Setlines. Acceptable practice or not?

[Fitzy]

There's been some discussion in a few threads about the practice of set lines.
I'd like to get peoples perspective from both sides of the topic.

I'm personally not a fan of the method.
I've seen set lines left unattended with dead fish on the end. Setlining is indiscriminate in the species caught/killed and an irresponsible act in many situations.
There is no way for undersize fish or protected fish to be excluded from an unattended set line. I've seen rare & protected fish (lungfish & Mary River cod) killed due to set lines, turtles rotting carcasses still attached or birds tangled in the line.
I am forever cutting down set lines & droppers left in trees/snags in locations I frequent, mainly freshwater rivers, lakes & streams.

As a kid I saw adults put droppers onto every snag in various western rivers for miles on end. There was no fun/sport/enjoyment in the venture, it was simply a meat gathering exercise. Many small (unwanted) fish were simply dropped back into the water dead, a genuine waste. It seems a shame that many of our rare & endangered fish are viewed with the same regarded as sheep & chooks; cheep meat.

I dont have a problem with "attended" set-lines, but the people who set lines today & come back to check them tomorrow or the next day are acting irresponsibly IMHO.

What are your thoughts?

What about a perspective from regular rust water anglers?

Cheers,

Fitzy..

[raefpud]

I agree, I dont think set lines should be allowed, and that is in the fresh and the sea. I think its unsporting and totally indescriminate. Unattended set lines should be totally outlawed in my opinion. If you are too lazy to sit by the water with a rod in your hand, then shouldnt have the priviledge to catch or eat fish.

[Rev]

Tough call hey Fitzy.

Setlines used within the law, I don't see as being too much of an issue, but as you said, there are plenty out there out side of the law.

Strictly speaking an unattended rod, while you duck back up to the camp to grab a beer, is a setline.

Personally I don't and wouldn't use a set line beyond that which I described above and it'd be crook being busted for grabbing a beer.

I think you should actually refine your question to be about illegal setlines, which you seem to have described more than legal ones.

[fishsmith]

Setlines should all be banned!! There as right up there with a net strung across a river and in my opinion fair game for a sharp knife...... ;)

[Fitzy]

Tough call hey Fitzy.

Strictly speaking an unattended rod, while you duck back up to the camp to grab a beer, is a setline.

Personally I don't and wouldn't use a set line beyond that which I described above and it'd be crook being busted for grabbing a beer.


The regs for Qld freshwater state that Anyone using a set line should be no more than 200 metres from the line..
So as long as your beer isnt 200m from your line, you're not breaking any laws.


I think you should actually refine your question to be about illegal setlines, which you seem to have described more than legal ones.
It was my intent to leave the topic open to anyones interpretations.

Apart from that I thought it was pretty clear but without writting a novel, I'll restate.

Do you believe that the use of set lines is an acceptable fishing practice?
Am not particularly seeking a definite YES or NO answer, rather am seeking honest debate/discussions about the pros/cons of this particular form of angling. If you wish to explain your reasoning, please feel free.
If you wish to comment on the current laws/regulations for your state etc, again please feel free.

Cheers,

fitzy..

[Gazza]

I'm 'for' any form of line fishing , particularly 'single hook' Fitzy.

Legally....<200Mtrs, name/addy.....is responsible.
I'd like to add "clip-on bells" as also being "required" to minimise line-time? i.e. improve awareness ,before release or keep.

[bugman]

Personally I've never used them but I can understand the the previous generation can have problems letting go of a practise they've been using for years.

I have a good friend who has a house on the river at Goondiwindi. He has a set line in every day which he checks regularly - pulling in carp, bass, yellowbelly, perch, bream and cod. He eats what he catches - except for the vermin.

He removes the set line when he's going to be away for more than a day etc.

I would find it hard to tell him that he can't fish like that any more because technically now he's fishing inside the rules.

Sorry Fitzy didn't really answer your question but I'd be leaning towards no rather than yes.

Bugman

[agnes_jack]

My personal opinion is that set lines should be banned totally. I believe fishing should be a sporting exersize, not a meat gathering exersize.

Regards, Tony

[NeilD]

I think setlines should have gone the way of dynamite and nets. I can imagine the greenies getting on their bandwagon showing footage of some poor old greenfish struggling for hours on the end of a setline. If you can't be bothered attending your line then you should not be allowed to acess the resource. The oldtimers who grew up on them have had to change with the times in all other areas. Why should this be any different.

Neil

[PinHead]

"So as long as your beer isnt 200m from your line, you're not breaking any laws. "

Not quite correct there..if you are drinking in a public place then you are breaking the law.

[Jeremy]

My personal opinion is that set lines should be banned totally. I believe fishing should be a sporting exersize, not a meat gathering exersize.

# # # # # # # Regards, Tony

second that

Jeremy

[mackmauler]

ill quadruple that and get into the spirit of the thing with jeremy LOL

[Remo]

In short, errr NO!

I can't see any in fun in that

[ba229]

if it's not against the law I see no problem with it.

I don't setline and couldn't ever imagine why I would, but with sooooooooooo many restrictions being put on reco fisherman these days I am sure the authorities would ban it if someone was too successful or the tourist dollar was more.

I wonder what sort of numbers of people are actually setlining. Anyone got any ideas?

[ba229]

further to my last statement....

if setlining is banned will some sections of the fishing communtity get upset? my word they would.

just think about the green zone issue of the GBR.

Some people are happy with it and some aren't

[Fitzy]

"So as long as your beer isnt 200m from your line, you're not breaking any laws. "

Not quite correct there..if you are drinking in a public place then you are breaking the law.

Touche

[Fitzy]

I wonder what sort of numbers of people are actually setlining. Anyone got any ideas?
Havent got the faintest idea. However the further south & west I've travelled the more I see set lines.
BTW- Not knocking our western folks, I come from SW Qld myself. Just an observation. Saw it alot many years ago, not as often nowadays.

Would be interested in reading any info that may provide the answer to the above question.

Cheers,

fitzy..

[ba229]

yeh i remember when i lived in VIC (god it was bad) that they setlined for freshwater fish over night.

but this was because the fishing was so slow they would have to sleep on it to get a feed. :-)

[blaze]

All depends on how they are used
It is legal in Tassie to use a set line in the salt and illegal in fresh.
They are used in tassie for shark (a line set with a max of 30 hooks on the bottom for shark) or a drop line set on a reef with a few hooks at the bottom of the line. They are also used by pro's with no hook resrictions for the same species.
I use a set shark line a few times a year for meat gathering, why, because i eat shark and it freezes well. I am limited to 2 shark each time i set it and use it to catch 6 shark a year. It is left in for no more than 3 hours and any bycatch is released and often tagged. I think its all about educating people not to be gready as most people i know do the right thing, but there is some bad eggs about too. IMO if you can ban all commercial netting within 10 km of any aust land mass ya would be moving in the right direction. Netting is a much more harmful thing than a set line
some thoughts
cheers
blaze
ps
I also do a lot of catch and release and love fishing as a sport I also eat lots of things that were once alive

[bugman]

Blaze,

I wonder when you're netting regs are going to come into line with the rest of the mainland. You guys are the only state to still alow recreational netting. I know they've changed the regs again this year to say you can't leave it in overnight and a few other things but surely it the time has come for the Govt to bite the bullet and ban netting for recos.

How much of a stir do you think that will cause?

Bugman

[fishsmith]

There is a good article written by Rod Harrison on the Curse of Set-lines... page 158 of Fishing World mag December issue 04.A worthwhile read......

[ba229]

I wonder when you're netting regs are going to come into line with the rest of the mainland. You guys are the only state to still alow recreational netting.

Bugman

Bugman,

wondering when your QLD regs will come into line with NSW and ban the use of cast nets.

;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

[Fitzy]

Bugman,

wondering when your QLD regs will come into line with NSW and ban the use of cast nets.

;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

I recon that'll happen immediately after the last croc is safely shot. ;)

fitzy..

[Dug]

Set lines NO!

They are banned in fresh water to save platypus.

In salt they should be banned.

It would be a brave or foolish government who banned cast nets in Queensland, but they did a good job on "Shamatures" catching commercial quantities of prawns with them.

[isaac]

Setlines should be banned, along with netting.
Bugman, rec fishers are still allowed to net in WA aswell, only a rec licence is needed, its regulated etc, I still think it is wrong though. Isaac

[Fitzy]

Thanks for the replies thus far folks.
I'm genuinely interested in hearing from more folks who do practice set-lining & the reasons they use that technique.

For all I know there could be some perfectly valid reasons for the method's use in certain situations.

*Not looking to start a bunfight here either. Simply seeking to hear from both sides of the topic.
If there's valid reasons for the practice of set-lines, then support its use at the next fisheries review. If not, move to get the practice outlawed at the next review.

Cheers,

Fitzy..

[blaze]

Hi Bugman
2 years will see a total ban on rec netting i reckon, in a way we are already in front of the big island to the north as we dont allow netting in estaries
cheers
blaze

[Gazza]

Bugman,

wondering when your QLD regs will come into line with NSW and ban the use of cast nets.

;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

Is there anything you NSW'ers DON'T want B-a-n-n-e-d !!!
;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ???

p.s. Please put a minsize on your Jacks [smiley=2thumbsup.gif] ....... even 23cms !! ;D :D :D :D
;)

[Daintreeboy]

I'm going to stir up the pot here and go the other way.
Often people will fish in their boat with more than one line, so what happens to the second rod/reel? It's left in the holder or on the floor. This is effectively a set line. I see no problem in someone going down to a river bank somewhere and fishing with one line in hand a set line or two either side of them, as long as they are observing the rules. If they are following the rules, the fish will not suffer any more than one on the reel he/she is attending, in fact it may suffer less as heavier line would be used and be brought to the bank quicker when reached.
Yes, it is less sporting, but sometimes people want to go home with a feed of fish and this can help them do that, just like the extra rod out in the boat or the 4 or 5 people use when trolling.
It seems most people here have a problem with illegal activities associated with set lines, as you should.
I reckon the main problem is that when the law is broken here the effects can be seen more than the average Joe who has broken the law in someway other than set lines but has covered their tracks when leaving.
Just some food for thought imho.
Cheers, Mark.

[devocean]

Im with Daintree Boy

[agnes_jack]

Daintree
I go along with your point there, I refer to the setlines that you find totally unattended, left for days on end, and usually there are heaps of them, all with the same type of line and hooks. I know one creek in particular where I see as many as 10 or 15 lines hanging off trees nearly everytime I fish it.
That sucks!!!

Regards, Tony

[Fitzy]

Daintree
I go along with your point there, I refer to the setlines that you find totally unattended, left for days on end, and usually there are heaps of them, all with the same type of line and hooks. I know one creek in particular where I see as many as 10 or 15 lines hanging off trees nearly everytime I fish it.
That sucks!!!

# # # # # # # #Regards, Tony

THat's the way I refer to set lines.
A rod in a holder in a boat or on the bank where you are seem perfectly legit to me. You're on hand to pick up the rod when a fish hooks itself.
I certainly dont think that you should have your rod/line in hand at every moment. :)


fitzy..

[Daintreeboy]

Yeah but what you guys are talking about is illegal, of cause it's not on and is already against the law.
Cheers, Mark. ;)

[agnes_jack]

Mark
To me, what you refer to are just a couple of extra lines or hand lines, perfectly legit and moral in my book.
I assumed Fitzy was talking about lines tied to trees and checked the next day or forgotten in many cases.

Regards, Tony

[Daintreeboy]

yeah that's not good. 8)

[Fitzy]

Mark
I assumed Fitzy was talking about lines tied to trees and checked the next day or forgotten in many cases.

# # # # # # Regards, Tony
Correct. I should have stated my thoughts more clearly.

Cheers,

fitz

[Rev]

"So as long as your beer isnt 200m from your line, you're not breaking any laws. "

Not quite correct there..if you are drinking in a public place then you are breaking the law.


Pinhead,

You "quoted" that as though someone said it, I can't find it, am I missing something??

And I also cannot follow the next bit, who was talking about fishing or drinking in Public Places???

Douche!

[PinHead]

"The regs for Qld freshwater state that Anyone using a set line should be no more than 200 metres from the line..
So as long as your beer isnt 200m from your line, you're not breaking any laws."

Rev..the above is a quote from Fitzy's post on page 1.

[charexblue]

setlines always touichy and to early in the new year lol
i monitor mine [ nsw western ] bells on and fluro colours highly visible for retrieval {cost me more than most if i disregarded current rules}
I totally agree about setlines unattended and forgotten and only sometimes marked by a bit of toot paper in a nearby branch.
not nice at all. the oldtimers used set lines but i bet they knew where each was and took them home afterwards .
unattended /fogotten setlines get the confiscated here and burnt .
Fitzy other point of view .
in many western farm dams and irrigation storages sometimes the only fish in them are carp which via various means can get back into the creeks / rivers. monitored setlines here work very well in destrying carp breeding grounds. i designed an aeration portable fish holding unit so that all fish caught can be kept alive for duration of carp control event/ benefit is that if a native fish caught it goes in a seperate unit aerated for rerelease at end of event thus fish not caught twice / wherte unit esed the native fish population increased so that some can be moved to restock other devoided areas/
bloody hell i hope i don't get too much flack for replying cuse these posts can get very fiery
all the best peter
all test areas have been on private land not public areas such as rivers / creeks or billabongs cheers

[goodoo]

[smiley=rifle.gif] [smiley=rifle.gif]USERS OF ILLEGAL SETLINES SHOULD BE SHOT IN MY TIME IN NSW LIVING AROUND THE LACHLAN RIVER I HAVE COME ACROSS MANY SET LINES THAT HAVE BEEN TIED TO TREES AND LEFT QUITE OFTEN WITH A DECENT SIZE COD ATTACHED TO THE OTHER END WHICH BY THE WAY HAVE BEEN ON SO LONG THAT THEY HAVE GONE WHITE OR ROTTED AWAY TO NOTT MUCH MORE THAN SKIN AND BONE ON A RECENT TRIP TO THE MCINTYRE BROOK NEAR INGLEWOOD ONLY 3 LOTS OF CAMPERS WERE THERE WITH ONLY 2 BOATS AFTER SETTING UP CAMP I CRUISED THE RIVER TO GATHER FIRE WOOD AND HAVE AN ARVO TROLL JUST ON DARK THE OTHER BOAT HEADED OFF AND RETURNED ABOUT 2 HOURS LATER NEXT MORNING I LEFT CAMP AS IT WAS COMMING DAYLIGHT TO FLOG SOME LURES AROUND AND NEARLY EVERY TREE AND LOG IN THE COUPLE OF KS OF RIVER THAT I WAS FISHING HAD SETLINES ATTACHED WHAT I COULD SEE WERE ALL PLASTIC CASTING RINGS WITH AT LEAST 60+LB LINE THEY TURNED UP IN A UTE IGUESS THAT THIS WAS SO THEY COULD CARRY THEIR CASTING RINGS THIS PRACTICE WAS NOT AN OLD BLOKE WITH A COUPLE OF BEERBOTTLE CASTERS AND A BUCKET OF BARDIES THEY WERE A BUNCH OF YOUNG ##@$**%$# IN THEIR 20s WHO HAVE BEEN RAISED IN A TIME WHEREBY THEY SHOULD KNOW BETTER AND CONSERVATION AND LEGAL ISSUES ARE VERRY CLEAR IT IS UNKNOWN WETHER OR NOT THEY WERE BUSTED FOR THEIR EXERCISE I REPORTED THIS TO POLICE AT INGLEWOOD WHO INFORMED ME THAT FISHERIES OFFICERS WERE OUT AT THE DAM AND WOULD BE INFORMED

[PG]

Set lines that are left unattended (ie more than 200m away) or left overnight is just cruel in my book and to let a fish swim around potentially for 24 hrs hooked up and in some cases die is just stupid.
If it's a meat gathering exercise it's probably not that different to leaving a crab pot in overnight except the fish is hooked, where the crabs are simply trapped.
Sportfishing would seem to be a cruel exercise also. To hook a fish and make it fight for it's life until it's exhausted, then unhook it and let it go...multiplied many time by the number of fish you catch would in many people's eyes be a cruel and pointless torture on an animal all for the sake of a buzz.
I'm not trying to start a dispute here but I bet there's an old fella out there or maybe lots of them, who fish for a feed and would disagree with sportfishers attitudes.
It's just that the old fellas don't get online.
We just have to be careful not to confuse the young dickheads in the ute with the old fella and his beer bottle casters who's doing the right thing before we outlaw setlines.
That's my personal opinion and views.
To boil it down, I agree with setlines if they are used correctly and lawfully.

[cooky]

Setlines should be banned, along with netting.
what's WRONG with using CAST NETS??? for live bait