MAKING A TROTLINE

"Give a man a fish 
and he'll eat for a day;
Teach a man to fish and
he'll sit out in a boat 
all day drinking beer."

The author with a 43 lb. flathead caught on a trotline in Beaver Lake. The fish was released live back into the lake shortly after this picture was taken. (Champion Belle looking on.)

NOTE:

1. Equipment
2. Assembly
3. Setting out the trot lines
4. Baiting the lines
5. Running the lines

You will need 100 yards of 100lb. braided nylon line, 50 # 2 stainless steel hooks, some barrel swivels, two large coffee cans, and a spool of strong cotton twine.

1. Tie a swivel on the end of the nylon line.
2. Strip out 4 - 5 feet of line. Let about two feet of line
   drop down, grasping it at the top(a).
3. Tie a double knot looping the drop(b) over the top and through the loop. See diagram 1.
   
4. Wrap the line around the coffee can, laying the drop over inside
   the can and wrapping the line over the drop and tying a drop every
   4 - 5 feet.
5. After about twenty drops, strip out an additional 5 feet,
   and cut the line.
6. Tie on another barrel swivel.
   
7. Repeat using the rest of the line and the other coffee can.

1. Tie a length of cotton twine onto the end swivel of the trotline.
2. Tie the twine to the stump about a foot above the water.
3. Troll or scull downstream, unreeling the trotline off the can.
4. At the end of the line, tie another length of cotton twine to the end swivel.
5. Tie onto a tree stump or green bush in about six feet of water, pulling the line tight so that it is just below the surface of the water.

Put the hooks on the line by pulling the loop of the drop through the eye of the hook and over the point as shown in diagram 2. Pull yourself up the line, putting a hook on each drop. It is best to wait until all the hooks are on the line before putting the bait on, to avoid shaking off the bait.

Channel cats are the real "scum-sucking bottom feeders" that go for stink bait. I never had much luck with commercial stinkbait preparations. I use chicken livers. I've also caught channel cats on night crawlers and even crickets, but they usually get nibbled off by bream.

Work your way down the trotline, alternating live bait with liver. An old window counter-weight tied at the middle of the line will help keep the line in place.