Trot Lines
by Rob Brown (urbaneruralite)

There are two ways to catch fish. There is active fishing with a net, spear or even rod and reel. There, too, is passive fishing as the fisherman uses an apparatus to do the catching for him. Passive fishing is often more efficient due to the fact that the fisherman can catch many fish simultaneously without the need for hooking and fighting each fish. The apparatus, such as a trotline, does all the work.

A trotline is made such that the fish is hooked as it swims away after feeding on the bait. The fish is then played by variable tension supplied by weights or floats on the line. Done right, the trotline is effective at keeping the fish on the hook until the fisherman decides to remove it.

Tension from a weight at the point the trotline is tied off to a natural structure:

Tension from a float attached to a trotline near an anchor:

Catfish get off of trotlines by breaking tackle or twisting free. A catfish can twist a piece of monofilament up so tight it looks like a telephone cord. Once the catfish has the lead twisted up all the way, it gains leverage to spin off the hook. Spinning off from a J-hook is especially easy. That may be the reason so many try trotlines and give up. The ability of the fish to twist off can be limited with a swivel on both axes and the use of circle hooks:

The picture above says it all, though some points may be less than obvious. First, the lead should short; about a foot long. Longer is not necessary. Shorter prevents tangles and prevents fish finding novel ways to twist off. Second, the silver gizmo is a cotter pin bent to make a clip. With clips you can add and remove your trotline leads easily. Third, use braided nylon for the leaders. Braided nylon is durable, stays flexible and will not be compromised by twisting. Fourth, use as small a hook as possible. Anything larger than 3/0 tends to get small fish through an eye. If you keep the small ones, as many do, you have no worries. You can catch a mighty small fish on a 5/0 circle. However if you are a fillet man, 2/0 will catch all the cats you would care to keep. The last point is how one goes about getting the swivels on the main line of the trotline.

You start with a roll of twine; probably tarred nylon. You put however many swivels you like or are allowed onto the twine. Now tie a large loop, keeping all of the swivels between the loop and the roll. You now have an end loop for connection of your trotline to tie-offs, anchors or other trotlines just as in the pictures below:

Next, measure out as much twine as you like before reaching the point where you would like to be able to attach a leader. Between the group of swivels and the loop, tie a dropper knot with as little dropper as possible. Move a swivel to the knot. Move the rest of the swivels away from the knot. Now, as close to the first dropper knot as possible, put another dropper knot between the one swivel and the rest of the swivels. The dropper knots could be more accurately called stopper knots, because that is the purpose. The knots stop the leaders from moving from where you clip them on. How far apart you put the swivels depends on factors such as leader length, expected fish size and how large an area you want to cover with a given number of hooks.

That about does it. The only other thing you need to read is an admonition to keep a sharp knife handy at all times while running a trotline. Never forget that you are dealing with something that can hook you and drag you overboard. Keep the knife handy and be ready to use it. Have fun and be safe!