Typical day on the water yesterday....two good fish on a craw colored red-eye shad and then, BAM...straight into a tree - 15 feet out of reach.  I got to thinking....I haven't owned a lure type that hasn't found a tree...or at least an overhanging bush.  But lipless cranks...man...they just sail soooo nice....and trees love 'em!   If I visit your lake, what lures that you previously owned would I find in the overhanging tree branches?

My most productive shallow  crankbait ever is up high in a tree . I just could not figure out a way to get it back .

The local PA trees love a good topwater lure. 

Why did you not have an "all of the above" option??

Oh, and typically I don't have a problem with the bait in my ponds eating trees. You must have some nasty little shad where you fish!

I've climbed a tree from a kayak to get a gold Rat-L-Trap back. Sometimes (often) it's the best bait I have for my favorite reservoir.

Any tree near shore at night.

Tom

The local PA trees love a good topwater lure. 

 

 

 

Same with the trees in upstate NY. 

Sometimes my depth perception is deadly accurate when casting towards trees. Other times, I'll put my bait 15' up a tree--still going up. 

LOL there is no, "All of the above" or I would have checked that. 

Any tree near shore at night.

Tom

 

 I with Tom here and for me it's spinnerbaits.

 

I really prefer the darkest of Moon-less nights in the summer, but loose situational awareness for just one minute, with a black night & no horizon, it's really easy to launch a bait right into the woods, or across two docks, or if you're really going good, into an open window ~

 

These baits are rarely recovered.

 

A-Jay

I just got home from a cold day of fishing.  I left a nice Red Eye Shad lipless crank in a beautiful little cedar tree.  The irony is, I found that very same Red Eye Shad where somebody else left it... in a tree along the bank!  What goes around, comes around....

 

Tight lines,

Bob

Any bait in the spring around Buck Brush

If Charlie Brown was an angler he would throw squarebills!

If Charlie Brown was an angler he would throw squarebills!

You may be right. Even with a perfect cast, a squarebill is often deep in the woods!

Having spent a lot of time night fishing I agree with Tom and A-Jay. There are times when the lost bait is easier to accept than the professional overrun that goes with it.

You won't find any of my baits in trees, a telescoping lure retriever insures that. When I find someone else's bait in the tree, it does a great job getting that bait out too.

What about those underwater trees?

I have a megabass popper in tree right now with attached line tied to discreet location in bush while I figure out how to get lure down.

It was the year when the rapala glass raps were offered.

I was in a rush to fish. It was a tad windy. I had around $35 in lures in the trees when I left. I couldn't stay there any longer. I couldn't afford it.

Most years I lose nothing.

50 # braid brings the tree to me! (or straightens the hook)

What about those underwater trees?

Telescoping lure retriever

 

Seriously, if I can reach it, I bet I have over a 90% recovery rate, and most of the baits I lose are jigs/T rigs or other bottom contact baits that get wedged. They might seem a little expensive at first but after I get a couple LC baits unsnagged or get a few expensive baits out of the trees that others have left (I got 3 Lucky Craft, 1 pre Rapala wart, and 1 Megabass out of the tree in a day last time I was at Table Rock), they pay for themselves. 

A nice breeze and a flat sided crank or trap sails really nice!!!

Some years back we lost a shallow running crankbait in a tree near the shore.  About 10 months later we were fishing the same spot and went under that same tree.  There hanging about a foot over our heads was that shallow running crankbait.

Some stuck lures require a pole type lure retriever.  I got one.   Other stuck lures require a hound dog type lure retriever.  I got one.   Sometimes you need one, sometimes the other.    Once I get a lure stuck, and I get all of them stuck from time to time, first I always ask myself the question, "How much do I want this lure back/"    If it is a shaky head - I'm not that concerned, because I've got lots of shaky heads.   Jigs - depends on the jig.    Home made jika rig - kinda depends on if it is one I made with tungsten weights or lead weights.    and so on.

 

My thing about stuck lures is about wasting time.   I won't spend more than 5 minutes attempting to get a lure back, more than that is wasting the and fishing time is too valuable.  Nothing is etched in stone though, and I've spend considerably more time than than trying to get lures back - some for sentimental reasons.    Another reason for spending more time is that lure retrieval requires practice, i.e. you aren't born knowing how to expertly use a lure retriever.   If you aren't an accomplished lure retriever user, then time spent learning is time well spent.

 

If you're fishing from a boat carrying both types of lure retrievers is a no brainer.   If you're bank bound, I think that carrying an extendable pole is a good idea.

I'd love to have one of the pole type retrievers.  The only thing that holds me back is the thought of it taking up boat space... the ones I looked at don't collapse to a very short length at all.  I know I'll have to break down and get one anyways.  Today, I looked up with a tear in my eye at the Red Eye Shad I hung high in a cedar tree yesterday.  It was glistening in the sun, taunting me.  

 

Tight lines,

Bob