T&T: Rope Cutters

[Rock Bradford]

i beg to differ.  the commercial crabbers i know have a habit of fudging all
they can toward the channel.  in forty years on sail and power, i've only
had to dive once to clear a line from a prop.  now that i'm over sixty, i
know it won't be as much fun as it was 20 years ago.  i'm glad all the
crabbers and lobstermen where you are don't drop traps in or near channels,
but here in south carolina the lines are a little more blurry than that.

rock bradford
44' Cygnus "Magpie"
Georgetown, SC

On Tue, Jan 20, 2009 at 8:02 PM, Jim Ague <ague at usa.net> wrote:

> Every time this subject comes up and the posse wearing spurs shows up to
> justify why they have them on, I have to add my two cents.
>
> We didn't use them with our protected single screw Monk 36. For 5 years we
> traveled the East Coast from Ottawa to Sanford and never caught a line.
>
> I think the two worst areas are Chesapeake Bay and Albemarle Sound,
> especially the stretch from Elizabeth City to Alligator River bridge.
>
> Were we lucky? Possibly. Did we use diligence and common sense? You betcha.
>
> (1) Watch how the wind is blowing and the current is flowing. That will let
> you know which way the line drops from the float. (2) The crabbers drop
> their trap is a long line. Look for the line of evenly spaced, same-colored
> floats. This will help you determine a path through or around and a gap in
> the spacing suggests a float might be pulled below the waterline. (3) In
> the
> Bay stay out of the harvest areas and use the channels set aside for
> boaters, not crabbers. These are marked by small white marked floats.
>
> -- Jim Ague
> _______________________________________________
> http://lists.samurai.com/mailman/listinfo/trawlers-and-trawlering
>
> To unsubscribe or modify your subscription options (get password, change
> email address, etc) go to:
> http://lists.samurai.com/mailman/options/trawlers-and-trawlering
>
> Trawlers & Trawlering and T&T are trademarks of Water World
> Productions. Unauthorized use is prohibited.