EricM
Well-known member
I wandered downstream of my usual haunt to a couple of nice humps that I found on Navionics Hotmaps Explorer (a relatively inexpensive program showing lake contours for your personal computer). I drifted them a couple of times with one tiny bump to show for it. I gave up and went back to the regular spot and started fishing. The fishing was again, or still is, really very slow, and even the commercial trotliner caught very few. And sure enough, it turned out he had one stretched all the way across the river, shallows to shallows, and of course I got my 80 pound line tangled in it pretty good.
And since I tend to tell on myself:
Well, somebody's line was going to have to be cut, and I couldn't figure out why it had to be be mine. So it wasn't. At this point I have to say - I have no idea what legalities, or illegalities, were involved. I suspect that I might not have much of a defense except it was a tangle, not just a simple hook-up, and it wasn't done just out of meanness - although there always are some mean thoughts about anyone who would string lines or nets in such a popular sportfishing area. Any way, he came over and had a lot of choice words that he (and his wife??) felt that they had to express. Being old and unarmed, I carefully told them that if they were going to run trotlines all over the most popular bottom-fishing area in the lake, that it was going to occasionally happen. He said it was just ONE trotline, and I don't think I made any new friends when I explained that "not any more, it isn't - now it's two". I should be ashamed, and maybe am just a little.
I offered to sit there while he called the law, but he didn't. I suspect he and the law are not often the best of friends either. The whole thing kind of spoiled the rest of the day, so after a while I picked up and went home having caught only one six pound cat for all of the trouble given and recieved. Sometimes I forget how easy it really could be to avoid ruining a good time.......
And since I tend to tell on myself:
Well, somebody's line was going to have to be cut, and I couldn't figure out why it had to be be mine. So it wasn't. At this point I have to say - I have no idea what legalities, or illegalities, were involved. I suspect that I might not have much of a defense except it was a tangle, not just a simple hook-up, and it wasn't done just out of meanness - although there always are some mean thoughts about anyone who would string lines or nets in such a popular sportfishing area. Any way, he came over and had a lot of choice words that he (and his wife??) felt that they had to express. Being old and unarmed, I carefully told them that if they were going to run trotlines all over the most popular bottom-fishing area in the lake, that it was going to occasionally happen. He said it was just ONE trotline, and I don't think I made any new friends when I explained that "not any more, it isn't - now it's two". I should be ashamed, and maybe am just a little.
I offered to sit there while he called the law, but he didn't. I suspect he and the law are not often the best of friends either. The whole thing kind of spoiled the rest of the day, so after a while I picked up and went home having caught only one six pound cat for all of the trouble given and recieved. Sometimes I forget how easy it really could be to avoid ruining a good time.......
