Fishing on the river

Question
QUESTION: I'm going to sound naive here, but is it really necessary to use a bobber when you're fishing in the river? The reason I ask, is because the cubby hole that our town has, has nothing but bricks in the shallows and it doesn't matter who fishes in the area they always get snagged, almost always to the point where hooks are lost. We're all tired of the snags and it's a 10 minute car ride to a decent marina.

ANSWER: Hello Mary! How are you today? Good I hope:] Well let's see if I can't help you out here! Well for what your faced with here in that type of situation, it might be necessary to suspend your bait over the structure so you don't get snagged, hence why you would use a float. Depending on what type of species of fish your after the bricks can be a good thing. For example, if you were after smallmouth bass a couple of techniques that are virtually snag-free[ I mention smallies because they flourish in rivers] are; something called "The float and fly" this technique suspends your jig so you wouldn't get hung up at all. Another tried and true lure to use would be a crankbait,with a square bill. The reason being,especially in shallow water is a square billed crankbait would bounce off structure easily and cause a reaction strike from an aggressive fish. Fishing around any rocks or heavy cover unfortunately snags are going to be a part of life. The only thing you can do is rig your baits up according to the cover/structure you will be fishing,to minimize snags. For example, fishing around heavy grass/weeds alot of guys use a texas-rig to fish in the grass because the hook point is buried in the bait,this keeps snags to a minimum,but not completely snag free. Yes, it does get old getting hung up,just yesterday I got a $20.00 swimbait hung up on a underwater log, but thats fishing! If you need more in-depth detail on the float and fly or any technique that your thinking about using, please drop me another question:]. I hope this helps,thank you for your question. Check out www.tacklewarehouse.com or www.basspro.com they got some great gear!! Good Fishing!!

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks for the reply, I'll be checking the websites here soon. Here's another question to toss your way. I know I said bricks...but these things are like boulders or part of a wall that used to be there kinda thing. Would the float and fly technique work with that?  I wish I had a picture to show you what I'm talking about, but most of my pictures come from the cell phone and most underwater objects don't show up as you see them with your own eyes.

I should know the answer to this next question, but for some reason I cannot remember, but how do you unhook a catfish? I know they have their "whiskers" and you have to avoid them. But i've never watched anyone catch and release a cat.
it is time for me to learn to tackle stuff like this, cuz i know there's some big cats in the river :)

Answer
Hi Mary, I'm glad to know you got my reply! Well,the float and fly would work great around that type of structure,because the entire rig is suspended by a float so you wouldn't get hung up at all! Here's what your going to need to rig up the float and fly; some three-way swivels a small pear shaped float,and a good assortment of hair jigs. Now here's how to rig up the float and fly; first tie your main line to one end of the swivel,next attach the float next to the swivel end where you tied your main line,then on the bottom end of the swivel tie your leader(you can use mono or fluorocarbon) then tie on your "fly".To cast use finesse,just give the whole rig a light to medium lob out towards the target,then let the rig settle. To retrieve the rig use several shakes of the rod followed by a drag,reel up your slack let the rig settle and repeat.Remember to switch up the drags and shakes until you figure out how the fish want it. The hair jig weights you want to use will be anywhere between 1/32 to 1/4 of an ounce.The weight you will use and the length of your leader will be dictated by cover/structure and fish attitude.There's also speciality rods on the market to complement this rig,for example G.Loomis makes a great float and fly rod,as do other rod makers.Reels to use would be any light spinning reel,just balance reel line weights with rod line weights.If you didn't want to buy all the components separately,www.basspro.com sells a float and fly kit with every thing you need to get started,just punch in "float and fly kit" in the search. Comes with instructions to help you too!   Here's some helpful information on how to unhook and handle catfish; Their barbels or "whiskers" are nothing to worry about,its just rumors that their barbels sting or inflict some type of injury. What they actually are, are taste receptors,catfish use these as "feelers" to taste something before they decide to eat an item. When you hook into a catfish and it's time to land it,if it's small enough grab the fish behind the pectoral fins with a good grip, just hard enough to keep it still while you remove the hook. Larger cats use a landing tool or a net, leave the cat in the net and use your pliers to remove the hook,now if you want a picture with your catch either grab it by the lower jaw with a thick glove on your hand or you can pick it up by the lower jaw with a landing tool, then support the cat's weight with your free hand under it's belly. What you need to watch out for on catfish is the bone in the very front of it's pectoral fin it's very sharp and can cause a nasty wound.If you catch one push the pectoral fin back and you can see this bone. Just be careful:] Well I hope this helps you, you can find a variety of landing tools ,nets,etc on those sites I gave you , hey good luck and if you have anymore questions drop me a line:] GOOD FISHING!!!