Gotta watch out when putting set lines out near a river mouth in early spring. Lot's of boat traffic trying to get to the sandbass can get your line run, tore up, or cut out of meaness.

+1
Great fishin location = dam near impossible to keep a trotline in one piece. Unless you are fishin on private waters, all the prep and hard work that goes into a really good trotline just aint hardly worth it these days.

That's why I gave it up for Rod and Reel. I've got between 10-20 hooks in the water where ever the boat is at any given time.

I only get to go lining once maybe twice a year now but havent forgoten what i learned when I went more often. We fish max twice a year and catch enough fish to feed about 600 pluss folks. We do a couple fish fries for our church, and family parties throughout the year, past that i like to get something to bend my pole. Always chasin the yellas and out of my clan(family) we catch by far the most yellas we dont run more than 30 hooks and dont run jugs much, to easily stolen.

matt

my suggestion.....be sure and leave enough slack so that i can cut it without getting my pocket knife in the water! i get highly bothered when i get hung on someones set line........

Guess what... We get highly bothered when you get hung up on our set lines too...

You, Sir, are a rabble-rouser! Slap-slap! I challenge you to a duel.

+ 100 pyleofcats

pm me djdoubl3j if you want to know how rig the staggings..


If you used a tree on one end you should have had alot of straighten out hooks if your catching big ones on a reg bases.....

Very good info the best desription I've heard it may sound like a lot of work
(aka as doing it right) but it works and will hold when something big get hooked and it does fish 24/7/365 with the J-style hooks suspened off the bottom a few inches with the hook tied correctly...but most inportant is you have to put it where the big fish travel.levey road beds, creek channels..big cats often follow the same paths over and over and when you catch really big one you'll catch more big ones within a hook or 2 of the other...now days I would use circles hooks to avoid gut hooking and however you wont "snag" any but the catch to miss ratio will go up.. pyleofcats didn't mention that you need quite a bit of extra line at least 2x the water depth between the rock and the first hook so you have enough stretch to be able to pull it to the top to run it .....If you don't put it out "invisble" to other fisheman and us a drag hook to retrive it with, someone will run it for you,,It happens all the time unless you hide it (totaly under water)

These were all caught set on trees, no bent hooks no lost fish and no concrete!

You ever wonder why trucks run better now than they did in the 1960's... it because we learned thats why you can set a trotline without 3 sack of concrete and half a home depot too!






My method seems to work too, with a fraction of the cost and added weight and stuff to drag along. Gives me more time to catch pearch and bullheads.

matt

everyone has their own way of "cacthing the most fish" when it comes to a trotline. In my experience using a hook to find your line is very good. If it is hard for you to find and snag chances are all those low lives that check other peoples lines will have a hard time finding it as well. The floats that are underwater help take the fight out of the fish. They are fighting the floats and not just a taunt line, which could lead to them geating of the line. My way is not the fix all as well, I just know if I want to check my line every three days or so my fish are still waiting for me.

those are great looking fish redchevy...but I just can't help but wonder how much more fun you would have catching them on rod and reel....i mean, is there really sport to set lines? just wondering what the thrill could be. I know it is a good way to stock the freezer but they make catfish farms for that too....not trying to stir the pot just have always wondered these things (i drive a blue FORD ironicly)

Nice fish redchevy
I learn something new every day and alot of the new ways are great,But it's hard to change when something has worked so well for so long.......to each his own ...very nice cats ...

Yeah I drive a maroon dodge... go figure!

You are doing nothing but stiring the pot and you know it, but I dont care, I do have fun fishing set lines, but enjoy pole fishing as well.

My best rod and real cat went 48 and I love pole fishing but set lines is something I did with my grandpa and learned through the years with my brother and will keep doing it.

cool....i loved fishin with my grand paw too! God Bless