Because that's what the silly law says.

By AK state statute:

Hooked elsewhere than the mouth = snagged

Attempting to hook a fish elsewhere than the mouth = snagging

...

"Snagged" in the mouth by WA criteria (no willful pursuit) is not "snagged" by AK criteria
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"Let every angler who loves to fish think what it would mean to him to find the fish were gone." (Zane Grey)

"If you don't kill them, they will spawn." (Carcassman)


The Keen Eye MD
Long Live the Kings!