Been doing this for years. Partner is old guy like me. Recently had two lines out on Ray Roberts. Went to run lines 3 hours after baiting. Both lines gone, No trace they were ever there. Properly tagged and marked. Only boats we saw were a pontoon boat and a catfish guide boat checking holes nearby. Has anyone ever had this happen?

Bass anglers running a crank bait. Dollar to donuts the lines are still there. Just cut and laying on the bottom.


Red Flake mafia. Or blue flake.

Do not underestimate the low tendencies of catfish guides. You are fishing for the same fish they are, They consider their "holes" their personal fishing area and if you put a trotline in their area they will cut it. What sucks is the requirement to flag lines with floats which is a magnet for line checkers and unscrupulous guides. How did you have them set? Weights on both ends or tied off to timber?

Timber to timber , tagged with floats at each end. Understand about the holes. We would have gladly moved them if he had asked. Both were short lines (25 hooks) . Going again soon so will have to keep eye out.

I gave up on running lines from tree to tree. Generally a weight with a float on each end. That way my main line is on or very near the bottom. It is amazing how many bass fisherman will still cast right between the floats.

I stopped trotlining when the float and tag law was introduced. I knew what was going to happen and it ain’t worth the aggravation.

Let me just say that I know more guides that think they own the lake than those that don't.
Better be ready for a confrontation if you go back to the same spot.
You shouldn't have to worry, but these are different times.
Maybe go back with a boat load of rod and reels and a couple buddies and camp out right in the spot you set those lines. Good luck!

Same reason I quit jug fishing when I lived in Texas.

My ex father in law ran trotlines to help feed his family. The man didn't own a fishing pole for all I knew. He had an old 1950's v-hull aluminum boat. (14'?).


He'd catch grasshoppers on a Thursday. Run the lines Friday evening. Checked them Saturday. He wasn't out there enjoying the lake. He was out there to feed 5 kids. I remember when the label laws came out. He used a baby food jar with a piece of paper in it. He set off at McGregor park by the 36 long bridge. Tied to an old tree sticking out the water on the west side of Belton lake.


So for a person to cut his line. Well, that person would be the ultimate POS. Not knowing how much cutting the line would hurt others. Cutting a trotline is disgusting. Not something you wanna be caught doing. Definitely not by me.

Sadly, there are people who think they are the "law". I was taught in the 1980s, by one YC fisherman to attach your lines (trotlines & throwlines) underwater to prevent visibility. As others might run your lines & steal your fish. Or they might cut your lines.

I recall once on the Brazos River just upriver from a bridge, we headed out to check liners upstream. It seems somebody had run one throwline and left our line stretched out on the bank shortly before we arrived./ You could tell from the slime & stuff on one hook, that we had caught a catfish, but it was not on the hook. And there was no way the fish would have walked up on the bank & stretched the line out like that before getting off.

I even had one guy threaten to cut my trotlines (on Lake Limestone) here by way of PM on the Forum after I first joined in mid 2010.. Obviously, they thought they represented the "law" (their own).

I ran the Trinity River back in the early 1980s (1983-1986. I had one game warden who used to stop by as I was running my lines. We would chat & he would update me on the latest rules. In case the booklet did not clarify. I recall once, he was telling me about the new rule of putting one tag on one side of the trotline. He explained it would be better if you put one on each side. He gave an example of one case. He found a trotline on one side and there was no tag on the other side. But it was hung on the other side & he could not find the other side. So legally, he had to pull the line. But in the midst of him pulling it in, it got unhung, which finally led him to the other end which did have the one tag required. So, he piled the line over on that side, as it was a legal line.

He also advised me to tag my throwlines. Why? He said if he caught somebody else running my lines, he would run them in. Meaning he would fine them & may even arrest them.

In another episode, he shared one guy used to leave his boat near the bank. One day, he caught three guys in the boat & knew they were not the owner. He asked them several questions just to confirm his suspicions. He was correct, they basically had stolen the boat or decided to use it without permission. He arrested them.

Sadly, the rule makers (not the actual Game Wardens) created this last rule of marking your trotlines & throwlines with floats without understanding that those who enforce their own law (not Game Wardens), cut lines. Now, I do use fender floats with which I do put the tag information on them, but they are out on the main lake. These are my "Planter" design trotlines, not shallow water trotlines. I even conferred with local game wardens in the early 1980s to make sure they were legal back then. The Game Warden replied, "I don't see why not." Now, I will admit, there are Game Warden's who follow the "Letter" of the law, and there are those who follow the "spirit" of the law. But basically, all the Game Wardens are taught to enforce the rules, as properly applied to each situation. For the greater part, they are there to assist you, not out to get you.

Another note. I came up with what I call a Loopstake, consisting of a 2.5 to 3 foot stick of 3/8" rebar. I would put one end in a trailer ball hole of my pickup's heavy duty bumper & twist one end around to create a loop. I would then tie my lines to the loop & stab it into the ground or mud. Sadly, some used rebar & stabbed it in uprights to attach lines to. This is dangerous, if in the water just out of sight, especially with fiberglass boats, as they puncture the fiberglass hulls. I would always retrieve my loopstakes for future use. I would not leave them out. In fact, they worked well, if the river jumped up. I could with my 12 foot gaff, hook onto them & pull not only the loopstake, but the rest of my trotline without cutting any of it. I guess I need to bring that up to the rule makers as well.

My 12 foot gaff is composed of 1" PVC pipe, capped on both ends to hold air to float. on one end, I attach a "J" curved stick of rebar with 2 steel hose clamps. When you lower your gaff when the river jumps up, say 4 to 8 feet, and you smack the top of the loopstake, you hear & feel the Clang. Then you hook it at an angle & retrieve it. Of course, if you stuck it to an even or deeper level, in mud. Then you just hook under the main line close to the loopstake & hoist it up, saving your full line, when retrieving.

My "Planter" trotlines design can be set anywhere on a lake (as well as a river), but I suggest for it to operate at best efficiency, it needs to be 20 feet deep. I experimented in 14 to 16 feet of water and decided to use only in 20 feet depths or more. Lake Limestone is about 35 to 40 feet deep at my original chosen spot near the bottom of the lake in the old riverbed. One of the drawbacks though is one each end, there are 3.5 gallon buckets of concrete weighing 60 to 72 pounds. Planting them is not a problem, but hoisting them back up is a bit of a chore. My suggestion is use them when you plan to run it for some time, or be able to re-date to leave them out. You can always put the hooks in the "saddle" (loop of a barrel swivel) or remove the leaders. And they are best to use in the non-summer months. In other words, due to thermocline & lots of summer boats, I usually pull them just before Memorial day & don't set them out until late October thru mid November. The main run was usually the 4 day T-Day trip (Thanksgiving)

Happened to me. Few times too. I just chalk it up as part of the game. I won’t set them if I see people around me anymore. My grandfather(passed) used to tell me that was a good way to get shot when he was young. It’s a lot of time and work if you make your own.

Thanks for replies. will rebuild and regroup and keep on. This is what we do. Hopefully no more issues.

Trump is not hitler but razor back is a moron. how does it feel?

Who is razorback?