trot line skills

[slabmaster]

it takes more skill to properly build, set bait and run a real trot line than it does to throw a dead shad out on a spinning reel and set there till your butt goes to sleep waitin for a bite. this is my opinion . tell me yours

[Wolfman]

First off you don't just tie a bunch of hooks and a couple of rocks to a long line and expect to catch fish(some think so).
You got a lot to consider such as main line tension so the fish sets the hook when he runs with the bait.
Main line strength so if you load up the line with fish or a passing log or stump it don't break easily. You got to be able to get it back up even if it's hooked to a log or the bottom.
Durability. It has to stand up to wear and tear of stuff rubbing against it in the water plus what the water itself does to it.

Then you got your hook stringers. Same durability problems as the main line plus you got the extra wear and tear of cats spinning on them and rubbing against them.
Swivels worked into the hook stringers where the lines wont twist and the knots wont come undone.
Then how you attach your hook stringers to the mian line, wheather it be simple knots or trotline clips.
Spaceing so they don't tangle and length so you get em down where you want em after you drop the line.

Your weight lines attached to the mian line to take the line down to the prefered depth and add some tension to the main line so the cats hook themselves easier.
To shallow you catch a lot of floating junk plus run the risk of passing boats cutting your line. To deep and your hooks/baits end up on the bottom to catch turtles, rocks, logs or nothing at all.
Wrong tension on the mian line, wrong strength main line and to short a weight stringer and you can snap your own line.

Baits simple. Perch, crawdads, liver, basicly the same stuff you would use for rod fishing. Live bait usualy works much better though as cats will take it harder(faster) which means they usualy hook themselves better then if they slowly nibbled on it.

Hooks. Got to be sized to the size of catfish your targeting plus they have to be durable and strong. Got to stand up to long emersion(sp) in the water for days, not hours at a time. Got to be strong enough to hold a big cat if you catch one but not so big the cats can't get em in their mouth to hook themselves.
You also have to be able to straighten them out if you hook a rock ledge or log on the bottom or a floating log or stump gets hooked so it don't take your whole line. To light and the cats bend/break em off.

And that takes care of the Easy parts.
Now you got to look the water over and find a good productive looking spot you feel you can set a line and leave it for several days at a time AND catch fish!
It also has tobe in a spot you can work the line without adding extreme danger to yourself when running it. It needs some current but to much current and you can have real problems running it and/or with driftwood ect.
Plus you have to be able to keep it away from passing boat props PLUS hide it so the low life scum that cut em or run em for you can't find em.
Then find a root ect on the bank to tie it off to under water to keep it out of sight and thats solid.

You've got to pick a productive spot or no matter how good the line is and bait you wont catch cats if cats don't feed there. You don't/can't just set a trotline just anywhere and catch fish.
Theres to much expense time and work involved to just toss em hither and yon and expect to catch fish.
Plus their a LOT more dangerous then rod n reel fishing!
Your much more likely to take a LARGE hook through the hand/arm/leg ect trotlineing. If your just setting up you can still get pulled out of the boat and drowned even without the weights attached. Plus it HURTS!
If it's as your baiting or running it to remove cats(especialy running it) your even more likely to get hooked, dragged in and drowned. You get hooked with a rod you lay it down and cut it out. You get hooked with a trotline you got problems that can get quite big pretty fast.

Trotlineing is a whole nother world from rod n reel fishing. You got to be able to read the water well and know your catfish and favorite haunts. You can't just toss a bait out in a likely looking spot then move 30 minutes later. Trotlineing takes time, costs more and takes more skill in several ways then rod fishing.
It's one reason theres so many more rod fishermen then trotliners. If it was easy n cheap everybody would be doing it.

[slabmaster]

you bout covered it all . it sounds pretty simple to me. i have heard people talk of 20 - 50 buccks for a trot line . you cant even touch a box of good s.s. hooks for 20 bucks that i know of

[Wolfman]

Well if your lucky and frugal you can get some good line on sale during the off season for 5 or 6 bucks.
Good stainless steel hooks even on sale will run you around 10-12 bucks for 50.
Then a roll of smaller stageing for weight and hook stringers is another 3 or 4 bucks on sale.
swivels, figure 10-12 bucks on sale for enough for a trotline.

Thats 34 bucks for a small 'decent line.'
Toss in trotline clips and your going to add another 10-12 bucks anyway.

Now for a GOOD line your talking 20 bucks for the main line,20 bucks for good hooks, 8 bucks for weight lines, 6-8 bucks for hook stringers, 20 bucks for good ball swivels, another 20 bucks for clips. Now add in about 5 or 6 hours getting the swivels, clips, stringers and hooks as setup at say 5 bucks an hour...lol
another couple of hours setting out the line.

We will use river rocks for weights so we don't have the cost of old weights from a weight set or window sash weights or makeing weights from cans n concrete. This still leaves us around
$96 bucks for materials and another 40 for labour...lol And thats still cheap. Top of the line materials for a serious trotline you could easily put $200 bucks into it without labour.

[Sinker]

The good part is ya still got yer stuff next year, if ya got sense enuff ta take care of it. Dry that line when yer done fer awhile. I keep mine on a roller made for extension cords. I roll it out in the yard to dry then roll it back up, clean and dry. I keep it in the shed til next time. Then all I gotta do is stretch it where I want it and re-attach hooks and bait up. I been trotlinin longer than r&r so it is more productive for me. Anyway it is as long as they're left alone! We either had a little help this morning or circle hooks make a world of difference cause that's where the fish were.......on the line I put circles on. We had slimed lines on the others but only one fish.

[Wolfman]

Im not likeing circle hooks on my rods, to many missed fish. But im thinking about trying them on the trot/limb/jug lines if i ever get to go fishing again.

Ive got one trotline dad and i have been setting since i was about 10 years old...lol
I've caught some stuff on sale at wal-mart the last couple of years to make up a couple more to go with the two or three i already have.

[Whiskers]

I need to find some big circles for my lines.I can't seem to find anything bigger than a 4/0 5/0 around here.I have some of those the ole lady and Cooder do pretty well with em on a pole but I don't.

[Wolfman]

Bass Pro is the only place ive found with circles bit enough for trots/limb lines. Pretty much for rods to unless you like the small ones. Pricey to.

[Sinker]

I RILLY like'm! I never was the best at knowing when ta set th hook. Now I don't worry about nibbles an such, I wait til they make up their mind ta buy an lift a little as I start reeling. I try ta imitate the way a trotline works. And they DO work on the trotline. One fish gone outa 15 on. Half the baits gone as with J's. There is hardly any current, so its touchy ta get th line tight enuff without lifting. Haven't had any live bait yet. I'd like ta get in some individual sets with good size perch as soon as possible. I'll have a little time fer such soon.

[Sinker]

Gittin back to Slab's original thought, there is another aspect ta 'linin we don't talk about much. Now it takes confidence ta wait patiently fer a fish ta bite no matter what style fishin ya do. 'Linin an takin yer eye off things fer up ta 24 hours takes a helluva lot more!

[Wolfman]

Mucho Pataince Senor...lol
I know guys that wonder why they never catch much of just catch dinks that are always pilfering with their lines. Running them every couple of hours.
I usualy run my lines right before dark if ive had em baited during the day(and usualy do), run em again about midnight then before first light. Same with my limb lines though i may make a pass by during the day to see if a limbs jumping.

[Sinker]

Been a time er two I've took a fish offa line that I don't think woulda stayed on til mornin!

[Wolfman]

I kinda like to remove temptation for the fish stealers and keep an eye on my lines as well. make sure someone is'nt helping themselves to all my hard work. has a tendancy to make me mean!...lol

[Hoot]

SLABMASTER, I INJOY WHEN SINKER AND I SET OUT THE TROT LINES, IT'S SOOOOOOOO AWSOME TA SEE MORE THAN ONE OR TWO FISH IN THE BOAT WITH US, BUT I ALOS LIKE TA TAKE MY POLE, BAIT UP, AND SET THERE AND WAIT FER THE FISH TA BITE. I GET ALL EXCITED, WHEN I SEE THAT CATFISH DANGLIN FROM THE END OF MY POLE. ;D

[slabmaster]

i bait my line at sunset and run it at dawn. catch bait during the day. hoot i love to rod and reel fish and i love to trot line.