My last column gave detailed instructions for removing a string of stuck tools that cannot be pulled out with the drill line. The first of order of business with this fishing job involves cutting the drill line at the rope socket. I wrote about that in detail last time. With that done, we can proceed to grab the stuck tools with a fishing string and remove them.
Once you free the drilling line from the stuck tools, you attach it to a new socket. Some drillers prefer a solid socket for fishing, but experience tells me that a swivel socket works fine. Besides, once you retrieve the tools from the hole, you can attach the new socket to the formerly stuck tools and continue drilling.