there is no sport in any kind of set lines! unless you are a commercial fisherman, i see no need for anyone to use them! get a zebco and have some fun!!!!!!!!!!!

swimming is not allowed on Hubbard anywhere is it?

Tragedy is tragedy, regardless. In shallow waters, I set my lines (as to trotlines & throwlines) out underwater (as to being attached). This is due to keeping others from helping themselves with the fish you catch. If others would not run them for me, I would set the ends above water. I tag my trotlines, above in the deep & below in the shallow. I was probably one of the first to start tagging both ends of a trotline & tagging my throwlines. I was talking with one game warden on the Trinity River (below TX 21 bridge) & he told me a few tales & gave some very good advice (and it was not required items as to TPW laws or regulations). I heeded his advice.

No, I probably would not set them out real close to a pier. But then also, what about the people who constantly rod-n-reel at boat ramps & also let their kids unattended doing so? And swim too? Yet the signs are posted no swimming or fishing at or near boat ramp.


Speaking of another tragedy sometime back. A party was being held at the north end of the lake. Wind of it got to the authorities. In order to possibly slip in (by boat) unnoticed, in case there were drugs at the party, one lake ranger eased up near the party with boat lights off. And sadly killed a swimmer by running over them. Yes, a very real tragedy indeed.


Earlier this year, we had 2 of my "Planter" design trotlines removed from the bottom of the lake by a Lake Ranger & Game Warden. They were removed due to safety concerns. You see, the past 2 years, we have had several of our fender floats mowed & slashed. So in an effort to make them more visible for people to avoid them, plus make them easier for us to find at night or in rougher waves, we added some items. My uncle made up a 4" schedule 40 PVC pipe with caps on both ends, about 2 to 3' long. A stainless eyebolt was siliconed in the bottom cap to tie onto the anchor line. In order to make the buoy upright & stable, some concrete mix was added in the bottom. Then foam spray was added to fill to the top. The top was threaded for a 4' screw-in 1" schedule 40 PVC pipe filled with spray foam. We tied red streamers to it to make it visible, as my uncle got the wrong tape & spray paint (not flourescent) by accident. We had 2 trotlines, so 3 ends had these cylinders, along with the fender floats. The other end had the initial proto type of a huge rectangular PVC frame with a 4' stand pipe. This was way too costly & bulky, so he opted for the cylinders which still were not cheap.

Well, the safety concerns were that they may damage a boat, whether it was an accident (not seen) or even deliberately on purpose, as well as hurting or maiming a skier, be it by accident (not seeing it due to boat waves) or intentionally. And if they would have hit it with major damages (boat or skier), we could have been sued, as well as ticketed.

So, while we made it more obvious & better seen, it still might not have been seen in certain conditions, it actually made it much more dangerous. Of which we had not thought of. So we have avoided future tragedies by the qwik thinking of the Lake Ranger & Game Warden. And we retrieved most of our gear from the River Authority. And from now on, we will stick to fender floats for the "Planter" trotlines & jugs for juglines. No hard PVC period!

I was told by the Lake Ranger that safety is a very big issue on the lakes nowadays. Especially as traffic gets heavier on the lakes.

well, this is very sad indeed. i like most bass fishermen find trotlines to be a pain sometimes. however, i respect the rights of anyone setting these lines as i have done some in the past. in this case, it just seems a new rule is in order to keep fishermen from putting them too close to public access areas. yes, it was not such a good idea to put one that close to a pier in a city park, but he was well within his rights i believe. all i can say is, prayers to the family of the victim and think a little safety when fishing in this way.

Sadly life is filled with tragedies. The recent week brought I think 6 drowned in the Red River. Obviously the kids (& adults ?) could not swim as they must have stepped off a ledge & the family on the bank there could not swim so they watched tragically. I see both sides to that. Why were the 6 out there if they could not swim? And would it have been better to try & save any? But could it have been even worse to add to the the body count by trying?

WOW! ... now that's a snobby opinion ... thanks men, it takes all kinds

IT does kinda sound like "lets forget all petty arguements and minor controversys and do it my way" Dont it Albert

heycods these gents hated setlines way before this feller drowned ... their hatred prolly started back when they was bassers

i think my uncle said it happened in san angelo 2 weeks back too.

Liability from a tagged jugline is why I never leave them unattended. I never run trotlines for personal safety and convience reasons. So from a jugline perspective think about this...to be legal...you got to be tagged. Now I have always been concerned that my jugline would get cut or somehow lose the weight...and I wouldn't be able to find the jug and then get a ticket in the mail a couple of months later...probably not too likely...but a concern none the less. A bigger concern would be that some pleasure boat would run it over and get it wound up in their prop and then they would have my name and address. I don't think they would have a prayer of making a successful legal argument should any damage result, but that doesn't mean they wouldn't try to sue you.

A catfishin' friend of mine & old school buddy (from grade school) asked a Game Warden over at Lake Somerville, where he (my friend) has a place & fishes by setting jugs out for cats. His concern was when you set jugs out & they vanish, does this mean you can't set out any more if you had your limit out (100 hooks per person). In this scenario, 20 jugs with 5 hooks each is 100 hooks.

The GW's reply was that if it is gone & you cannot find it after a reasonable search, then obviously it is gone. Therefore you can set out a replacement.

I am sure if it resurfaces & you find it later, you can retrieve your gear. But as for jugs, you do not want something of hard material, such as hard PVC pipes. Now if you set some of these out in a No Wake Zone, there should be no problem. Unless of course a fair size cat heads out in deeper waters & a big boat hits it & it causes major damage.

One of the 2 Lake Rangers at Lake Limestone told me that the TPW rules do not state exactly what your white floating device must or must not be made of. But he recommended a soft jug, nothing hard like PVC, especially like the ones we had on our trotlines, because of safety concerns. While we trying to make them more visible to cut down on people hitting them, we had made them very dangerous if someone still had hit them, be it due to horseplay, deliberate, rough waves, sun or reflection, and so on.

Back when they first started requiring one tag on one side of a trotline, I was probably one of the first back in the early 1980s to put a tag on each side due to an experience a Game Warden had & told me of. Plus he also told me another one, which probably made me the first one to tag my throwlines as well.

I have always tried to stay up to date & on good terms & friends with the Game Wardens wherever I fish, be it the rivers or lakes. They have a wealth of helpful information to share & can help to explain why certain rules are in place, enough for you to understand why. I got one blemish this year due to the PVC floats & safety concerns, so I guess I can accept it seein' as how I have not had one since the early 1970s when we were teenagers. Not bad, one every 40 years. But still one too many for me.


But as to this tragedy, I doubt if I would ever have set a line out near a pier, even if it had posted signs saying no swimmimg, as I know eventually some idiot will be getting in the water regardless, sooner or later.

+1