Thread: Trotlines

Do they still cut your lines even when they are marked legally (Texas, tag on both ends no further than 3' away from the first hook) with your name and address and the date it was set. This tag is good for 30 days of fishing.

Yea, some folks really don't care and I even had a bass angler tell me that I was setting a line in his bass fishing area and it would probably get cut. I told him that it was legal with tags and that I had his TX number down and if it were to be cut, I'd call and report him to the game warden. My lines were left alone for my entire week stay and I hammered the catfish on that ridge!

Chris

I only fish trot lines in the river so I rarely ever mark mine even though your supposed too. I put them out in the afternoon and take them up @ daylight so I usually dont have a problem with bass fishermen @ night. Mine are homemade rigs though, just have a #72 size nylon twine for the line and tie one end to the bank and the other end to a half full feed sack of sand. Then I go back and tie on my hooks with a slip knot. For weights we take paper cups and fill them with cement and stick a old horse shoe(fence wire) nail in it and then tie ya a line on it. Does just right in the slow running river here in south ga. For bait we seine minnows off of the sandbars @ night. Tried everything in the book but nothings better than the minnows. I guess thats what they eat everyday so they like it best.

If trotlines aren't marked in Texas, game wardens will cut them or set up off of them and wait for the person to run them...then they are issued a citation, and it they have fish, it starts adding up even more. This is where so many anglers, and not bass anglers either, but all, get fed up with trotlines that are set illegally and take it that "trotliners" don't care about the regulations and this gives us a bad name.

Not only will they cut those lines, but let them sink to the bottom and not worry about it from then on...only thing though, in Texas, if you handle an illegally marked line, you are then fishing it. The game warden will cite anyone who is handling an illegal piece of equipment.

We should strive to set an example for others, especially our youth with good ethics and abide by the law.

My .02

Dang, your wardens must be alot tougher than ours here in south ga. The main reason I dont mark mine is that there is alot of low lifes around here that might slip in on them and check them for me while I'm sleeping. And I know every curve in the river I fish and can remember exactly where I put ever line so no need to mark. I've saw wardens on the river before but they've never checked my lines to see if I was marking them. I fish a very old fashion trot line that my great grandfather did in the late 1800's so they know I'm not doint anything illegal. I think the only thing the wardens patrol around here is "telephoners" or "shocking fish". They will bust people for that.

If I ran trot lines in the lakes I would mark them b/c I know they get patroled alot more and the wardens on them are probably a little harder on the regs but in the river I dont worry about it. Its not like a marker is going to help me catch more or less fish ya know.

Do you guys have a limit on catfish out there? Here there is no limit and you can catch just as many as your boat can hold. I guess that has alot to do with why they dont patrol trot lines to much. Also, not very many people around here run real trot lines like I do. They may run small side lines with 8-10 hooks on them but then they'll bait them with soap or something weird. Not many run lines out across the river. For some reason most people think they stay up beside the bank and not way out in the middle of the river.

I went friday night and caught 230 lbs channel cats with a few flatheads mixed in.

If the regulations state that your line(s) must be marked, then that is something each and everyone of us is required to do. Since you rarely mark your lines due to this,The main reason I dont mark mine is that there is alot of low lifes around here that might slip in on them and check them for me while I'm sleeping. And I know every curve in the river I fish and can remember exactly where I put ever line so no need to mark. then you're fishing illegally!

Regardless where you're fishing, as long as it's in public waters and your state/water body regulates that trotlines must be marked, then it shouldn't make a bit of difference where you are setting your lines. This is against all individuals that strive so hard to make the most relaxing, enjoyable, shared outdoor activity legal and welcomed in everyones eyes and keep it that way, to have someone like yourself committing a game violation and not think much of it. But then again, some folks will do what they want...sooner or later, it comes around full circle.

Well, its not like i'm fishin with dynamite or anything. If it made a difference in the fishing to where I was getting a unfair advantage over others then I would mark my lines. And if there was alot of other people out there fishing around me then I probably would mark them as well. However I go to a very remote part of the river and just like friday night when I went I was the only boat fishing all night long so.... had I marked my lines I would have been the only person that knew. There was a few boats around mid morning the next day but I already had my lines up and was heading home.

People in Tx obviously have a different point of view on trot liners than they do here in south ga. In all my years fishing I've never had a line cut or bothered but that could be mainly cuz no one can see them too! If I ever come to tx trot lining I'll be sure to mark my lines though.

We tag our lines because it's the law, period! The trotliners that "mark" or jug their lines are mainly the ones fishing with deadhead weights along the river channel and can find them in our lakes. Most of the rest of trotliners submerge their lines which are tied under the surface to stumps, trees, snags to keep them from being seen from others to protect them from someone else running or taking their lines just in case, but they too are tagged legally.

It seems your are justifying the reason you do not tag or mark your lines because you want them there when you return. I sure do hope that in the future you come to realize that you are wrong and may change your way.

I do not know about your state, but we have Operation Game Thief in Texas. Operation Game Thief is Texas' Wildlife Crime-Stoppers Program and we make a difference by utilizing it by reporting illegal hunting and fishing activity! Up to $1,000 may be paid for information leading to the citation, arrest and conviction of poachers. I have called in on at least 3 different occasions and 1 dealt with a past good friend of mine that didn't want to abide by the laws and regulations. I don't need thiefs as friends!! They're no different than someone robbing a store or bank...they are stealing from everyone in our state.

Ignorance of hunting and fishing laws is not an excuse for violating them. A poacher is a person who illegally takes or possesses any game, fish, or non-game wildlife resource.

Well we all have our little opinion. You wont find me doing anything illegal that gives me an unfair advantage over wildlife. Law says dont use but so many hooks on a trot line and I only use that many. And if my lines posed any threat to anyone by being unmarked then I would mark them but my lines are tied to the bank and are anchored out in the river by a bag of sand so my lines stay totally on the bottom and pose no threat to anyone. I think we have something like your talking about in georgia too. I'd turn someone in also if I knew they were doing something illegal that gave them a unfair advantage over fish and game like hunting deer with lights. But not because they didn't mark a deer tag as soon as they killed a deer. We all have to use a little common sense and most wardens do.