i guess the only way to make sure 100% you're not snagging is, dont go fishing...everyone has a strong personal opinion about this but its such a gray area...more an ethical question than anything else...i guess the debate will never end, now im actually kinda sorry i brought this topic up, it feels like im in a regular newsgroup, i bailed off the newsgroups long ago because of all the bickering when people turn a simple topic into a personal issue, we might as well be talking politics here, it would go over just as well.

consider this...

scenario #1 - you are drifting a corkie or whatever, and your lead bumps a rock in a funny way, seems like a fish pulling at it and makes you think "fish", so you set the hook. at that same moment a fish is swimming next to your bait and is uninterested in your offering but is so close that when you set the hook, the hook sweeps across and into the mouth, and you proceed to land the fish.

scenario #2 - you are drifting, a fish sees your corkie from across the river and beelines at it, the water is colored so you cant see the fish coming. it takes your corkie in it's mouth and turns to run, you feel the take and go to set the hook. a split second before you can set the hook, the fish opens its mouth to get a better grip on your bait and rolls around to head back where it was holding, wrapping the line around itself. on the hookset, the hook slips out of its mouth and down its body, hooking the fish in the belly. you then land this belly hooked fish.

without seeing what was going on under the water, how would you be able to tell with absolute certainty whether or not you had legally and honestly fooled the fish?