# Texas Sail Line Fishing????



## knowlesstak (May 11, 2010)

Has anyone tried to fish using the sail line fishing method listed under the TPWD webiste regulations?

It actually sounds quite interesting for fishing at night.

Any one know where you can buy one at or how to make your own?

*Sail Line:* For use in *SALT WATER* only. A type of trotline with one end of the main line fixed on the shore, the other end of the main line attached to a wind-powered floating device or sail. 

Nongame fish, red drum, spotted seatrout, and sharks may be taken with a sail line.
No more than 1 sail line may be used per fisherman.
The sail line must be attended at all times the line is fishing.
Sail lines may not be used by the holder of a commercial fishing license.
Sail lines may be used 7 days a week.
*Tag Requirements:*
Must have a valid Saltwater Trotline Tag for each 300 feet of mainline or fraction thereof being fished.

*Construction and Design Restrictions:*
Sail line may not exceed 1800 feet from reel to sail.
Sail and the most shoreward float must be bright orange or red color. All other floats must be yellow. *No float* may be more than 200 feet from the sail.
A weight of 1 ounce or more must be attached to the line not less than 4 feet or more than 6 feet shoreward of the most shoreward float.
Reflectors of not less than 2 square inches shall be attached to the sail and floats. They must be easily seen from all directions. This applies for sail lines operated from 30 minutes after sunset to 30 minutes before sunrise.
May have no more than 30 hooks.
There is no hook spacing requirement.
No hook may be placed more than 200 feet from the sail.
May be baited with either natural or artificial bait.


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## jettech17 (Jan 20, 2006)

when we lived in A.P. I used to see these a lot in between Portland and Corpus..Near a powerplant I think around nueces somewhere.?Been a looooong time ..Build you a PVC frame get a large spool of heavy line,some guys rigged up motors to help bring it in or you can hand crank..And prepare to be talked about as a no fishin @#$% ESPECIALLY if you use bait......just kiddin......but not really


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## knowlesstak (May 11, 2010)

Too funny. We only get to the coast once a year. Don't want to mess around on the boat at night time in unfamiliar territory. But the fisherman in me wants to fish 24/7 while I am down there, the peers are over crowded, and have poor results.

I'm ok with doing it if I'm pulling in a nice fish while they have nothing!!!!! Could be fun to try once though.


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## radarman (Apr 24, 2006)

Check out this website to build one: http://phartattack.tripod.com/sailline.htm


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## knowlesstak (May 11, 2010)

Thanks for the info


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## smooth move (Dec 10, 2007)

*sail line*

i did it 20 or so yrs. ago, it's a lot of fun down south, but in the galveston area, most spots have too much oyster and you spend a lot of time walking out to untangle the thing. we used a aluminum lawn chair, wired open, with the legs cut down as a sail, it works pretty good.


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## jettech17 (Jan 20, 2006)

A night fish would be cool and probably the only way in the Galveston complex with the traffic..They guys doing down there did it during the day but the traffic in that area wasn't the same... Have fun!


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## ol' salt (Jun 11, 2006)

I fish with one, but only during the cooler monrhs so I don't have to deal with slimers and as many trash fish.

Excellent way to fish, and kids love it.


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## Trout-deluxe (Apr 6, 2009)

Never leave it unattended at nite, the ***** will destroy it.

Guy I knew used mullet on the hooks, about 30 at a time...lol


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## Spinozopterus (Nov 17, 2009)

When the wind is blowing from the from the N/NW, you can kite fish the surf. I use a parafoil style kite which i attach to a milk jug that's half full (weighs down the kite but keeps atop the water). From the milk jug you run your tracers as well as the line to shore (three way swivel does the trick). Loads of fun, and you can get your line out hundreds of yards from shore.


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## knowlesstak (May 11, 2010)

Ok I got great advice on the rig, but what I don't fully understand is how to get the line back in especially if you get lucky and get something of decent size?

Also how do you anchor the line down in the beach, or do you find something to attach the line to.

Hate to make a nice rig only to get it pulled out to the ocean, or not get the fish to the shore.


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## Spinozopterus (Nov 17, 2009)

knowlesstak said:


> Ok I got great advice on the rig, but what I don't fully understand is how to get the line back in especially if you get lucky and get something of decent size?


When a large fish hits your line, they will primarily be fighting the buoy, ballast, raft, or whatever it is that you used to send your line out. This significantly reduces the tension on the line connecting you (on shore) to the craft (buoy, ballast, raft, etc). You can use a high capacity reel or a hand reel to bring your rig back:








Just make sure to use a high lb test between your bait and the craft, since there wont be a reel and thus there wont be any drag. There's a thousand ways to do it. have fun!


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## knowlesstak (May 11, 2010)

Great that makes perfect sense. Thanks. One more question: Being that I am not by the coast what I found was a freshwater trotline. It is about 170 ft long with 30 places for hooks. My concern is that it is all string. I figure for my hooks I can get steel leaders. So I can elminate the worry there, but will the main line that is rope be sufficient with the steel leaders attached to it.

I figure by my float I would attach the string, and on the other side I would use 40# test line. Do you think I need a stronger line, and or should not use the rope trotline?


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## sharkbait-tx70 (Jun 28, 2009)

I grew up living on the bayfrount in Corpus and my dad and I used to run saillines all the time. We would pour all of our own jigheads and worms. We would make all of our own rattling floats out of the old egg shaped containers pantyhose used to come in. I have seen and caught alot of fish that way. If you decide to build one make sure you purchase the right tags from TPW. You have to have certain tags for length and amount of hooks I believe. When I was to small to real in in my dad made one with a windsheild wiper motor on it to help me retreive it. Brings back alot of good memories.


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## smooth move (Dec 10, 2007)

*reels*

i made a reel out of a rope spool i got off the job and attached it to a peice of super strut so that it fit into the holes of my truck bed. i would back up to the water and pull the line out, my brother would put the hooks on the leaders as they came off the spool and vice versa, worked pretty well. the spool was about 14" x 6", the crank handle was a 3/8" x 6" bolt with a peice of 1/2" tubing slipped over it.


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## Windline (May 30, 2019)

I have fished with one for years, if I could figure a way of putting in a photo, I could send a picture of my new build.


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## Windline (May 30, 2019)

The new rig


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## Aquafowler (Aug 9, 2016)

I ran one for years down in gorda. I liked the trout line clips for my drops so all I had was the main line on the spool. I tried mullet once. Caught 30 hardheads. Used arties with 20lb drops. Hung a crabtrap once. Not fun!


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## justletmein (Feb 11, 2006)

Well it's been 9 years, wonder if OP ever got a sail line run out.  

I've always wanted to try, but the thought of removing 30 hardheads from a line never appealed to me. lol


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## Trouthunter (Dec 18, 1998)

These folks bringing up 10 year old threads sure do put themselves on my radar lol.

TH


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## 348473 (Apr 12, 2017)

It's popular in corpus. Never done it. Usually older dudes rigged up with touts. Like a trotline.

Sent from my FRD-L14 using Tapatalk


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## RedFlounderBass (May 10, 2015)

hurricane matt said:


> It's popular in corpus. Never done it. Usually older dudes rigged up with touts. Like a trotline.
> 
> Sent from my FRD-L14 using Tapatalk


My Grandpa used to use one in the 70â€™s-80â€™s off his Houseboat.

Sure was cool to see a bunch of Trout thrashing about when he cranked that sucker in.


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## 348473 (Apr 12, 2017)

Yeah guys would make a crank and reel in. They catch fish but seems like an activity to do between rebuilding lawnmower carbs and pressing bullets. Some of those.sails are directional too. 

Sent from my FRD-L14 using Tapatalk


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## impulse (Mar 17, 2010)

Used to watch them doing it in Corpus Christi area. That was back when the limit on keepers was 1000 fish, with no slot (or something like that). 

I'm not sure it's as fun when you'd have to release almost everything you catch, and hope you didn't gut hook a bunch of illegal fish. There's very little sadder than releasing a fish that's going to die, simply because it's illegal to do anything else with it.


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## SolarScreenGuy (Aug 15, 2005)

I first saw these sail lines in the Corpus area back in the late '70s. Don't know what the regulations were if any at that time. I was amazed at the number of fish caught this way. I bumped into a couple of local guides at a restaurant in Rockport who were disgusted with the allowance of these contraptions. They said that they were so effective, especially in winter time, that they can seriously hurt populations of fish in a particular bay. After witnessing first hand several times and seeing the catches, I was convinced the guides were right. So when it comes to sail line fishing "Just Say No". There is no sport in this method. These are home made contraptions, some even motorized, and the fishermen that made the best rigs caught incredible numbers of trout, reds, flounder, and other species. 

Solar Screens, Ext. Roll Down Shades, Plantation Shutters
2Cool Discounts
Call Mike at 713-446-3249


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## troutsupport (May 22, 2006)

and please don't run it across boat channels or other high traffic areas even with reflectors. I find it odd that it's illegal to use lights at night for running, but yet they require reflectors on sail lines... I mean what sort of logic is that? LOL

I have nothing against them.. just be smart and courteous.


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## Sac-a-lait Trey (Jun 10, 2015)

Anyone else unable to open page 2 of this thread? (Could be that my phone needs updating).


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