A catch tool for retrieval of a well column pipe having a pipe wall, the catch tool incorporating a fork having a pair of spaced tines; and a pair of clamping pivot arms connected operatively to the fork, the clamping arms being adapted for, upon the receipt by the tines of the pipe wall, grasping the pipe wall; the clamping arms having proximal and distal ends, the arms being adapted for pivoting movements between first and second positions, the arms' distal ends being displaced away from each other a distance less than the pipe wall's thickness dimension while in the first position, and being carried by the pipe wall to their second positions.