trotline crabbing

[keakar]

Originally Posted by AceArcher

just put together some 3/4 pvc pipe and run it out of a boat holder on your boat.. or however you can secure it to you boat.. .MAKE SURE ITS SECURED... your line will get hung up and there will be some pressure put on this thing.

the key is you want the prop stick to be "level" with the water and about 3-4 inches above the water level ..

google up prop stick picture for crabbing.. that will give you loads of ideas.

keep it minimal.. the fancier it is.. the more likely it is that stuff is gonna get hung up on it... simple is better in this case.

more questions, I see lots of variations on the prop sticks as far as how high the outside post goes. I figure the line will always stay tight against it because its under pressure from forward motion so I "assume" all that is needed is 2-3" at the most to keep the line from sliding off the end correct?

I see some prop sticks have skirts on them. I "assume" the skirt is there only to spook the crab into letting go before it goes over the prop stick correct? and what are your thoughts about if this is worth having.

also I saw one guy had it set up to catch the crabs for him by putting a fixed net right under the prop stick and it seamed to work well. have you ever seen or done it that way with some form of net or a box you just empty at the end of the line so you just drive the boat and don't have to work the net?

[AceArcher]

Originally Posted by keakar

more questions, I see lots of variations on the prop sticks as far as how high the outside post goes. I figure the line will always stay tight against it because its under pressure from forward motion so I "assume" all that is needed is 2-3" at the most to keep the line from sliding off the end correct?

also I see some have skirts on them. I "assume" the skirt is there only to spook the crab into letting go before it goes over the prop stick correct?

I saw one guy had it set up to catch the crabs for him by putting the net right under the prop stick and it seamed to work, sorta. have you ever seen or done it that way with some form of net or a box you just empty at the end of the line?

those that have nets built into the system under the prop stick are considered to be "auto" dippers... im not really a big fan of em... seems like they loose a lot of crabs... but a lot of commercial guys use the heck outa them.

make your line using slip knots and you wont have to worry about the flaps (they are there for people using snoods on their line (dangle lines of the main line which are a royal pain in the *****)).

the "posts" only need to be maybe an two inches tall on each side... anything more is a personal choice.... just dont make them so tall that its hard to get the line off them quickly... a lot of time you have to put the line on and off real quick... so you dont want it to be difficult.