Lobster Trap Buoy Alternatives?

[zrbite]

Late last season was when I first started trying to get lobsters. I ended up just getting the normal big bullet floats, drilling a small hole in it and adding a led light on it. Are there any better alternatives?

I'm looking for something smaller so it's easier to stack 5 hoops on my kayak. I remember hearing about some smaller / thin ones that float vertically and lets you add a light on the top. I tried making this with PVC and sand through some DIY instructions and it didn't really work at all. Any ideas or names would be great.

[ctfphoto]

You do not want anything smaller, The big ones work great.

In a strong current, I have "found" my traps hanging from the big buoys a long distance from where I dropped them.

I have had many friend loose traps with the smaller floats as they can not hold the weight of the trap.

[zrbite]

I see. Thanks for letting me know. I'll stick with them.

[easyday]

What you might want to try is drill a hole and add a weight to act as ballast so the light is always on top then run your rope straight through and weight the end of the rope so it sinks down and the rope free flows through, so the float can rise and fall without pulling on the trap or having alot floating stuff on the surface. All lessons learned from last season as my first season hooping as well. Also build a pvc rack for your nets it makes a huge difference.

[Fiskadoro]

Originally Posted by ctfphoto

You do not want anything smaller, The big ones work great. In a strong current, I have "found" my traps hanging from the big buoys a long distance from where I dropped them. I have had many friend loose traps with the smaller floats as they can not hold the weight of the trap.

I disagree. Big is not always better. Like you say big floats will pull your nets around, and trust me once your nets start moving you are going to loose some of them.

Say your net (not trap) is down on the bottom and you have your net placed next to the edge of the canyon. The current starts ripping towards the canyon and you have a big cumbersome high drag float. It's going drag your net over to the canyon then over the edge, and you're going to end up loosing it.

Now maybe if it was big enough it might float the net off the bottom but add a few bugs and it wont and even if it did the current will keep it moving and with no bottom to slow it down it will be gone with the current in no time.

For current you want something streamlined that cuts through the water easy, is highly visible, and has enough floatation to keep the rope up but that still won't pull the net around.

[Fiskadoro]

Originally Posted by zrbite

Late last season was when I first started trying to get lobsters. I ended up just getting the normal big bullet floats, drilling a small hole in it and adding a led light on it. Are there any better alternatives?

Yeah there are better ways to do it.

Here's my basic hoop rope setup that I've been using for over a decade.




Here's some shots of the floats.

It looks really complicated but it's not. That's a standard white Promar egg float stuck in the end of some thin walled PVC the whole thing is filled with 2 part urethane foam and on the light end that's just a small plastic container that holds a LED.


Since those shots I've upgraded the nets and made my own conical nets

...and I'm using better brighter LEDs.

The best feature are the floats and weighted float rode. That keeps the majority of my rope down deep enough that outboards miss it, and the clip setup allows me to adjust the slack out of it. I've been using this setup for over a decade and not lost a net with it.

If I was going with standard lobster floats I'd go with just half of one the pointed end pointing towards the hoop. I'd then drill two hose in the back one for a light stick and another for a 1 1/2 inch 3/8 lag bolt. Just screw the lag right into the float. It will keep that side down so put your light stick in the hole on the other side and it will stay up.

Then again I'm sure you can come up with something on your own.

Jim

[easyday]

What kind of LEDs are you using?

[Saba Slayer]

I use one 5" x 11" commercial style float in shallow water but when I hoop the deeper water or a steep drop off I'll double up my floats so that if the current is ripping and the nets get pulled into deep water, the double floats will suspend the net and allow me to start my Easter egg hunt and start looking down stream for them. With a couple of crabs or bugs in the nets they were getting pulled under and until the critters crawled out they'd stay submerged....I've Lost a few nets this way...but since I've doubled em up they float pretty well and the loss ratio has gone down.
You guys down in SD see a lot of water moving when that big bay starts to empty...a lot of hoopers will add weight to the nets to keep them from moving around and scaring the bugs out. The old Portuguese hoopers used rebar to make their heavy nets.
Jim / Saba Slayer

[Fiskadoro]

Originally Posted by Saba Slayer

I use one 5" x 11" commercial style float in shallow water but when I hoop the deeper water or a steep drop off I'll double up my floats so that if the current is ripping and the nets get pulled into deep water, the double floats will suspend the net and allow me to start my Easter egg hunt and start looking down stream for them.

Don't get crabby with me!!! Yes when your hooping deep on the drop offs for those dinner plate sized crabs I can totally understand why you'd want more floatation. More then one way to skin a catfish

[Fiskadoro]

Originally Posted by easyday

What kind of LEDs are you using?

These days eveready light sticks that I cut down then place in a clear plastic bag. Very bright and found a bunch of them at a 99cent store.

[easyday]

anyone ever try that glow in the dark rope from harbor freight?