Abstract: A hydraulic junk retriever having a tubular mandrel for connection and communication with a drill pipe and rotatably suspending an elongate cylindrical housing within a well bore. A flow passage in the upper end of the housing communicates with bore of the mandrel and has one or more ports extending outwardly at a tangent to the cylindrical interior of the passage for discharging or jetting drilling fluid under pressure tangentially into the well bore so as to impart rotation to said housing and centrifugal force to the drilling fluid. Preferably, the tangential discharge ports are downwardly inclined whereby the circular motion of the fluid becomes helical so as to direct said fluid to the bottom of the well bore at which the lower end of the housing is disposed.