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I don’t know about New River trotliners, but some trotliners I know set their lines so they can’t be seen and rely on a grapple to retrieve the line. Of the dummy trotlines, 90% were detected. To get an estimate of trotline detection, some of the biologists set “dummy” trotlines, and then other biologists searched for the lines.
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Trotlines fished in rivers can be hard to spot. Gamefish were more likely to be caught in June and October. Flathead catfish were approximately two times more likely to be caught in August. Trotline catches of channel catfish remained consistent throughout the study. Only channel catfish were caught with cut bait, and catch rates were low: 3.5 channel cats per 100 hook-nights with cut bait, about half the catch rate of 7.2 channel cats per 100 hook-nights with live bait. All of the muskie, smallmouth, and walleye - and 91 of 93 flathead catfish - were caught on live bait. Live baits ruledĪpproximately 80% of all fish were caught on live bait. By-catch included 12 snapping turtles, 14 smallmouth bass, 18 walleye and two muskie. Each trotline had 26 hooks, split evenly between 3/0 circle hooks and 2/0 J-hooks attached to alternate dropper lines.Ī total of almost 3,700 hook-nights (a 26-hook trotline fished overnight would be 26 hook-nights) caught 338 fish, 80% of which were catfish. They were fished overnight in likely catfish habitat. Half the lines were baited with live bullheads and minnows, and half were baited with cut gizzard shad. Virginia Tech and biologists with the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries fished trotlines from May through October in four areas of the New River. Thus, the study - one of the few that has rigorously evaluated trotline catch - is applicable to our fisheries. True, muskie do not occur in the Deep South, and populations of Gulf Coast strain walleye swim in only a few rivers and impoundments in Mississippi, but these fish share their fish-eating habits with several Mississippi sport fish. The New River offers anglers opportunities to catch walleye, trophy muskie, and trophy smallmouth bass in addition to channel and flathead catfish. Welcome to the New and Used Classifieds from our Dealers.