Definition
Overshot — An overshot is an external-catch fishing tool that slips over the top of a fish and grips its outer surface with a spiral grapple, allowing the operator to pull, jar, and recover the fish, and to release it if it cannot be freed.
Also known as: overshot, releasing overshot, external catch tool
How an overshot works
An overshot is the workhorse of external-catch fishing. It is run over the top of a fish so that an internal grapple — a spiral or basket gripping element — bites the outside of the fish when pull is applied. A packing element seals around the fish so circulation can be established. The harder the operator pulls, the tighter the grapple grips, giving a secure hold for pulling, jarring, and rotating.
Releasing and sizing
A key feature is that the overshot is releasing: by rotating and jarring down, the operator can disengage the grapple to reposition or to abandon the catch if the fish will not come free. Overshots are sized to the fish outside diameter, with a bowl and grapple set selected for either full-strength or slim-hole catches, and a guide on the bottom to help stab over an off-center or damaged fish top.
Why it matters for rentals
The correct bowl, grapple, and guide combination depends entirely on the fish dimensions, so a range of sizes is needed on short notice.
Our fishing tools include overshots and grapple sets for rental — contact us with your fish OD and we’ll dress the right overshot.