I found my trot line and finally living some place that I can legally use it. I bought it when I was on vacation in Ar. but lived in California. now I live in central Tx and was reading the regs and was wandering what ya'll use for gear tags and if I really needed a boat to use my line. I know a boat would be best but I'm just the avg paycheck to paycheck soldier. any recomendations friends?

Cut a white plastic bleach bottle into squares and write your info on it with a sharpie. Punch a hole in the square so you can tie it to your line. Secure it within three feet of your first hook.

outstanding! thanks.

Cut up milk jug or even an aluminum can bottom will work in a pinch. Just something that is water proof and you can write on with a sharpie.

back when my kids were small we used to camp a lot ... i used to set 2 short lines in waist deep to chest deep water ... caught lotsa fish that way

If you are going to set your line in shallow water, PLEASE mark it with floats. Most fisherman I know will then stay away from your Line.



THANK YOU FOR YOU SERVICE TO YOUR COUNTRY AND GOD BLESS AND PROTECT YOU

And within 3 feet of the last hook also.

Chris, that's 3 feet form the last hook on both ends of the line. I agree with Trapper. If your shore bound fishing shallow you'd better mark your line good with several floats. Being that they will be in a straight line surely the trotline cutting bass boys will knwo to go around the line.
Brad thank you for serving your/our country. I guarantee that the guys on this forum will help you out any way they can.
We used to take a small clear coke bottle, write our info on a piece of paper, roll it up and put it in the bottle. The paper will unroll and yo can see it through the bottle. Then later my brother found some actual aluminum gear tags that when you wrote on it with a ball point pen it indented the info into the tag. They worked great.

when i usta wade lines out, i set'um in front of my camp

BTW some good basser type folks think that a marked line is just a target ... back in the 60's when i was trotlinin' with my dad, it got so bad that he & some of his friends had to stop marking their lines for a while just to try & keep folks off of it

I use drink tops from the fast food place I stop at on the way to the lake. Write on it with a sharpie and slip the straw opening on the line.