Snagging

Snagging, also known as snag fishing, snatching, snatch fishing, jagging (Australia), or foul hooking, is a fishing technique for catching fish that uses sharp grappling hooks tethered to a fishing line to externally impale (i.e. "snag") into the flesh of the fish, without needing the fish to swallow any hook with its mouth like in angling. This is achieved by suddenly and vigorously pulling the line (either by handlining or with a rod) when movement is felt, causing the snag hook to "claw" into and grapple any nearby fish like a gaff. Weighted multi-hook rigs can be used to increase chances of success,^[1] and modern technologies such as underwater video camera can also be used to visually aid and time the snagging.

Some herbivorous/algaevorous fish species, such as paddlefish, are not attracted to normal angling baits or lures as they primarily filter-feed on plankton. While these fish can be caught using nets, spears or pole hooks, snagging is also used as a less strenuous and more versatile technique.^[2] There are also some species of salmon that can be legally harvested by snagging, and are targeted as they migrate upstream to spawn, making them easier to target, and at a time when the fish are at the end of their life cycle.^[3]

For fish species that can be enticed easily with angling baits or lures, snagging techniques are often discouraged or prohibited as it causes far more mutilating injuries to the fish (especially to the gills and vital internal organs), which causes significant bleeding and infection risks that diminish the fish's chance of survival even after catch and release. Snagging, especially if using underwater video guidance, is viewed in many recreational fishing communities as an unethical practice violating the principle of fair chase,^[4] and has been associated with overfishing (especially with multi-hook snag rigs) and other social controversies concerning animal cruelty.^[5] In certain countries and regions, the technique is deemed illegal by local fisheries law.