Baitless trotline

[moocow]

My grandpa used to set a line in his ponds with just bare shinny hooks and catch up to 5 fish at a time. He would put the bright shinny hooks just 3 or 4inches under the surface. The fish he caught were always channel cats on slim occasion a bass would take hold.

Anyone ever try or hear of this?

[big rockpile]

I've put Lines out then go to get Bait come back have Catfish on.

big rockpile

[ace admirer]

i would guess that the glint off a hook would spur a strike? or are they just "grazing" and happon on the hooks?

"I dunno why, the fish are all contaminated with PCBs and mercury anyway, so why do they care? " Good one..

[Pops2]

Originally Posted by Del Gue

Trotlines are illegal in my state.

I dunno why, the fish are all contaminated with PCBs and mercury anyway, so why do they care?

i always wonder why people pee & cry over "global warming" when you can't eat the fish in the water your city drinks from.
if PCBs are the only thing you can still chow on cats upto about 2# safely, but there is so much other crap that dang little of it is safe to eat.

[Wis Bang 2]

In Canada we would give the little kids a plain gold hook to catch the sunfish & red-eyes under the boat docks, no bait needed.

[backwoodsman]

Are you sure that wasnt a snagging line? That was common at one time. Hooks close together on a line and just under the surface. Theres a special way to tie them too. Treble hooks were common in those setups too.

[moocow]

Originally Posted by backwoodsman

Are you sure that wasnt a snagging line? That was common at one time. Hooks close together on a line and just under the surface. Theres a special way to tie them too. Treble hooks were common in those setups too.

It was a line with the hooks 2ft apart and 2/0 J hooks.

[PyroDon]

Back when pop tabs actually came off we tied the on with the hook and used them on limb lines no bait was needed the taps acted like a sppon and with reflect light like a bait fish when the limb moved with the breeze.
on the lake we would use these off of cane poled set on the mud flats worked well there as well