A drilling operation that involves recovering small equipment, drill pipe, drill collars, or whole string of pipe that may be lost or stuck in an oilwell. The operation requires various catch tools, fishing string accessories, and wireline devices to survey and separate frozen strings of pipe.
Successful fishing is a combination of the right tools, the right decision, and a fisherman who knows how to attach the fish and bring it to the surface. A general rule-of-thumb; when the cost of fishing approaches 50% of the cost to cement and side tract, the operator will usually go for it.