Issues with commercial prawn guys before? Yes I have, but I like to give everyone the benefit of the doubt, they are trying to make their living, keep out of their way, they only have a month or so to fish.
Log tows (booms) are a huge cause of lost traps. Quite a few of the booms towed into the mouth of the Fraser are decorated with "jewellery". Lots of floats and rope, traps usually smashed to pieces. (There used to be a local boom guy that sold prawn traps, guess where they came from?)
I have returned 7 floats/traps/rope to date. One crab trap floated from Seachelt to Campbell River. Another floated from Kelsey Bay to Telegraph Cove. A number of others have had no name/phone numbers so who knows where they came from, and how far?
I caught a prawn trap on the downrigger last year. I snagged another string of 4 (on my prawn trap string) that someone had cut the float off and tied on a 10lb rock.
I agree with most of the guys on here. Most stolen gear has just washed away. Use too much float, and they will float away. Use too little and the float will suck under and compress or implode. Not enough weight in the trap, either of the above.
Really, what the hell do we expect? Thow something in the ocean (like a trap) and expect to see it again?
It's a never ending learning experience, that costs lots of $$$. You just "rent" prawn and crab traps, sooner or later they will go away.
Log tows (booms) are a huge cause of lost traps. Quite a few of the booms towed into the mouth of the Fraser are decorated with "jewellery". Lots of floats and rope, traps usually smashed to pieces. (There used to be a local boom guy that sold prawn traps, guess where they came from?)
I have returned 7 floats/traps/rope to date. One crab trap floated from Seachelt to Campbell River. Another floated from Kelsey Bay to Telegraph Cove. A number of others have had no name/phone numbers so who knows where they came from, and how far?
I caught a prawn trap on the downrigger last year. I snagged another string of 4 (on my prawn trap string) that someone had cut the float off and tied on a 10lb rock.
I agree with most of the guys on here. Most stolen gear has just washed away. Use too much float, and they will float away. Use too little and the float will suck under and compress or implode. Not enough weight in the trap, either of the above.
Really, what the hell do we expect? Thow something in the ocean (like a trap) and expect to see it again?
It's a never ending learning experience, that costs lots of $$$. You just "rent" prawn and crab traps, sooner or later they will go away.