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choppa
01-12-2011, 09:41 AM
i was watching a Rick Stein cooking show awhile back and he had a segment on Maryland USA that showed how they catch Blue Crabs each season that got my interest up,,,,(only because i had never seen this style of crabbing before)

NOW before every one starts jumping on me!!!!

now that i have had more time up my sleeve since quitting work,,, i have done a bit of research on this style and discovered that a "trot line" was first utilised in the true fishing way of catching a fish and was then adopted for crabbing

a true "trot line" is another way of saying "LONG LINE" but on a greatly smaller scale that is normally anywhere up to 300 yards + long and has any number of hooks attached to it every yard or so

when it became a "crabbing" method,,, hooks were replaced with small pockets of bait,,, and a regulated wire landing net was implemented to give the crabs a fair chance of escape,,, (on the Rick Stein show,,, the captain who was catching the crab stated that nearly 50% of the crabs let go before the netter had a chance to even net it)

ALL Trot Lines are licenced,, and yes,, limitations on size and catch numbers are imposed in both fish and crab,,, (although i'm still unsure if the Marylander's have a size limit on blue crab,,, as most of the you tube video's i have watched don't show many getting thrown back)

NOW,,, why i have posted this,,,, we all see a lot of grief in the forums on our Crab Pots getting lifted,,,stolen,,, etc etc and of course the expense of replacement which doesn't come cheap

there is also a thread occuring now on the topic of catching crabs on rod and reel

i'm wondering if any of you can enlighten me if Australia has ever considered or studied this style of crabbing,,,, IMO it certainly is more sustainable way of catching crab,,, no by catch and no more theft or pilfering of pots as you cannot leave the Trot Line in any spot for any time more than xyz hours,,, (i forgot the exact number,,, one of the videos stated it and i ""think"" it was 6)

i suppose when you think of it,,, if your fishing out of a boat,,, 1-2 hooks on your rig and you are lucky enough to pull in and land a crab of legal size you already are ""Trot Lining""

choppa

Noelm
01-12-2011, 12:07 PM
I have seen that episode a few times now, pretty interesting hey, down my way it is very common practice to "fish" for Blue Swimmers (Sandies) using a hand line and a fish head tied to the end, you just toss a few out, wait untill it starts to "move" and slowly pull in, and have your net ready, the people who do this regularly fair just about as good as the trap guys, the advantage being, you can do it in the channel where it is against the law to set traps in the channel here.

netmaker
01-12-2011, 01:29 PM
it has merit. it wouldn't be considered a hook nor a trap, so effectively you could have as many baits on the 1 line as you want. heck, you could even pass yourself off as a concerned crab lover. "i'm feeding them;)". landing net? "oh, thats in case i catch a fish:P". crabs in esky? "um, i'm particularly concerned about the juvenile population and am removing some of the greedier, fatter crabs so as they can get a feed too".;D
reckon i will give it a go.
thanks for the post.
davo

Noelm
01-12-2011, 02:02 PM
I kind of doubt that it will really take off (especially for rec fishos) and if a pro had a 300m "string" (or several) set along a favorite water way, it would not take long for the rec brigade to start getting tangled and calling for it to be banned, that said, it does work and certainly would work out here, whether it would be profitable or acceptable or not would have to be seen.

choppa
01-12-2011, 02:27 PM
i think a little bit more out of the square on these matters,,, the key to my initial post was overseas where this type of crabbing is allowed,,, it's Licenced.

not to proffessionals who undoubtably fish in their own various ways compared to here,,, but to the average Joe Blow

the lines are weighted,,, so one would only "presume" that these have no effect to other boaties and land based fisho's who may "accidentally" run over a floating line or cast "accidentally" over a floating line that a traditional crab pot has

and of course i am only using the length of string that is in common place in places such as the You Tube videos i have seen,,,, this may have a different effect here if anything was or could be done

i am initially quering if anyone knows of any study, or law that disregards it,,,, i cannot find anything via doing what "i think" as standard searching via the internet

and when you/we think about it,,,we are paractising this style of "crabbing now",,, all over Australia,,, whether it be yabbies,,, crayfish (freshwater),,, crabs and so forth,,,, the only REAL difference is I don't know if a Fishery person pulled up along side me and asked what is that,,, is my reply LEGAL?

as a footnote,,, when you watch a few of the You Tube videos there seems to be a sticker/marker on the end of the Trot Line Float/Mark,,, is this a Licence Confirmation or just a different way how they tell who's line is who's,,,, (i doubt its an identity thing as ALL fisho's sit on the line and work it back to front)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JPvKjCjdfA

i have included this link for you all,,,, only to show that the forums over seas have there own " biters " as well,,, this bloke is fishing a 1200 yard Trot Line and is Licenced to have 1 Bushel of crab on board,,,, he caught 1 and half Bushels BUT gave half away,,,, funny

choppa

Noelm
01-12-2011, 02:31 PM
yep, I can see where you are coming from, and agree it would be a good way to go crabbing, but how we could implement it properly is anyones guess.

tunaticer
01-12-2011, 07:07 PM
At least it is easy to release any undersized or female crabs very quickly.
I am pretty sure the fisheries dept will call it a long line regardless of no hooks.

sandbankmagnet
01-12-2011, 09:40 PM
To me it looks like it would be difficult to sort females and undersized on the go without missing the next crab. Looks like he just tosses everything he can grab into the bin. Which in effect is illegal as you have to return the non keepers back as soon as you can and as close to where you caught them (in Qld). Maybe their legal keeping limits are different?

Muddy Toes
01-12-2011, 10:01 PM
Well well well.....it turns out I've actually been a single bait trot liner for years despite my new found knowledge of actually only just finding out what a trot line is.My technique has a few quirks though.
It involves fishing off a boat with a bunch of completely moronic mates....or kids for that matter and getting in to a massive tangle, cutting all the other lines off except mine, removing all the terminal tackle and tying a bait or fish head in the middle of my newly found birds nest as a result of a tangle.That is then cast out and now forms the basis of a pretty effective way of dealing with massive birds nests and catching sandies.
Trot lining with morons 101.:P

choppa
02-12-2011, 06:10 AM
To me it looks like it would be difficult to sort females and undersized on the go without missing the next crab. Looks like he just tosses everything he can grab into the bin. Which in effect is illegal as you have to return the non keepers back as soon as you can and as close to where you caught them (in Qld). Maybe their legal keeping limits are different?

totally agree with you on this,,,, but if see how far apart these guys have each bait attached to the main line (which going by the numerous videos i've seen), it is a standard length,,, and as stated in one of my posts above you don't see many getting thrown back,,, so Jimmy's and Jenny's may both be okay over there to catch,,,

i was thinking initially along the lines of what we have now,,, minimum number of pots that anyone can use is 4 at a time,,,place this over a ""say"" 20-40 metres of line and you have a bait every 5-10 metres apart,,, using a wire net to catch them will reduce time in releasing any Jenny's or undersize

food for thought only,,,,, its certainly a sustainable and less costly way of crabbing in my books and you certainly wont have too many instances on losing gear,,, if any

choppa

INDULGENCE
02-12-2011, 10:28 AM
Choppa, might pay you to check with DPI as in NSW the first line of regs is
Use any methods/gear to take fish or invertebrates that are not specified in permitted methods (http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/fisheries/recreational/regulations/sw/methods)
Guess that includes trot lines
Wally

choppa
02-12-2011, 10:53 AM
Choppa, might pay you to check with DPI as in NSW the first line of regs is
Use any methods/gear to take fish or invertebrates that are not specified in permitted methods (http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/fisheries/recreational/regulations/sw/methods)
Guess that includes trot lines
Wally

already done Wally,,,, but not as a request on legallity,,, a query on any study/outcome of anything that may have already been instigated,,, and i also agree with something that you may not realise you posted,,,, every darn state is different in the way how fish can or can't be caught,,,, dunno why???,,,,

wonder if using 20 plus drop nets in the gold coast canals is still happening,,,, crabs must be on the move through them by now???

choppa

INDULGENCE
02-12-2011, 11:08 AM
Choppa ,I am aware of some of the differences between states.Nowadays the laptop is a very important piece of tackle if you wish to travel and fish.
I was interested in the NSW fish site as it would seem there is a very closed book on allowing rec fishes to research into different types of taking fish.
The permitted methods are listed quiet clearly
We recently spent 8 weeks in and around Hinchinbrook and to my suprise the van park was littered with empty waeco fridge boxs,where the vistors were filling up existing they would run down to Townsville and buy another fridge to fill up.
Wally

crab man
02-12-2011, 03:25 PM
Hey Wally (Indulgence) mate off subject but how did you go at Hinchinbrook ??
haha Craig