been using 120lb mono as the swivel to swivel portion and managed to usually break the 60lb and keep the sinkers

[Bob9863]

I guess it depends on what's more valuable to you, or what gets snagged more, the hook or the sinker. 

But you can generally protect one at the expense of the other, anyway you look at it fishing bad snags is always a frustrating experience, but it can definitely pay off big time. 

If your not getting snagged then odds are you ain't fishing in the right spot.