Trotlines

[CrappieGirl]

I Have Been Buying Those Premade Trotlines At Wal-mart Are There Any Recommended Trotline Pkgs Or Does Everyone Make Their Own? If Anyone Makes Them And Can Give Me Some Tips That Would Be Great...also Hook Size And Preferred Baits I Know Catalpa Worms-sun Perch-shad- Anything I'm Missing? I Have Been Catching A Few Cats...but I Would Like To Do Better! Thanks Everyone!

[fonz]

I made 2 out of parachute cord.
About every 3 or 4 feet I tied 2 knots close together with a heavy swivel in the middle.
Every 4th drop I make double the length of the drops with hooks.
3 hooks-1 weighted.
On the weighted drop I but a piece of styrofoam to keep the hooks off the bottom.

Good Luck,
Fonz

[Leemo]

Get some good quality braided line for your main line, buy some trot line "brads" (these are clips that keep your swivel on the main line in place) use 9' offset stainless eagle claw hooks, good braided line for your stagings, and get after it.... oh yeah you can buy all the stuff from Memphis Net and Twine.

[KIKO]

I use ivory or zote soap for bait on trotlines for cats unless there are yellows arround. Soap works slow but it works, and keeps turtles and gars form stealing you bait. There are also some sented soap with garlic and other flavors at gander mt.

Good luck

[bueyescowboy]

Hum...ole cheapie here....what I do is go buy thick twine maybe 5/8 in, could even go with small nylon rope. Nothing is more aggravating than having the main line break, and you have to find both ends and put them back together. I really like old tire rims but cider blocks work for weights. On the weight, I tie a marker buoy, that way I can find my rim should my line come apart, and I tie the twine. Then I feed out my twine placing two more markers one at each end so I can pick up just the line. Then the last weight with buoy on it. So on top of the water I have 4 buoys. Generally I place a small brick on two ft of rope and tie that on where the 2 markers are that just hold the line. Above the brick I put on soda bottle as one said to float the line off the bottom. And finally with all that done.....I come back and begin tying on my hooks. I like the eagle claw 4/0 circle hooks. But as of now I am testing different hooks not so much on how much they catch but on how they hold up. I ve had hooks that broke in less that 2 weeks and I get tired of tying on new hooks. The hooks I tie on with string doubled about 1 to 2 ft long. yep no swivels....if the catfish spins which they all do...it wraps up the string. As I go down the line I just pull some slack make me a hoop in the line and tie on the hook. Space the hooks about 5 ft apart and there you go. Trotline time. I also run trotlines pretty deep...30 to 40 feet so I found it best the deeper you go the more line you want to work with. My best trotline is still going and is about 100 ft long. Here's a pic if this doesn't make sense. the two buoys on the line are so you can pick up the line from either end depending on which way the wind is blowing...(always better to work with the wind). And bait....cheap line so cheap bait....hum shad shad are free.....I haven't tried beef liver but I ve heard that works....chicken liver doesn't stay on the line for me...and hot dogs stayed on the line for days.....as if nothing would touch it.
The only cost in this line is the heavy twine, string, and hooks. The rest you help beautify america and find in the trash or on side the road. (buoy's,bricks and weights).
and best advice yet....try to put out the trotline on a calm day....its easier to work in calm water.....me....I like to try it in monsoons....and learned just to wait. Now if the water isn't right...I don't even try it....good luck...

[bueyescowboy]

oh wait....let me double dip.....my best bait has been NO bait at all.....this winter I caught several big catfish when I didn't bait the line.....which means even if you don't bait the line check it...if not, take the hooks off...I would have hate finding some of them big catfish dead after months. Here's one of my no bait cat's.

[StevePage]

Call me next time you head to Hanks Creek, I'm 15 miles from there and I can make you an "east texas" trotline without all the shiny stuff, just a tough ol' line and you can make a 50 hooker for less than 10 bucks. The wally world and academy trotlines are great for getting your blood pressure up, but a 2 inch stick will wreak havoc on those junky little clips. Best thing to use is Braided Nylon for the line, its cheap and tough, tarred twine is hard on the fingers so try to stay away from that, it works well, but your fingers get sore from pulling on it all day. 936-404-2097
http://2coolfishing.com/ttmbforum/showthread.php?t=120982

[Bowhntr]

I use ivory or zote soap for bait on trotlines for cats unless there are yellows arround. Soap works slow but it works, and keeps turtles and gars form stealing you bait. There are also some sented soap with garlic and other flavors at gander mt.

Good luck
Kiko
I've started using the ZOTE soap (from read on here) now what type hooks you R using? treble or circle????
bowhntr

[Bowhntr]

Hum...ole cheapie here....what I do is go buy thick twine maybe 5/8 in, could even go with small nylon rope. Nothing is more aggravating than having the main line break, and you have to find both ends and put them back together. I really like old tire rims but cider blocks work for weights. On the weight, I tie a marker buoy, that way I can find my rim should my line come apart, and I tie the twine. Then I feed out my twine placing two more markers one at each end so I can pick up just the line. Then the last weight with buoy on it. So on top of the water I have 4 buoys. Generally I place a small brick on two ft of rope and tie that on where the 2 markers are that just hold the line. Above the brick I put on soda bottle as one said to float the line off the bottom. And finally with all that done.....I come back and begin tying on my hooks. I like the eagle claw 4/0 circle hooks. But as of now I am testing different hooks not so much on how much they catch but on how they hold up. I ve had hooks that broke in less that 2 weeks and I get tired of tying on new hooks. The hooks I tie on with string doubled about 1 to 2 ft long. yep no swivels....if the catfish spins which they all do...it wraps up the string. As I go down the line I just pull some slack make me a hoop in the line and tie on the hook. Space the hooks about 5 ft apart and there you go. Trotline time. I also run trotlines pretty deep...30 to 40 feet so I found it best the deeper you go the more line you want to work with. My best trotline is still going and is about 100 ft long. Here's a pic if this doesn't make sense. the two buoys on the line are so you can pick up the line from either end depending on which way the wind is blowing...(always better to work with the wind). And bait....cheap line so cheap bait....hum shad shad are free.....I haven't tried beef liver but I ve heard that works....chicken liver doesn't stay on the line for me...and hot dogs stayed on the line for days.....as if nothing would touch it.
The only cost in this line is the heavy twine, string, and hooks. The rest you help beautify america and find in the trash or on side the road. (buoy's,bricks and weights).
and best advice yet....try to put out the trotline on a calm day....its easier to work in calm water.....me....I like to try it in monsoons....and learned just to wait. Now if the water isn't right...I don't even try it....good luck...
Hey BEC,

Looking at your drawing of trotline, that looks heavy? how do you get to the hook to get cat off if they are near bottom? Those rims are heavy stuff to pull up off bottom. Give this newbie some advice.

[Gator gar]

My advice would be to give up trotlines completely and start jugging. (The right way of course.) Not unless you just like killing time, then I guess trotlines will do.

Just throwing some sarcasm in there, because I too, used to be a die hard trotliner and when I learned to jug, I cut up all my trotlines and used the hardware to build jugs.

If you are really serious about it, get you some #96 tarred twine for your main line. Some #18 tarred twine for your stages, some 4/0 swivels and some 11/0 sea circle hooks. All this can be purchased at the fish net company in Jonesville Louisiana.

Make a time on the week-end after Memorial day and come by my house and I will demonstrate the correct way to build a commercial trotline, then you will know first hand. Oh, bring all the hardware with you.

There is an art to doing it the right way. Even how to put your hooks on the stages, so that if the fish rubs against it as it is going by, the hook will turn into the fish and not away from it.

P.M. me if you are interested, I live in Livingston Texas.

[dbullard]

I am with gator gar jugs are the way to go and not as hard on your back as a trotlines.If I was going to put a trotline out right now the hooks would be three feet from the surface. Jugging last weekend all the blues came of the top two hooks and free floating jugs with 3 ' drops. Also beef hearts caught as many fish as shad.

[bueyescowboy]

the drawing is kinda off but an example....the rims stay on bottom...the bricks come to the top when you pull up the buoy...so there is some distance in the twine between the rim and the bricks..... small bricks are light in the water and generally a small soda bottle(or styroform) is good to keep the line off the bottom with the weight of the bricks...the idea is to float the line about a foot off the bottom. I even put in a third buoy about center just in case .....never know when the line might break...

and I might have to meet up with gar.....i got a good place for a trotline....but its 40 ft. When you put one down that deep you want it to stay there. I might spend some money on that one...in fact I bought the twine today. Bad thing is its in the middle of the lake ....few days that the water is calm in the middle of livingston. But that is where you catch the big hogs.....had one there till hurricane rita.

and I still like to trotline...kinda my way of fishing....bait line go nap....check line. But I would agree I have caught alot more cat's on jugs.

Here's my question if someone has read this far: I am currently looking at a location that has a ridge....it goes from about 23 ft and drops off to 30 ft. I was wanting to run my line at the bottom of the ridge. But I see a lot of trotlines that would run on top of the ridge (at the 23 ft section). So advice should I go at the bottom 30 ft section, top of ridge(23 ft section), or should I run it across the hump?

[CrappieGirl]

Btw Guys I Didn't Mention I Am Using These Trotlines In Village Creek And I Have Been Very Successful With Limb Lines So Far...the Part Of The Creek That I Am Fishing Is Narrow For The Most Part...i Do Have A Few Juglines Out But I Have Not Caught Anything With Them Yet???

[CrappieGirl]

Stevepage- I See You Are In Lufkin...you Are Right Up The Rd From Hanks Creek...what You Got Goin On This Wknd? If You Like You Are More Than Welcome To Come Down And Fish The Creek With Me There Are Some Huge Cats In Village Creek Been Fishing It Since I Was A Little Girl But I Have Never Had To Set It All Up On My Own Until Now...we Have A Fish Camp On The Creek And I Have The Perfect Little Boat To Move Around Down There. Also Have A Canoe And A Tandem Kayak...i'll Give You A Call.

[shadslinger]

I am with gator gar and dbullard, once I learned how to catch them on jugs, trotlines are too much work. Jugs are really fun, they are easy and kids like them a lot. I think if you are doing good with limb lines, that you are doing it right, limb lines are as much fun as juglines when they work.
Limb lines have always worked best for me in tight spots with good overhanging limbs in a bend of the creek/river. I have had good sucess and a lot of fun on distributaries of the Neches River with limb lines.