After popping his jig loose from a rock, I handed the rod back to my guide client.

He thanked me, but a few casts later the leadhead jig was again lodged behind a subsurface rock.

This time he mimicked the process I had just demonstrated and again the jig came free.

With a relieved look on his face he said, “learning that tip was worth the price of the guide trip.”

Late fall is a time of year when most gamefish spend the majority of their time close to the bottom.

Trout eat larval stage bugs; walleyes forage on bottom-oriented chubs and shiners; bass sniff out crayfish.

It’s not that they don’t do the same during warmer periods.

It’s just that by late fall, when the water temperature is anywhere from the mid-40s and lower, they are far less inclined to move up for a bait or lure. Which means going down to the bottom for them.

Which in turn means dealing with frequent snags.

And old fishing axiom states, “if you’re not getting hung up, you’re not catching fish,” a particularly true observation when the water’s cold.

If you follow a few steps getting a hung-up bait loose, especially a jig-type offering, can often be accomplished by following these simple steps.

The first objective is in determining if the resistance on your line is being causes by a fish or by an obstruction.

Bites are light at this time of year, often just a spongy stoppage.

I like to apply just a light degree of pressure.

If it’s a fish there will be a bit of give, perhaps a light tap as the fish clamps down.

If the resistance is of a solid nature, with no signs of life, chances are very good it’s a snag.

The next step is in repelling the urge to heave back on the rod to free the bait.

Chances are this will only wedge the lure further.

Rather than applying the heave-ho and loading up the rod, using your wrist apply a series of buggy-whip snaps that really get the rod tip shaking.

Holding the rod up high when doing this improves the angle, and ups the chances that the buggy whip will shake the lure free.

If the bait is still lodged load the rod up a bit, and then, using the thumb of your free hand, grab the line between the reel and the first guide, give it a quick pull and release it, like “twanging” a guitar string.

This quick release transfers energy down the line to the bait, often popping it free.

Be sure not to load the rod too heavily before giving it the thumb snap.

The heavy loading needs to occur when you pull the line down with the thumb.

This method works with all types of line — nylon monofilament, braided line, and fluorocarbon.

It takes just a bit of practice to get good at, something you get plenty of when dragging jigs across rocky bottom.

In addition to learning the skill of getting a jig free one should minimize getting is hung in the first place.

Keep in contact with what the bait’s doing.

Jigging takes concentration, something that’s tough to maintain if you’re conserving with your buddy.

One can also opt for less snaggy riggings such as a jig hook with a light wire guard.

And many soft baits can be fished on a Texas-rig — with a sliding sinker and worm-style hook — that’s far less likely to hang-up than an open jig hook.

Jeff Knapp is a fishing columnist for the Butler Eagle.