Don't Leave Me Hangin'! - Why Leaving Flies Stuck in Trees Should Be a Thing of the Past

With Spring around the corner, what will you do when your fly or rig gets caught up in a tree?

Do you write it off as an acceptable loss of fly fishing or do you attempt to “Get It Back” and leave the trees & water the way we all would like them to be when we return?

Breaking away from conventional fishing way-back-when and learning how to fly fish was a no-brainer for me. I too lost my fair share of flies then, and I still do today, even though I’m a pretty darn good fisherman. A bad back-cast, missed hook-set, wind or just river malaise contributed to the miscue of an evil tree branch stalking my cast.

When I first started fly fishing, and I would get a fly stuck up in a tree branch out of reach, my mentor would say “ eh, just snap it off and leave it there.” “What?!” I said. “Leave it there? Discard it, like flicking a cigarette butt out the window while riding without a seat-belt in the 70’s? My new streamer is right there in front of me hanging, triple wrapped and secured about ten feet up laughing at me!” Frustrated and wanting to find a way to get it back, I tried all the usual things: Bend the tree branch down with my rod and line, hook or tangle the fly into my tip-top (you know you’ve done it too) or reach up for the tree branch while sinking deeper into the pool and spooking the fish. “Stealth” my mentor would say as he smiled at my dilemma. And then as my vision panned back (pissed at my circumstance) OMG there are flies everywhere in the tree branches along with a few spinners and even a bass plug with a braided line kite tail. You would have thought that this beautiful stretch was decorated for Christmas all year long.

Reality is, we’ve created a problem through our hobby. This early January I was walking a local stretch here in Pennsylvania and there are flies and monofilament left everywhere within reach of any rod. Statistics indicate there are 4 million fly fishermen in the USA. If they all abandon only 5 flies a year in the tree branches, that’s 20,000,000 million hooks and mono left and abandoned every year! When we attend fly fishing trade shows, the question we always ask the fishermen we talk to is “Do you ever get your fly or streamer caught in a tree?” the answer is always “Yes, of course I do.” Then what do you do? “Snap it off  and leave it.” seems to be the only answer anyone can give. Why is this acceptable you may ask? Well, it’s not acceptable, it’s just the way it’s been done until now.

Enter the Catch-A-Lure Fly Retriever (FF-CAL we call it) . It’s a simple idea but was incredibly complicated to get just right. After years of engineering, testing, and perfecting we’ve developed a tool that is incredibly easy to use, and effective 100% of the time.

But what about my rod. Will using FF-CAL break my rod? The answer is emphatically NO. The reason lies in the clever design of the tool. It’s engineered to securely cradle the rod tip-top without putting any stress on the rod blank, and the v-cutter is designed to make it almost effortless to cut the line. That ensures an incredibly small force (less than 0.10lb) is ever applied to your tip-top with proper use of the Catch-A-Lure retrieval tool. In comparison, hooking-up on a fish or a change in line direction when casting can apply several lb’s of force to the tip-top during normal use of your rod. FF-CAL is made to cut the monofilament not a branch.

Besides saving your own time and money, you’ll also be cleaning up our waterways for the next fishermen that come through. And don’t forget that by removing hardware and line from the trees our feathered friends are spared a man-made hazard and almost certain death if they get snagged on a hook or caught in a line. Another added bonus is after you retrieve your fly, pull on your fly-line and your rig in the tree will amazingly untangle out. Re-tie and you’re back in business with zero impact on your wallet or nature. Mission accomplished with a new mindset and a cool new tool.

Compact, lightweight and incredibly easy to use. It’s bright color makes it highly visible in contrast to dark branches and leaves. It features a loop connection point for a zinger and can also be used as a fast action cutting tool.  Catch-A-Lure is a well thought-out idea from a couple guys who care about fishing and the environment.

So knowing this, will you join us as part of the solution?

Mid-2019 we will be adding a Conventional Catch-A-Lure Lure Retriever for spinners, bass plugs, rapalas, spinner baits and big musky flies. Pre-Order yours now and get an early adopter discount!

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Drop us a line:

catchalure@gmail.com