old trot lines

[gator]

last year me and ole gator gar went up to livingston at white rock creek. well to say this is a trotlining area is like saying Jesus was a good christian man. there are about 1,000 old, abandoned ,not marked legally trot lines. got me to thinking. about what they do with old crab traps. some may agree some may not but even if its 20 years old and not marked its still illegal to remove it. i would like to see a week were they are not allowed to run lines no jugs no trot lines. at least a weekend so we can get some of these hazards out of there.

heres a email i got back
Hey Thomas,



It’s nice to hear from you. We have an ongoing special research project at Lakes Lewisville, Richland Chambers, and Waco which is trying to quantify seasonal jug line effort by catfish anglers. While our biologists and technicians are out enumerating jug lines, they have encountered numerous out-dated/poorly-marked trotlines that we presume are abandoned. We agree with you that this form of litter is a human safety risk as well as an environmental issue. We’ve discussed the possibility of borrowing ideas from the crab-trap-removal program our coastal staff have employed with great success. Thank you for your feedback and suggested solution. I especially like your idea of enabling anglers under very specific circumstances the approval to assist in the removal of these abandoned trotlines, as you can guess our agency’s manpower is limited. I can assure you that we will discuss at future Inland Fisheries staff meetings potential best practices for the removal of abandoned passive angling gear from our inland waters.



On another subject, do you ever jug-line fish for blue catfish on any of the three reservoirs listed above? If so, we would like to send you a survey to learn about your practices and perceptions concerning jug-lining for catfish.



Craig Bonds

TPWD, Inland Fisheries Region 3 Director

11810 FM 848

Tyler, TX 75707

903.566.1615 ext. 202

[email protected]

From: Thomas Cook [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Monday, March 23, 2009 1:23 PM
To: Craig Bonds
Subject: question



mr. bonds i meet you down here in liberty at the meeting the other day. i was the big guy with a beard. i sat down with you and danny game warden down stairs before the meeting. can you point me in the direction of who i should talk to. my question is, there is a rule that a certain week there can be no crab traps in the bays system. this is great allows those of us to get rid of abandoned traps. i would love to see the state to start the same for our lakes. i would suggest a summer time but don't really matter.
what got me to thinking of it was me and a buddy were up on livingston were white rock creek hits the river. this place has tons of trot lines and a bunch that have'nt been in use for a long time. we found a bunch one day by chunking drifting jugs most got tangled in old trot lines not marked. pass a law that on a certain say friday till next friday no trot lines if one is found it would be legal to remove by the public.
thanks thomas cook

[UFgatorHarv]

My point exactly in a previous thread. I know many people vociferously disagreed w/ me, but they are old, unmarked, and clearly abandoned, I cut.

[TXNewbie]

I would have to agree. It makes it hard for everyone who wants to do it the right way and then leave it for someone else to enjoy.

I try to remove anything we find on the bank or get tagled with when we go fishing. I am trying to teach this to my son as well.

[heycods]

I run 5 hook trotlines, HJook spacing of 15'. I dont tag the lines. Law dosent require it as they are concidered throw lines. I use 1/4" braided lines with 8/0 brass swivels . To say my lines are expensive to build is an understatement. Please dont cut my lines out of stupidity, they are legal.

[gator gar]

I run 5 hook trotlines, Hook spacing of 15'. I dont tag the lines. Law dosent require it as they are concidered throw lines. I use 1/4" braided lines with 8/0 brass swivels . To say my lines are expensive to build is an understatement. Please dont cut my lines out of stupidity, they are legal.

My 4/0 swivels are expensive. I can't imagine what a pile of 8/0 swivels would cost. That is a heck of a way to legally hide them. To a regular trot liner, it would be like finding gold, if he or she ran up on your lines.

I'd keep them hid too. You couldn't afford not to. Oh and that is a brilliant idea you came up with,on your long throw lines and still staying legal.

[UFgatorHarv]

I run 5 hook trotlines, HJook spacing of 15'. I dont tag the lines. Law dosent require it as they are concidered throw lines. I use 1/4" braided lines with 8/0 brass swivels . To say my lines are expensive to build is an understatement. Please dont cut my lines out of stupidity, they are legal.

Wow, some of you people are just incredible. Now I've been called stupid. Adios fishingtx.

[heycods]

Acutally I typed in S T U P I D I T Y and that little thingie jumped up. I wasnt calling anyone stupid, (it done it again, Guess I have to say s t u p i d) Just saying Dont go cuting lines just because of not reading the Parks and Wildlife rules.
Easy boy . I think I probably didnt word it properly. I was just trying to make a point.
And yes I hide my lines, Gator G . Around here during a bass tournament they become history regularly. I tie below water level and weight them a few ft fom the tie. I put about 50 ft of 1800# mule tap on the other end and a BIG (100# at least) rock to anchor, that way when running in a strong wind the boat wont move my anchor.
Sometimes my lines are out over a month, it saves having an improper dated line.

[irfishyir2]

heycods, what did ya say those co-ordinates on your trot lines were?

[gator]

missing the point
need a few days to get peoples, unused, left behind, forgot lines out of the water cutting someone else is line or taking someones jug is not okay at all anytime. now telling everyone you want your equipment get it out this week cause were gonna get the left overs out of here.

[heycods]

You want a pix of my line grapple Gator? Your gona need a good one. I built some to catch my cut lines that dont pick up limbs and trees and junk verry bad.

[gator gar]

heycods, what did ya say those co-ordinates on your trot lines were?

Heycods don't use trotlines, he uses throw lines. Real long throw lines.:applause:

[ewwilli2tx]

The way I see it is if your jug gets caught up in an abandoned trot line like mine has done before then i usually cut it. But I will not just go out set on cutting them. If i lift it out of hte water and the hooks are rusted off and there are noweights lefts on it then apparently it has been there for several years abandoned. These things can be dangerous to people pulling up their jugs if it is hook on one. Some of them are so tight that when you try and unhook it you either get your own hook in your hand or potentially one from the slimy rusted up trot line. If the line appears to still be in use i will release it back into the water and not disturb it. But as I said if it is clearly very old and abandoned and not labeled then cut it.

[FlippinCrazy]

Well I myself can see some feedback on both sides of the fence on this, Being a bass chaser I come across " Hidden " trot lines all the time, If they are not marked and my lure has snagged it I will get my lure back even if I have to cut it. As far as the legal throw line I would question that because it seems a liitle shady to me Thats a GRAY area and reguardless if it is legal, its a pain in the arse to get hung up in them, Simply put you mark any kind of line I dont throw any thing by them for the reason of getting hung up
I also know an older gentleman that stretches his lines, I help him once a year and keeps them out all year and one might think they are old an abandoned but they aint he has bad spells with his health that might keep him off the lake for a month or so a they can get slime on them

Like I said I can see both sides but I think some more thought needs to be put in on this topic My honest opinion is all the w/end anglers come up on the w/end with all thier TROT THROW JUGS SNAG and every other line you can think of and when they get ready to pack up and go back home they leave all these lines behind, they pull the tag and they aint responsible ( or so they think) Figure out a way to regulate those arse holes and I think your problem would be solved Just my 2 cents

[Ole Bill]

i guess only a few of us can read and understand what gator is talking about. this isnt subject to what you use or if it is legal or not its about old i say again old rusty moss covered trot lines that have definatley been abandoned and that one week out of the year all lines must be hauled out or the officials will cut them and i dont think anyone is gonna argue with them. if your lines are legal that means they wont be in the water that week just like crab traps in the bay. its time that those who trot line will have to pick up their line at least once a year so that all the old abandoned lines can be legally removed that calls for everyones assistance. also i wouldnt mind giving up jugging as an incentive to getting the trot liners to comply by saying no types of trotlines throw lines or multi hooked or floating jug line during that week. that way no one can say it is unfair.

[gator]

thats it bill just a weekend where nothing can be left if its there clean it out. it sure helps keeping down on abandoned crab traps

[gator gar]

thats it bill just a weekend where nothing can be left if its there clean it out. it sure helps keeping down on abandoned crab traps


That sounds goood to me too. I'd be the first one out there with a grapple to start dragging my favorite holes. There is no telling what one could drag up out there.

It would be a week where everyone could pull their lines out of the water and maybe do some maintenance on them. I'd be willing to quit jugging that week too..

Don't sound like such a bad idea, as long as everyone is on the same page.

[dwaynez]

Those cleanups are a good idea, it's a safety thing not a personal thing against anyone.

I have taken part in a lake cleanup before and it makes a world of difference.