Choosing the right lure
Before you even have to untangle yourself from a lure, it's important to know which one you can risk losing. If you know your fishing areas well, you can afford to use your favorite or expensive lures. On the other hand, if you're unfamiliar with a spot, go for classic lures, if possible without a triple.
A branch, a rock or garbage can quickly cost you your lures, so it's worth analysing the area beforehand. To do this, it's best to use a soft lure, mounted on a simple lead head and without adding an assist-hook. You'll have a much better chance of unhooking it if necessary, while still being able to follow the bottom easily to detect dangers.
Techniques for unhooking a decoy
When it's too late and our lure is unfortunately hooked, we have to try to save it. There are a number of techniques for trying to unhook a lure, but they are not 100% effective. The simplest is to pull hard, with the aim of twisting the hook or breaking a submerged tree branch in which you're stuck.
To dislodge a lure that's simply stuck between pebbles, take your braid between the reel and the first ring with your reeling hand and pull it outwards. Put the rod under tension and suddenly release the braid while keeping the rod tension, the surge of tension in the braid will frequently dislodge the lure.
If you have the opportunity, you can also try changing direction and moving from left to right on the bank to shoot, although this is not always possible depending on the spot.
Decoy release
The lure unhook is an effective way of saving a lure that has not been successfully unhooked using more conventional techniques. There are various models on the market, but it's also possible to make one yourself without much difficulty.
Lure retrievers are lead-tipped devices generally fitted with multiple chains which we slide along our line, stretched as far as possible. The lure unhook itself is attached to a string so that it can be pulled back and, above all, moved over the lure. The chains will then get tangled in the hooks and unhook the lure. The only exception is string, from which it is very difficult to remove a hook, especially if it has a barb.
