Prawn traps - - - - GONE

AndrewH

Well-Known Member
Well it looks like they got me, two of my three sets disappeared today. I have been dropping in same area for 2-3 years and never an issue until today. Happened betweeen 12:45 and 3:45.

South side of Passage Island 280ft of water, 450ft of line and plenty of weight.

stolen/missing:

Two sets - both with large scotchman, 450ft of line, 12lb cannon ball, 2 heavy commie traps

In total I guess it is about $700 to replace which I don't have :(
 
****** sorry man. I've had too much trouble in that location to bother leaving them there anymore.
 
Years ago I caught a turd lifting a trap of mine... Between my fishing partner and myself we persuaded him that was not a good thing to do. But I learned a lesson too. I never leave traps out of sight for more than 1/2 hr. No trouble since. I hope someone here can help you with donated gear.
 
Perhaps caught in the log tug mentioned below? Copied from the reports section. Assume you aren't the "idiot" referenced....

"CottonscrapsNew Member

Anybody else hear the idiot who dropped his traps in front of a log tug by passage island on the coast guard channels today? Sounded like: Tug was doing 1.5kn with a three string wide tow, laid on the horn. After “Salmon Shark” (or something)dropped traps in front of him and decided to not move them the tug ran them over in slow motion. this guy gets all over the radio, threatening to sue, claiming the tug should have gone around. I love the peanut gallery that chimed in anonymously “first nice day of the year and the crazy’s come out”. Anyway, PSA...mind the Navigational channels when dropping traps. Tips up!"
 
Perhaps caught in the log tug mentioned below? Copied from the reports section. Assume you aren't the "idiot" referenced....

"CottonscrapsNew Member

Anybody else hear the idiot who dropped his traps in front of a log tug by passage island on the coast guard channels today? Sounded like: Tug was doing 1.5kn with a three string wide tow, laid on the horn. After “Salmon Shark” (or something)dropped traps in front of him and decided to not move them the tug ran them over in slow motion. this guy gets all over the radio, threatening to sue, claiming the tug should have gone around. I love the peanut gallery that chimed in anonymously “first nice day of the year and the crazy’s come out”. Anyway, PSA...mind the Navigational channels when dropping traps. Tips up!"

WOW, definitely not me!!!

I would find it hard to believe, the tug would have had to hug a tight line against passage in order to hit sets.
 
****** sorry man. I've had too much trouble in that location to bother leaving them there anymore.

Raincity, what type of problems have you had there? A few months earlier I talked to a guy on the water who was hovering over his prawn traps. He said in the 15 years he's been prawning he's never had any traps stolen until 2019. 6 traps and line and buoy gone. With the addition of today's post, I am started to get nervous about leaving my traps unattended for the few hours that I am out in the water.

I can live with an idiot low life poaching my prawns or crabs, but stealing the traps and gear should be punished by the old fashion hand chop. Steal 1 trap and loose a hand. Steal 2 and loose both hands. Steal all my traps and loose your testicles and weiner.
 
Lots of big loose logs getting moved around the sound, always give one last look which ever way the tides were going if it got lifted by a log, go for a bit of a boot...

last week at passage hwy, tug and log boom holding in 240-280 feet of water drifting waiting for the tide change or timing his turn to tow
to the fraser, would be very easy for those guys to drag your traps..
The ***** man but i find sunny weekends to be the thieves kind of day, i feel for you probably the worst feeling ever..
 
Is there a possibility that it was DFO who took the traps? From what I remember there are a few glass sponge reef closures around that area. Could it have maybe drifted a little into the "zone" and taken by DFO? A long shot but a possibility.. I'm sorry for the loss of your traps, I've had a few traps go missing or checked by others in the past, now I just drop the traps near my fishing areas and keep an eye on them. Binoculars help too.
 
I would find it hard to believe, the tug would have had to hug a tight line against passage in order to hit sets.[/QUOTE]

Man, that sucks about the missing gear. I was out there yesterday at the time you mentioned. I was pulling my traps and blew a couple fuses. I ended up tying the line off the stern and hand bombing it.

as I was towing 400ft of rope and traps behind me, a tug with a log boom was coming out of the sound, very tight to passage. I was heading straight for the island trying to get my line well out of his way. I couldn’t believe how close he was to passage, south west side.
 
By the way, I found that area to be picked clean in the last couple weeks. There was some kind of commie boat working the area pretty hard.
Still plenty of prawns farther up the sound, though.
 
By the way, I found that area to be picked clean in the last couple weeks. There was some kind of commie boat working the area pretty hard.
Still plenty of prawns farther up the sound, though.

Hey Don, i was recently out in the past week and noticed it to be slim pickings during our usual hot spots. Couldn't figure it out until you posted this. But what doesn't make sense to me is that how can that commie be dropping gear? Their season isn't until later on is it not?
 
Hey Don, i was recently out in the past week and noticed it to be slim pickings during our usual hot spots. Couldn't figure it out until you posted this. But what doesn't make sense to me is that how can that commie be dropping gear? Their season isn't until later on is it not?


I’m not positive, but maybe FN ? Saw the boat a few times. He was working the area for about a week. I’ve Been out there every couple weeks since December, and noticed about a month ago that there were so many traps, I couldn’t find a responsibly open enough area to set. Went out Saturday in the snowstorm with the wife and another couple. Set 12 traps, soaked 4 hours. Did poorly. Too much pressure, too close to city marinas & launches. I stay farther up the sound now.
 
I’m not positive, but maybe FN ? Saw the boat a few times. He was working the area for about a week. I’ve Been out there every couple weeks since December, and noticed about a month ago that there were so many traps, I couldn’t find a responsibly open enough area to set. Went out Saturday in the snowstorm with the wife and another couple. Set 12 traps, soaked 4 hours. Did poorly. Too much pressure, too close to city marinas & launches. I stay farther up the sound now.
Maybe that's why T&T market always has live spot prawns for sale? If you see the boat again, get the id numbers and maybe call the RAPP line and see what they say. 1-877-952-7277

Hey Andrew H. if It was a log barge that snagged them, maybe cruise over to the North Arm of the fraser and see if you can find your floats. That's where they'd hang up and maybe pull free from the logs. I snagged a crab trap there once, with a tiny submerged float and no name/number. It's possible you'll find your sets.

Can you check Marine Traffic website for past vessel movements? Probably not, but worth checking. Might show a log barge cruising right over your spot. Wouldn't help much but at least you wouldn't feel the sting of theft. It sucks.
 
I would find it hard to believe, the tug would have had to hug a tight line against passage in order to hit sets.

Man, that sucks about the missing gear. I was out there yesterday at the time you mentioned. I was pulling my traps and blew a couple fuses. I ended up tying the line off the stern and hand bombing it.

as I was towing 400ft of rope and traps behind me, a tug with a log boom was coming out of the sound, very tight to passage. I was heading straight for the island trying to get my line well out of his way. I couldn’t believe how close he was to passage, south west side.[/QUOTE]


I am betting that this is the guy that took out my traps, coming down the west side tight to the island would have put him on a perfect path. Frustrating for sure.
 
The whole west side, north, south and most of the east side of Passage Island are closed to Prawning. See the maps I posted above. Some of the areas closed for Winter Closure period and the other areas for Glass Sponge Reef closure. The only area not closed is a small portion on the south east side. After March 31st the Winter Closure comes off but the Glass Sponge Reef areas are closed there all year round.

I am second guessing myself but I was pretty sure this spot was fine. I ‘lost’ set 59 and 60.
 

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I am second guessing myself but I was pretty sure this spot was fine. I ‘lost’ set 59 and 60.

You're good. Not in the sponge reef closures or in the rockfish closure (which you are allowed to prawn in anyway...). Also, there is no winter closure around Passage Island, only 28-3 on the east side of Gambier.

Sorry to hear about your traps. Hopefully they turn up.
 
I am second guessing myself but I was pretty sure this spot was fine. I ‘lost’ set 59 and 60.
Yes, sorry you are good there. Not in the Sponge Reef closure and @CBsqrd is correct for the 2019/2020 winter closure it is only 28-3 in the sound that is closed. I had previous years closure map I was going by so I deleted my previous comment there for that area.

Link to the Sponge Reef Closure: https://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/oceans/im..._SpongeReefs_QueenCharlotteChanneloverall.jpg


Close up of your spot by Passage:


Screen Shot 2020-03-11 at 12.35.00 PM.png

Link for the Howe Sound Winter Closure:
https://www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fm-gp/rec/shellfish-coquillages-eng.html
 
I’m not positive, but maybe FN ? Saw the boat a few times. He was working the area for about a week. I’ve Been out there every couple weeks since December, and noticed about a month ago that there were so many traps, I couldn’t find a responsibly open enough area to set. Went out Saturday in the snowstorm with the wife and another couple. Set 12 traps, soaked 4 hours. Did poorly. Too much pressure, too close to city marinas & launches. I stay farther up the sound now.

Pretty sure I saw the boat you are talking about the other day out there. The one I saw looked fairly commercial but no VRN# on it with ropes for side guards not metal guards. I was also wondering about it too cause it wasn't commercial registered but is big enough to be and had a few people on it. I checked with DFO today to see if there were natives fishing the area and they said yes the Squamish First Nation has a food fish license (FSC) for Prawns and Howe Sound is in their area designation for the license. So it may very well have been one of their boats prawning. If the boat has a VRN # on it then the First Nations people are supposed to let DFO know that they will be using a commercially registered boat to do their FSC fishing out of.
 
Pretty sure I saw the boat you are talking about the other day out there. The one I saw looked fairly commercial but no VRN# on it with ropes for side guards not metal guards. I was also wondering about it too cause it wasn't commercial registered but is big enough to be and had a few people on it. I checked with DFO today to see if there were natives fishing the area and they said yes the Squamish First Nation has a food fish license (FSC) for Prawns and Howe Sound is in their area designation for the license. So it may very well have been one of their boats prawning. If the boat has a VRN # on it then the First Nations people are supposed to let DFO know that they will be using a commercially registered boat to do their FSC fishing out of.
Good intel, right there. Thanks.
 
Lots of traffic in that area, could have been stolen or dragged by a tug. I often see prawn buoys on the front of log booms.....they just do not care and those booms are not easy to control in a strong outflow to be fair to the tugs. Sorry to hear that. I lost one set off of NE Bowen on a ledge, but that was my error. Now I fish 55o feet of line and don't drop on steep edges.
 
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