tom

This may sound a little foolish but last week down R,I. a couple of us from the campground were working an area Flukin around and a F/v came in and droped a gill net ?maybe 100yards long short flyer on each end and moved off Someone want to explain how this system works ?Is the bottom of the net sitting on the bottom or is it suspended in the water column and i take it as any thing that swims into the net gets hungup by the gills and die's ? I saw these guys pull this net the next day well from a distance and there seemed to be some bycatch "Floaters" so they must be targeting ?????????? Scup or Sea bass? Really just curious!

Captain Curt

The net is weighted and mesh sized for the fish they intend to catch and it is suspended in the water column. I have never fished one but have seen alot of them pulled.

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Capt.Curt Maxon
www.relentlesscharters.com
"we are a full service charter boat"

Scup

I fished them, and you are partially right. There are several different types of gill nets. They can be floating or sinking. They can also have a tie down pocket in the bottom. For example, if the net is is 12 feet deep, a four foot tie down will allow you to have a 8 foot gill net with a pocket formed at the bottom. Actually it is part gill net and part trammel net. It has no additional walls but does has stacked netting (pocket) at the bottom. A standard sinking gill net is very species and size selective. For example, suppose you wish to target bunker, the mesh size will determine the size bunker you will catch. Too large a mesh, and the bunker will swim right through it, while too small a mesh and they will not gill themselves. The only type I have ever used was the traditional gill net of 110 foot length, floats on the top, sinkers on the bottom, ten foot depth, and anchored at both ends with cement blocks. I tried various screwy ways of using it with horrible success. For example, gill nets are usually set straight and taut between two points. Hopefully the net will cross the path of oncoming fish. I tried to use it as a seine. I chummed up a bunch of scup, and ran a circle around them. Caught a couple, but because I intentionally allowed the net to sweep the bottom, I nailed enough spider crabs to vow never ever again allow the bottom of the net ever come close to the bottom. I can control the depth at which I fish it. Problems I have had with using it are:
1. Improper boat design to fish it
2. Hard, but possible for one person to handle 100 foot plus gill net
3. With limited catch restrictions, say for scup, I found it to be a lot easier to reach my limit with pots than with the somewhat uncontrollable, at times, gill net.
4. Even if one would target say bunker, there is nothing to prevent a school of Taylor Blues (similar sized head) from getting into it. This actually happened last season (not by me) in which 1300 pounds of bluefish swam into a net set for pogies. The blues destroyed the net; but the net destroyed 1300 pounds of blues as well. The fishermen who were after lobster bait were not set up to handle such a large load. There was no cooling, nor could that amount of blues be removed from the net in a timely manner to have them cooled. The catch was unsellable for human consumption.
5. I fish out of a small boat and would not think of using a gill net should the weather be anything but perfect.
6. Since I fish alone, I have visions of falling over the side into my own gill net. Quite simply, I would be dead! Even on dry land, should I get tangle up with my own gill net there is no way I can extract my self quickly.
7. A gill net takes all the fun out of fishing but here in Connecticut our DEP dictates the amount of a specific species of fish that can be taken by specific tackle. Many use the gill net because of severe species poundage limitations placed on the use of rod and reel. For example, currently, the CT DEP issues a commercial fishing license which allows the taking of 10 scup per day by rod and reel. Should a gill net be used (it is legal), that exact same license will allow the taking of 100 pounds of scup per day. Please do not ask me the why of these rules as I do not have a clue of how they came about.

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"Success seems to be largely a matter of hanging on after others have let go" by William Feather

Andy

Great post Scup

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74Formula233

LOL

None of us will EVER accuse Scup of making incomplete posts!

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fishcounterbob

Great post Scup, as usual. There are no more knowledgeable fishermen than ex-commercial ones.
Are squid nets still large meshed and count on the squid to pile up rather than caught in the net so to limit pickin' and also bycatch?

Scup

I know the squid pile up in the drag because I was told this by a dragger. Since I do not drag, I do not know the what or whys of what these fishermen have in their minds. Today, a dragger is coming in, and hopefully, with a load of squid. I already have my order in for 60 pounds.

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"Success seems to be largely a matter of hanging on after others have let go" by William Feather

74Formula233

Already gave up on the jigs, eh? LOL!

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Scup

Definitely gave up on the jigs while fishing off a pier. Squid makes great eating, and a very good bait, but going one on one with those pushy Asians took all the fun out of it. Next Spring, if I get my ride ready in a timely manner, I just might give it a shot from my boat.

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"Success seems to be largely a matter of hanging on after others have let go" by William Feather

tom

Hey Scup A few months back i gave out my Stuffed clam recipe on one of your posts " old family Recipe " I was wondering if you had tryed them ???? I think the post was called "Help clams" If not you need to !!! I'm sitting in Vermont right now looking at 20 of them on the table "Started with 24" just came out of the oven Man life is goood Tom