I`ve been looking at trotline supply sites on line for these longline clips, thinking they may be available cheaper than at the commercial fishermans supply. Haven`t found anyone who even carries them, retail. Talking to T`KISH KAPE, he says he has been looking for them. So I thought you trotline fishermen may be interested in them. They sure make setting out and picking up easy. We use mono 125# and up for the drops, which allows you to work 50 to 100 droplines out of one bucket, prebaited, without tangling. You would have to think about weight, seems to me you like to run lines in midwater. Also, you would need to tie knots in your mainline to keep large fish from sliding them together so you stay legal with your separation. The other thing is they are kind of expensive, being stainless they have gone up pretty much. If enough of you are interested, I will contact the moderators and the supply store and see if they can become a sponsor of this site. That seems to be the right thing to do.
How do you like those clips? I been toying with the idea of making my first trotline and teaching myself how to fish with them. Seems appealing to me.
They are the catfish`s meow. Once you use these larger type of clips you will never go back to anything else. They take most of the danger out of trotlining, as you just unclip them with a sweep of the hand and then deal with the fish alongside or swing him into the boat. You are no longer tied to the mainline, if you see what I mean. They are designed for commercial fishermen to set quickly and safely while the boat is underway. These guys set and pick up 500 hooks 3 or 4 times a day, in the grouper fishery. They are designed to hold big fish, or really big fish, depending on the size clip. I can imagine however, if you have a problem with thieves you would want to hide your line underwater and pick it up with a chain snake when you return in the morning.
I actually just got back from Walmart, and they have them there. They are around 6 bucks a package, but not sure how many come in a package. Hopefully this helps ya.
Really? My walmart has the magic bait clips... they just dont seem like they would be strong enoguh for me.
Personally, I would never make a trotline without using swivels on the mainline to attach my droppers. I've done it the other way, and lost a lot of fish as a result. We've got a member/sponsor who makes a trotline clip that is much simpler, cheaper, and quicker to use than the longline type of clip. Check out the EZclip.
You probably have used the small clips Walmart seems to sell in the inland states. I`ve never seen them in the Walmarts here. I did buy some small ones from a supplier who sent me a catalogue, from Louisiana. I sent them back, they were too small. I`m guessing they are the ones available in the Walmarts. If you used the longline clips, I just don`t know how you would have lost the fish. They don`t come off, period! You should use the ones with a swivel for any twisting fish, like catfish. Also if you are bringing up fish from deep under strain, they can twist the hooks out of their mouths sometimes without the swivel. I have caught 10 foot sharks and 60 lb amberjacks on the smallest ones I have used, smaller than the ones in the pictures. I`m certainly not trying to sell anyone any, I just know they are a fast secure way to trotline, which is simply a freshwater longline. If these type of clips are good enough to be used worldwide for tuna, swordfish, sharks, and grouper, they should hold up for our use. I did check out the EZ clip, and am not knocking them. They don`t give you the flexibility to attach anywhere on the mainline, at any speed.
I have only been trotlining once. It was when I went with Seacatfish a few weeks ago, actually. But I can say that the clips he used were very handy and very easy to use. I just pulled his boat along the line and unhooked the cats with one hand and slung them into the big coolers we had on the boat. The hook, short line, clip, cat & all went into the cooler in a matter of seconds. I thought it was really nice not having to worry about trying to unhook that cats while out on the boat...much easier to do when you're getting ready to clean them (not that I helped clean them, I left that for Dan to do the next day).:smile2:
I am like Jerry, I always use a swivel on trotlines and even most juglines. After using the style that you showed for years I bought some EZclips from a member and sponsor here on the BOC and found that not only were they cheaper but easier to use than the others. You all might give them a try and I think you will like them.
Just found this website the other day and made my first order friday. You might try checking them out. www.memphisnet.net Hopefully their stuff is good. Anyone here ever used them.
