Lobster Fishing help

[JimRP31]

I have 5 recreational traps. My spring spot is very muddy and in a 60-70 feet of water. I have 90-100' of line on each trap. I get 3-5 keepers a week until late July and it is very close to my house.

I am trying a new spot this fall that several weekend rec lobster guys I know recommend. It is closer to the ocean, rocky and the average depth is 30'. I left my line the same but added a small doughnut shaped buoy at 25' (I saw this online) to keep the line from being tangled in the rocks. The problem is that the small buoy floats on the surface at low tide and there is a big loop of line between the small buoy and the main colored buoy.

Am I setting this up correctly? I already had one trap get caught on someones prop and get cut. Luckily my three year old has great eyesight and saw the small doughnut floating in the water, so I could recover the trap. Any help or advice would be appreciated.

 

[harpoon83]

I would suggest not using 100 ft of rope in such a shallow area, but i assume you dont want to cut your lines. So i guess i dont really have an answer that you didnt alleady think of.

 

[El Mar]

Very least tie it short and coil the rest in the pot. No ideal but.......

You have weights on the line? Although that would cause other problems.

 

[Downeaster]

Learn how to tie a sheepshank. Done right, this is a stable knot and I've seldom had it fail when used for this purpose.

 

[F/V First Team]

Just coil up your extra and quick splice a piece of twine into your manline to hold it there

 

[Blitzen]

Learn how to tie a sheepshank. Done right, this is a stable knot and I've seldom had it fail when used for this purpose.

That is classic, I was going to say the same thing.
Only problem is that there are few people around that can tie one anymore.

 

[traditions]

Tie on your toggle with a 6 foot toggle line.This allows the main line to remain below most props and does away with the clothes line affect that toggles cause.The best solution is to fish the correct length of rope.Tie on lengtheners to go deeper and remove to fish shoaler,thats the way its done.Eye splice in end of float where sink ties on,tie on sink with a sheet bend and tuck the loose end back under one strand on the sink rope,this is where you add your rope in the same fashion.

 

[CEShawn]

I only have limited potting experience. Just sea bassing two years, couple conch/scup too.

Couldn't you just get another set of lines to fish the shallow spot? Put those on when needed. Especially with just 5 traps.

I myself would also master the art of the short splice. I can even do it!

Man, the only knot that I really know for rope/lines is the bowline, amazing where I can use that, a couple of hitches and limited splicing. Some of them a really an art form.

The sheepshank, is that what they were trying to tie when JAWS attacked? That would be a good trivia question...

 

[JimRP31]

Thanks for all the advise. I am going try FV's option the next time I go out. I'll let you know how it goes.

 

[steveinak]

The rule i go by is 20% more buoyline than the depth of the water your fishing in. You could just coil up the extra and use some heavy duty zip ties to keep it coiled or here's a couple of pictures of a sheep shank knot. Also here's a link to see/learn how to tie it http://www.animatedknots.com/photos/sheepshank/sheepshankR8.jpg
When i lobstered back east i made all my buoylines in 10 fathom sections and just lenghtened/shortened as needed.

My version uses a clove hitch to hold each end of the coil, i've used this to hold a coil of 150' of extra buoyline when i end up going a bit shallower than the regular 600+' i fish for shrimp in.




some knots for tying shots of line together

 

[steveinak]

This looks like a good knot also
http://www.animatedknots.com/photos/zeppelin/zeppelinR6.jpg

 

[F/V First Team]

not just for bowlines...

 

[Eastporter]

I only have limited potting experience. Just sea bassing two years, couple conch/scup too.

Couldn't you just get another set of lines to fish the shallow spot? Put those on when needed. Especially with just 5 traps.

I myself would also master the art of the short splice. I can even do it!

Man, the only knot that I really know for rope/lines is the bowline, amazing where I can use that, a couple of hitches and limited splicing. Some of them a really an art form.

The sheepshank, is that what they were trying to tie when JAWS attacked? That would be a good trivia question...

In Jaws Quint asked Hooper to tie him a sheepshank before he would take him on the boat (Orca). Hooper ties it and says something like "I haven't had to tie that since basic seamanship".

 

[El Mar]

In Jaws Quint asked Hooper to tie him a sheepshank before he would take him on the boat (Orca). Hooper ties it and says something like "I haven't had to tie that since basic seamanship".

"You didn't say how short you wanted it"