Q: When your fly gets hung up on structure is there a preferred method to get it loose other than just pulling the line until the tippet breaks?
– Mike Tucker
A: Unless the hook is impaled in soft wood or a rope hanging from a dock, the following method works for me most of the time and is especially effective when the hook is in tree branches. Do not pull hard on the snagged fly. Raise the rod vertically. Slip enough slack through the rod’s tip top so that the line sags and just touches the water. Place one hand on the bottom of the rod with the other hand firmly gripping the fly line against the handle. Keeping the rod in a near-vertical position, use the upper hand as a pivot and vigorously rock the rod butt back and forth in short motions with the lower hand. Usually the fly pops free.
