Not everyone uses traps to try and catch crabs. Many use a long line which stretches several hundred feet along the bottom. This is called a trotline. The advantages of a trotline are you can catch a lot more crabs if they are running and you do not have to constantly pull traps to the surface and then toss them back into the water. You also need a larger boat to hold lots of traps. Trotlines take up less room. A disadvantage is: It is hard to keep a boat heading straight while using a dip net to catch crabs off the side of a boat. If you use eel for bait, you will need to store it in a container and cover it with rock salt to keep it useable for a period of time. If you have an outdoor cold box, keep it in there because it will not add anything to fresh air in your home. Eels are extremely slippery and hard to hold. You will have to cut up each eel into pieces and attach each piece on the trotline at regular intervals using a snood. If you can, wear gloves because even a small scratch on your hands feels like a major injury when you get rock salt in it. When your day is over, store the entire line in a barrel or some other container for the next use. When pulling your line in, remove the bait and take care to wind it so it will not turn into a hopeless mass of knots. Always check your line after a few uses for strength.
Using a trotline requires practice and is best done with a buddy; one to steer the boat the other to use a net to catch the crabs. You will need quick reflexes. Here are some supplies: two anchors; two lengths of galvanized chain; two floats or buoys; lots of line, 1000 feet or more; stainless steel clips and a prop stick.
There are many types of line: tarred crabbing trotline, tube cotton twine, Locktight, black nylon braid tie down line, white nylon braid tie down line, solid braid nylon tie down line, white nylon 3-strand twist rope and more. Line comes in different circumferences and lengths.
A trotline is put together in several pieces. -
There are two weights ( one for each end), such as buckets filled with cement, anchors or whatever you choose. Their purpose is to anchor your trotline in place.
The purpose of the floats is to mark the beginning and end of your trotline. You can buy floats or use empty plastic jugs. Make sure you rinse them first and see that the tops are tight.
You will attach two lengths of line to each float. One length goes from the float to the weight or anchor, the second is the one is tied to one end of a length of chain
Next, a length of line is attached to the other end of the chain. This is your trotline and could run as long as 1200 feet or longer.
Repeat the process for the float, anchor, chain and attaching lines for the other end. You will need two of everything except the actual trotline. Make the line in 100 foot sections, using snap links to hold them together. The links will also act as weights to hold the line down. Making a trotline this way gives you the added advantage of being able to remove a length of line if it is too long.
The lines which run from the floats to the weights or anchors and those running from the floats to the chains, should be the depth of the water in which you place your trotline plus a couple of feet extra. Why do you need extra line on the float? This allows for the wake of a passing boat and also prevents the float being drawn under the water by the weight of the chain during a tide change. It also allows the trotline to be raised out of the water and placed across a prop stick without having to pull the weight up as well. If you plan to put your trotline in 18 feet of water, use lengths of line which are 20 feet long, for example. Put a clip on each end so you can add additional lengths or take some away depending on water depth.
Now to the trotline itself. Every 6 feet or so attach a short length of line, maybe six inches long, with a stainless steel clip. This short piece of line is commonly called a snood or trot. The actual distance between them is up to you. If you are a fast crabber maybe 4 feet is good. You attach your bait to these clips or hooks and remove it when you are done. If you have no clips you can tie bait onto the line.
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THE PROCESS
One weight is lowered into the water. Next, the line with the chain is lowered into the water. Move your boat along the water IN A STRAIGHT LINE and let the trotline play out. Close to the end of the trotline, lower the second weight and chain into the water then the float.
Wait several minutes and move your boat to the other end of the trotline and the float.
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Many trotline users have an assembly of plastic pipe rigged in their boats which makes the retrieving process a lot easier; a prop stick. This is attached to the boat and sticks out over the side. The plastic PVC pipe is allowed to spin. The trotline is set across the prop stick and the line is drawn from the water as the boat moves along the line. You can also use a hose reel.
Pick the float out of the water and lay the line across the pipe. Keeping your boat pointed at the far end of your line begin to move the boat slowly in that direction. As you move the line will be pulled off the bottom and up to the boat.
Here' s where a crabbing buddy is extremely helpful. The second person stands with a metal net and has it poised under the line as it rises to the surface. As a crab is spotted clinging to a piece of bait, the net is placed under it and it is scooped out and put into a basket in your boat. You have to be FAST. Crabs do not like sunlight and will drop off quickly. It is possible to have a crab in the net but it cannot be emptied into a basket because another crab is coming to the surface on another piece of bait right behind the first one. Again, you have to be fast.
Once the line is run in its entire length, you return to the far end; sit for several minutes then repeat the process.
The person running the boat keeps a slow steady speed and is responsible for the direction the boat is moving, which is difficult in the wind. The advantage of running a trotline over using traps is that you can get more crabs in a shorter period of time. The disadvantage is that, for one person, it is a heck of a lot more work.
Before you start out, make sure you have the legal length trotline; you may need a license. Check the rules first.
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A WORD OF CAUTION: Do NOT leave your traps or trotline unattended. Unfortunately there are some unsavory characters around who will empty your traps or run your line when you are not looking. Your line may be cut. Although unlawful, that does not stop them!
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