Long Lines

[JoshS]

This summer I want to set a long line with about 100 hooks, from a boat, using circle hooks, for whatever comes along.
Does anybody want to share their experience doing this? Any hints or tips?
I'm wondering about what bait (thinking squid strips or frozen sandeel),
how to store the baited traces or try baiting on the water,
whether to shoot the line parallel to or perpendicular to the shore,
what sort of ground (I'm thinking a sandy beach area known for flatties)
whether to use a 'tub' method where lineis coiled with hooks attached or use hook traces that clip on with swivel snaps to the main line between stops-I think I want to use the swivel clip method after seeing this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=niX8-qwlsEE , but it looks very slow.

Cheers Josh

 

[Tristar777]

Hi. Never tried it either but would also be interested from a survival point of view.

 

[redandshane]

Sounds interesting I thought you meant long lines from a bank which of course is not strictly legal

If its sea fishing you should talk to Frazer from Coastal Survival who is a member here http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/member.php?u=19441

and has his own training set up http://www.coastalsurvival.com/ He is a great fella and will be happy to share his knowledge

 

[JoshS]

Will have a look those courses look fun!

 

[santaman2000]

I've never tried it in saltwater (not even sure if it's legal in saltwater here) I've always done it with the line stretched across the river (we call them "trot lines" here because you have to trot out every few hours to check your lines) Usually space the hooks on drop lines from the main line (drop lines are called stagings) about every 12-18 inches. Use live bait (preferably silver shiner minnows or crawfish) and weight the line to the bottom of the river to get a good catch of catfish and/or largemouth bass.

 

[JoshS]

That's interesting, in this country it is legal in salt-water but people say its illegal in freshwater here?
I think live bait would be an excellent idea, live sandeels or prawns could be deadly, and I know commercial longliners for bass use live joey mackeral, (that's a baby around 15cm). Trouble is catching enough, though I know nothing about catching live bait either, something else I am interested in.
I dont know anyone or anywhere that sells live sandeel, but they can be caught with a homemade seine net. Prawns could be found in rockpools/harbour walls presumbly?
I know how to make a minnow trap with a wine bottle, is that how you catch them santa?

 

[boatman]

A hundred hooks is a lot of hooks to worry about. Presumably you know about coiling the line in a bucket with the hooks hanging over the edge to avoid tangling them, making baiting easier too.

Rob Avery's The Complete book of Seafood Fishing, prism press. Cheap on Amazon.co.uk is very good.

 

[santaman2000]

@ JoshS: Live bait is caught in a variety of ways over here. A seine is common in freshwater or shallow saltwater. Cast nets are also common for saltwater. When pier fishing I catch cigar minnows with a small (#6 or #8) gold colored hook (interestingly they are rigged with 3 or 4 such hooks on the end of an ultralight line and rod) If using crawfish as bait they are generally gathered from debris raked up from a ditch or shallow, slow moving stream.

Now that you mention commercial fishermen, I belive that the offshore boats (commercial tuna boats) do indeed longline with such lines trailing from the boats.

 

[JoshS]

boatman yes I know about coiling the line in a bucket,I think it would be easy to bait up and fast to deploy but maybe a little dangerous.. Using circle hooks would make it a little safer though. Just bought that book so I will have a read.

Santa sounds like some of the small feather sabiki rigs people use for catching small fish here. I have 2 castsnets I brought back from Thailand. I had them in my hand luggage on the plane as it weighed a ton! Would have been way over my baggage allowence! I have never used it here though, I know how to throw it and it would be good for mullet but sand eels would slip through.

What's your method for catching crawfish? I don't quite understand, how do you rake up the debris, literally use a rake? There are american signal crayfish here and people are always asking about ways of catching them

 

[santaman2000]

You can rake the debris from the bottom with whatever works. The most common thing used here is either a long handled dip net (Big basket and fine mesh) or a piece of insect screen such as you would use as a window screen or a screen door. Even a 5 gallon bucket (such as a contracter's paint bucket) can be used to scoop debris from the bottom.

Once you get it up just pour it on dry ground and sort through it with your hands to pick up any crawdads; they're fairly slow on land.

 

[boatman]

I believe that one of the main baits for longliners used to be mussels which is good as there are so many around but presumably fiddly to extract uncooked. I wonder if cracking the shells open would work.

 

[T1Viper]

I believe that one of the main baits for longliners used to be mussels which is good as there are so many around but presumably fiddly to extract uncooked. I wonder if cracking the shells open would work.

I used to use mussels as a kid, i used a knife to pop them open and take them out, its not too bad once you've done a couple.

 

[santaman2000]

I believe that one of the main baits for longliners used to be mussels which is good as there are so many around but presumably fiddly to extract uncooked. I wonder if cracking the shells open would work.

As a kid I picked open freshwater mussels without a problem. Saltwater ones shouldn't be any harder than shucking oysters. Especially if you use an oyster knife www.oysters.us/oyster-knives.html

 

[dump of the stig]

One of my first post so i dont want to come across as a know it all,
so here gose anyway, thing with mussles and easily collect,able bait i,e shellfish, is that there a good
and no doubt reliable bait but there hard to keep on the hook without simply being washed off in the tide.
a nice way round this (if you where in a survival situation) is to wrap them to the shank of the hook with
cotton extracted from an item of clothing and tie it off, you can pack alot of juicy mussels on the hook like this.
In the real world angler use something called bait elastic which is obviously less hassle and works a treat.
The fish is only interested in the ammino acids the bait is giving off, and pays no mind to the fact its done up like a kipper.
(excuse the pun)
p.s to extract them, jamming the point of a strong knife into the nubbed hinge (the pointy bit) and twisting should get you into
them.