Trotline questions for those who know:

I'm building up a couple of small trotlines. Main line with swivels every 5', to which I have trotline leader clips that I'll attach the hook leaders with.

Questions: Is 5' apart long enough between hooks? Do you weight the individual hook leaders? I was obviously planning on putting something heavy (brick, etc) at the end of the mainline, but what weight is appropriate?

Thanks.

Look for a post I made some time ago, it was good information on trotlining

How many hooks. If your making short lines with 5 hooks or less that dont require a gear tag, I spaced mine on 14'. Takes less bait and gars and turtles dont run down your lines stripping bait as bad. I use lots of 5 hook lines is specific spots, when targeting the yellows. My long lines for blues and channels are spaced on 6' and usually are 25 hook lines.

Yep, I was missing some info. I built two lines, each with a dozen hooks. So I guess they are about 70 feet long, with about 10 feet from each end to the first hook.

Riverrat - I'll find your post, thanks.

I was surprised to see that the law limits you to just one trotline. I always thought it was 100 hooks total in any combination of setups.

Tony - I checked the TPWD site at the following link and found that the 1 trotline limit is for saltwater only.

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/publications/annual/fish/legal_devices/

100 hooks total is an oklahoma regulation

5' i probably about right. i made a trotline that has 50 hooks with each hook just a bit over 3' from each other. the line is about 200' long. the hooks are really too close together so i think you are about right.

man I have run many a trout line in my time in the swamps... the distance between hooks is only really limited to how long your lines are and what size fish you expect to catch... .and that is only to keep them from tangling each other. at 5' apart if you are using 3' lines you are hosed.... if you put them 6 ft apart and you leave slack in the main line and you catch a big gar.. you are hosed.

just make sure you mark it good so others know you have it .. put some 2 liter bottles on it and paint them red or something..

btw.. if you don't have a long run of clear water.. you can also tie a big leader ot those 2 liter bottles and make jug lines.. . just becomes interesting if the fish takes off with it.. have to hunt them down in the marsh..

IMO 20-25# is minimum.

if i am setting a line out in open water i use a 5 gallon bucket full of concrete on each end for a weight ... on those open water lines i put my hooks 10-12 ft apart & put a weight & float between every 3rd or 4th hook to keep it suspended off bottom

in a creek or a protected cove i adjust the hook distance & end weights & may tie one end to a tree

Thanks all. I'd like to get these out there with some frequency, I'm just too far from good lakes. Living by Joe Pool Lake doesn't provide good catfishing very close.

I need a couple trips in one weekend to Ray Hubbard/Tawakoni for this to work... maybe over the holidays...

Thanks again.

Rooster,

I'd never tried weighting each drop line but I met my dad up at lake Tenkiller over Memorial day weekend and he had some drop lines that he'd made using leader wire and had a 1/4 oz egg sinker on each one. I couldn't really tell that it helped or hurt either way. 1/4 oz on 25 hooks isn't enough weigh (not even 1/2 pound) to make that much difference. Although it did keep the drop lines from wrapping around the main line.

100 hooks is a Texas law also.In the outdoor annual, page 33. Quote, In freshwater only, it is unlawful to fish with more than 100 hooks on all devices combined. PAGE 35 tells you only 50 hooks on 1 trotline. I usually run 25 hooks per trotline.