What's the best way to reduce hooking when fishing from shore at sea?

Less hanging from the edge. © Laurent Duclos

To reduce snagging on the bottom in shore fishing, you need to adapt your rig, your weight and your way of fishing to keep the rig just above obstacles, without letting it drag on the bottom. By working with high rods, lighter sinkers and "anti-snag" rigs, you can significantly reduce sinker and hook losses.

Laurent Duclos Published on February 17, 2026

Understanding why it works

The lead or lure remains on the bottom for too long and gets stuck between stones, rocks or algae.âeuros

In addition, a lead that is too heavy will â??plowâ? the bottom, especially with current or waves

Low lead mounts (hooks close to the ballast) are easily caught in faults and vegetation.âeuros

Choosing the right lead

To minimize snagging on the various biotopes surveyed from the shore, it is important to choose the lead adapted to each situation, such as :

Use the minimum possible weight that still holds the bottom or descends properly, rather than systematically overhanging.âeuros
Choose tapered or "olive" sinkers, which glide better between stones than angular shapes.âeuros
In very rocky areas, a lighter lead that drifts a little often catches less than a lead that gets stuck in the same place.âeuros

Utiliser un plomb adaptÃ© au biotope. — Use a lead adapted to the biotope.

Adapting the assembly

It's also important to adapt the rig you use to minimize risks. For example, you can easily increase the length of the leader so that the bait or lure swims above the sinker.âeuros Or try rigs with high stacks (hooks offset towards the top of the leader) for fishing in several layers of water without being stuck to the bottom.âeuros

For fishing with soft lures, a "Texan" rig, with a hidden hook tip, greatly limits snags in rocks and seaweed.âeuros

Manage line and animation

Keep the rod high during retrieval to raise the assembly a little and move it away from the bottom.âeuros

Avoid leaving too much "belly" in the banner: keep the contact to feel the slightest knock and take off immediately if it hits the bottom.âeuros

Animate faster or more continuously in very crowded areas so that the lure does not stay put, especially when fishing with a scratch lure.âeuros

Connaitre les fonds oÃ¹ l'on pÃªche. — Know your fishing grounds.

Extra tips

Learn the relief of the position: throw shorter at first or on the sides to spot areas that catch and then avoid them.âeuros

Use a leader slightly thinner than the line body: in the event of a snag, you only lose the leader, not the whole line.âeuros

If it still catches, relax the line a little and change the angle of pull rather than pulling directly at the same point.âeuros

This mix of lighter lead, slightly unstuck rigs, high rod and controlled animation generally makes it possible to clearly divide the number of snags when fishing from the shore.âeuros