[coonass1962]

I have not really researched this topic, but with all the knowledge on this site. I am sure that someone has the answer or have the place where I can look it up. I am interested in setting some lines for catfish but, am not familiar with the regs in this state. I caught a few cats on lines last week in Texas and they tasted really good. So I am really itching to catch some here in Colorado.

 

[aaron]

trot lines are illegal in colorado except in certain areas. You can read the regs here: http://wildlife.state.co.us/regulations/ch01.pdf

 

[1eyered]

THAT'S NOT VERY SPORTSMANLIKE OF YOU!!! BAH-HUM-BUG!!





























J/K..   ;D

I think the main area of the state where it's allowed is the SE reservoirs of the state. If Blue Lake allows it, I'd try out there. It's shallower than ever, yet, the DOW boasts of the catfishing down there. Aaannnd there are blue catfish in there! Hurry up and get a full line so we could do a Coloradofisherman fish fry!

1eyeReD

 

[rottal]

When i ws a kid growing up in N.C. my friends dad used to set trotlines...or some he called "throw lines", instead of running a line down a river or across a lake he would sometimes set a line with several hooks just off the bank and leave it overnight. It used to be alot of fun to get out there in the morning to check and see what was on the other end...kind of like Christmas, except with fish instead of presents..it doesnt take much to get me excited.

Later, when i was older and in the service, some buddies and i would go down to some rivers and set "limb lines" which you just tied off to branches and attached a chem lite just above it so you could see it from down the bank...we usually sat next to a fire drinking and just hanging out until you saw one of the chem lits bouncing around, then it was a mad dash to get to the line before the fish got off....not exactly fishing to some, but it was still fun...

 

[epic]

Here are some lakes that allow Trout Lines and Jug lines, if they havent been drained:
ADOBE CREEK RESERVOIR SWA (Blue Lake)
HORSE CREEK RESERVOIR SWA
JOHN MARTIN RESERVOIR SWA
Meredith Reservoir
Nee Gronda
Nee Noshe
Nee so Pah
Upper and Lower
Queens.

 

[sbebdllh]

I have set a trot line at Nee Noshe before. Used worms and cat dough bait on the lines. Would set it out late in the afternoon before the evening bite and come back to it the next morning. Caught a few bass and a few catfish with it. More fun then success for me at the time but I do know that I was setting them pretty early in the season. Once that lake turned on in June I barely had time to take a nap before going back out to try and catch a limit of crappie or saugeye. I used milk jugs as floats and wrote on them with magic marker and it worked great. Just wade out or use a belly boat so that you can get them deep enough from the surface to be legal.
Craig

 

[meandmydog]

i dont see the fun in this. no fight or thrill of the bite. this must be strictly for harvest.

 

[sbebdllh]

In a way I agree with you Meandmydog, it is definately not as sporting in the common mind as is pursuing game fish with rod and reel. But to perhaps shed better light on this method of harvest, let me start by saying it is still no guarantee by any means. If placed in the wrong location, used the wrong bait, wrong sized hook or any number of other variables, you will not catch piddidle. Second, in a way it is like another way of trying to master the art of fooling a fish into a frying pan. It takes time to set everything up for a 20 hook trot line. You must bait everything up, plant each end carefully and then string out your trot line without making a big tangled mess. You then leave it alone for a period of up to 24 hours per the law, when you go back it is like a kid in a candy store full of hopes and bare hooks with no fish and a missing worm. When I was growing up I would go to Sweden each year for a month and visit a foreign exchange student we had. His father in law taught me how to take a birch branch 8-10 foot long and widdle the thick end. We then went and caught murt, an oily bottom fish similar to a greasy carp. We would place a 10" murt on a sissor trap that was essentially a larg pair of metal teeth that had a spring attached. We would tie a heavy line to the top of the branch and then suspend the bait below in the water and plant the birch branch firmly into the mud. Then row away and leave it for the night. When we came back in the morning you would know right away when you would row up to the branch when it started bobbing and weaving that there was somebody home. We grabbed the branch and then found the clip that held all the line and hand lined a pike in. These would be either grilled or smoked and preserved for the winter. You are correct that a trot line indeed has a high corolation with harvest and not sport comparitavely. However, as a young man who drove 3+ hours each way to a reservoir to try and put fish on the table for a while, it was a fun and new way to try and increase my potential of limiting out on a certain species. No matter what, you can not keep more than the stated limit per specific species, this just might help you get there with an extra method of harvest. Your not wrong in your perception and opinion on this, but I wanted to share my 2 cents on what made it a fun challenge or me.
Craig

 

[roadkill]

i dont see the fun in this. no fight or thrill of the bite. this must be strictly for harvest.

i dont see any fun in sitting round getting drunk, but i sure more than a few here might list that as there favorite ast time, to each there own. if i lived closer to the trot line areas i would enjoy going out for an evening of setting lines especialy if i had a friend to go along someone to chat with and pass the time

 

[Guest]

i dont see the fun in this.

Then you probably haven't done it with a couple of your buddies.

 

[meandmydog]

i didn't mean to come across as putting this down as i have never done it it was just that everyone on here seems to me they are mainly catch and release if youu are useing this method b/c you do like to eat fish thenn i understand i was juust trying to understand.

 

[meandmydog]

no i haven't i really dont know anybody up here in ft. collins to fish with and my 1 buddy is not real fun to fish with he just gets mad and wants to leave thus my screen name: me and my dog(it is actualluy my dog not some slang term for a friend) so i usually fish alone or sometimes my wife and little girl.

 

[Guest]

i didn't mean to come across as putting this down as i have never done it it was just that everyone on here seems to me they are mainly catch and release

No problem. It's actually a fun way to spend a night. When I used to do it back in Kansas, we could each have a trotline with 25 dropper hooks and 8 bank lines or limb lines, in addition to fishing with 2 poles. We would run our lines every 2 hours, all night long, so it was an active way of fishing. It takes a lot of time for a couple guys to set and bait 2 trotlines w/ a total of 50 hooks and then to set and bait another 16 limb lines.

The limb lines were lots of fun. We'd find a nice supple willow branch hanging out over the river and tie a piece of heavy nylon cord to it just long enough that the bend of the big hook on the end would be just under the surface. Then we'd hook a 4"-6" perch (green sunfish, actually) through the back so he'd splash and thrash around on the surface. Then when you'd run the lines you'd see those willow branches bobbing and diving with a big ol' channel cat! Cool! The willow acted like a fishing rod, constantly keeping the line tight so the fish wouldn't get off. It really was a hoot!

And, I never met a channel cat I didn't like! Yum!