HACKED BY CYBER-ATTACK - ALPERENBTN

[rwsell]

Buddy of mine and I went fishing this morning (thursday 5/19) and ran across numerous trot lines off the king ranch shore line. I thought it to be illegal to have these in salt water but may be wrong. Saw a guy alone in a boat going and checking them but didnt go ask about them. Also can sail lines be left unattended or how near to them do you have to be while they are out?

[Old salt]

It's legal to run the trotlines for black drum. Reds and trout must be released though.

There are usually quite a few around Deadman's Hole also.

Old salt

[Hookshurt]

Here's a link to the TPWD with the regs about trotlines and saillines.

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/publications/annual/fish/legaldevice.phtml
_________________
Gee...that's a swell fish you caught...can I have it for BAIT???

[am3]

taken from the handbook

Sail Line:
For use in SALT WATER only. A type of trotline with one end of the main line fixed on the shore, the other end of the main line attached to a wind-powered floating device or sail.
Nongame fish, red drum, spotted seatrout, and sharks may be taken with a sail line.
No more than 1 sail line may be used per fisherman.
The sail line must be attended at all times the line is fishing.
Sail lines may not be used by the holder of a commercial fishing license.
Sail lines may be used 7 days a week.
Tag Requirements:
Must have a valid Saltwater Trotline Tag for each 300 feet of mainline or fraction thereof being fished.
Construction and Design Restrictions:
Sail line may not exceed 1800 feet from reel to sail.
Sail and the most shoreward float must be bright orange or red color. All other floats must be yellow. No float may be more than 200 feet from the sail.
A weight of at least 1 ounce or more must be attached to the line not less than 4 feet or more than 6 feet shoreward of the most shoreward float.
Reflectors of not less than 2 square inches shall be attached to the sail and floats. They must be easily seen from all directions. This applies for sail lines operated from 30 minutes after sunset to 30 minutes before sunrise.
May have no more than 30 hooks.
There is no hook spacing requirement.
No hook may be placed more than 200 feet from the sail.
May be baited with either natural or artificial bait.
Placement and Location Restrictions: Must meet placement and location requirements for saltwater trotlines.

Trotlines In Salt Water
No more than 1 trotline may be used per fisherman. Tag Requirements:
Must have a valid Saltwater Trotline Tag attached to each 300 feet of mainline or fraction thereof. (Tag must be purchased at TPW Law Enforcement offices.)
Must be used with a valid GEAR TAG attached within 3 feet of the first hook at each end of the trotline.
Construction and Design Restrictions:
Must be marked with a yellow floating buoy not less than 6 inches in height, 6 inches in length, and 6 inches in width, bearing a two-inch wide stripe of contrasting color, attached to end fixtures.
Buoys or floats may not be made of plastic bottle(s) of any color or size.
May not be baited with other than natural bait. Natural bait is a whole or cut-up portion of a fish or shellfish or a whole or cut-up portion of plant material in its natural state, provided that none of these may be altered beyond cutting into portions.
May not be used with hooks other than circle-type hook with point curved in and having a gap (distance from point to shank) of no more than one-half inch, and with the diameter of the circle not less than five-eighths inch (comparable to Mustad 11/0 circle hook Model #39960ST).
Placement and Location Restrictions:
May not be used in or on the waters of the Gulf of Mexico within the jurisdiction of this state.
May not be placed closer than 50 feet from any other trotline, or set within 200 feet of the edge of the Intracoastal Waterway or its tributary channels.
May not be used in Aransas County in Little Bay and the water area of Aransas Bay within one-half mile of a line from Hail Point on the Lamar Peninsula, then direct to the eastern end of Goose Island, then along the southern shore of Goose Island, then along the causeway between Lamar Peninsula and Live Oak Peninsula, then along the eastern shoreline of the Live Oak Peninsula past the town of Fulton, past Nine-Mile Point, past the town of Rockport to a point at the east end of Talley Island, including that part of Copano Bay within 1,000 feet of the causeway between Lamar Peninsula and Live Oak Peninsula.
No trotline or trotline components (EXCEPT Sail Lines), including lines and hooks, but excluding poles, may be left in or on coastal waters between the hours of 1 p.m. on Friday through 1 p.m. on Sunday of each week, except that attended sail lines are excluded from the restrictions imposed by this clause. In the event small craft advisories or higher marine weather advisories issued by the National Weather Service are in place at 8:00 a.m. on Friday, trotlines may remain in the water until 6:00 p.m. on Friday. If small craft advisories are in place at 1:00 p.m. on Friday, trotlines may remain in the water until Saturday. When small craft advisories are lifted by 8:00 a.m. on Saturday, trotlines must be removed by 6:00 p.m. on Saturday. When small craft advisories or higher marine weather advisories are still in place at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, trotlines may remain in the water through 1:00 p.m. on Sunday. It is a violation to tend, bait, or harvest fish or any other aquatic life from trotlines during the period that trotline removal requirements are suspended under this provision for adverse weather conditions. For purposes of enforcement, the geographic area customarily covered by marine weather advisories will be delineated by department policy.

[putawaywet]

Chances are that if someone went to the trouble to set up the lines according to regulation it was a commercial fisherman. Plus commercial guys get three times the hooks that recreational is allowed.
I know alot of the commercial guys in Port Mansfield.They are just about the last of the Texas bay trotliners.
Lots of very hard work to stay damn near poor.
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