2019 Vancouver-Howe Sound-Sechelt Reports Thread

[the butcher]

Trying to organize and work on my prawn gear for the upcoming winter months. I have an ace line hauler with their new motor that comes wihh their current max torque units. I am going to add some additional weights to keep my prawn traps in place. Currently my traps weigh about 11 to 12 lbs. I am planning on adding additional weights to get them up to approx 16lbs. My question is would 2 prawn traps each weighing 16 to 17 lbs each on the same line cause a lot of strain on the Ace line haulers motor or would it blow the fuse? I am asking so as to avoid having to haul in multiple sets of lines with 2 traps on each line by hand should the ace line hauler not be able to handle the 2 traps at once.

While on this topic, curious to know how much your prawn traps weigh with the trap and any extra weight that is fixed to it and whether you have 1 or 2 on each line.

Thanks

 

[sweettjim]

Trying to organize and work on my prawn gear for the upcoming winter months. I have an ace line hauler with their new motor that comes wihh their current max torque units. I am going to add some additional weights to keep my prawn traps in place. Currently my traps weigh about 11 to 12 lbs. I am planning on adding additional weights to get them up to approx 16lbs. My question is would 2 prawn traps each weighing 16 to 17 lbs each on the same line cause a lot of strain on the Ace line haulers motor or would it blow the fuse? I am asking so as to avoid having to haul in multiple sets of lines with 2 traps on each line by hand should the ace line hauler not be able to handle the 2 traps at once.

While on this topic, curious to know how much your prawn traps weigh with the trap and any extra weight that is fixed to it and whether you have 1 or 2 on each line.

Thanks

I run two traps on a line and have 8 lb weights in both traps come up np with the ace hauler I have and I get plenty of prawns per set

 

[Sir Reel]

I run 2 traps on each line but don't know how much they weigh. However I put a 10 pound canon ball 20 feet in front of the trap closest to the buoy so current does not rattle the trap.
I have an Ace hauler with the original motor and they come up fine. I have a 30 amp circuit breaker. Also keep my engine running so I have higher voltage.

 

[the butcher]

Do you notice the retrieval rate to be faster with engine running? Is that the main engine or kicker?

 

[Dixsea]

Trying to organize and work on my prawn gear for the upcoming winter months. I have an ace line hauler with their new motor that comes wihh their current max torque units. I am going to add some additional weights to keep my prawn traps in place. Currently my traps weigh about 11 to 12 lbs. I am planning on adding additional weights to get them up to approx 16lbs. My question is would 2 prawn traps each weighing 16 to 17 lbs each on the same line cause a lot of strain on the Ace line haulers motor or would it blow the fuse? I am asking so as to avoid having to haul in multiple sets of lines with 2 traps on each line by hand should the ace line hauler not be able to handle the 2 traps at once.

While on this topic, curious to know how much your prawn traps weigh with the trap and any extra weight that is fixed to it and whether you have 1 or 2 on each line.

Thanks

I have the new max tourque model and found I was blowing fuses bringing up 2 traps on one line. I contacted Ace and they sent me the attached FAQ. I replaced with 40amp fuse and upgraded the wire gauge and have had no problems since.

http://acelinehauler.com/frequently-asked-questions

 

[ab1752]

I always leave my engine running and I dont rush the retrieval by stopping every minute or so to let things settle down. Seems to work well and I am not blowing any fuses but I think upgrading the wiring and going to 40a fuse is a good safeguard for sure.

I would still idle my main engine while retrieving trapa. Even with strong and fresh batteries I was surprised how much juice the ace draws down.

 

[Sir Reel]

I don’t think it retrieves any faster but it sounds better. Not strained. I leave my main running.

 

[CR Bill]

When pulling you traps, follow your line andrun your boat to the traps- especially if the tide is running. Don’t just drag
your traps to the boat...much easier on the puller.

 

[the butcher]

All great ideas fellas. Thanks.

 

[capman]

Thank you for the question and thank you all for the great info. That was also my concern and question.

 

[the butcher]

forgot a question.... for those who drop prawn traps in the vancouver/lower howe sound areas, do your traps ever get poached or even worse, stolen when you leave out for the entire day or even overnight? I am thinking of doing some overnight soaks but not sure how much more prawns I would get with an overnight vs a 6-7 hr soak and the possibility of the pots getting stolen. thanks

 

[Rob H]

forgot a question.... for those who drop prawn traps in the vancouver/lower howe sound areas, do your traps ever get poached or even worse, stolen when you leave out for the entire day or even overnight? I am thinking of doing some overnight soaks but not sure how much more prawns I would get with an overnight vs a 6-7 hr soak and the possibility of the pots getting stolen. thanks

From what I've read you should keep an eye on your traps while they are soaking, otherwise you may get poached or stolen. The traps only need a 2 1/2 to 3 hour soak to obtain a good catch, longer is not necessarily going to produce any more prawns.
...Rob

 

[sweettjim]

I fished grace today lots of bait showing but no takers for fish

 

[SteelyDan]

forgot a question.... for those who drop prawn traps in the vancouver/lower howe sound areas, do your traps ever get poached or even worse, stolen when you leave out for the entire day or even overnight? I am thinking of doing some overnight soaks but not sure how much more prawns I would get with an overnight vs a 6-7 hr soak and the possibility of the pots getting stolen. thanks

Yeah I lost $1500 worth of gear. Dropped traps for a boat load of friends , took them fishing, came back and gone! I'll only sit on them from now on

 

[sweettjim]

Is inside of Howe sound open to prawning saw a couple traps off gambier island today

 

[the butcher]

SteelyDan, sorry to hear that. When did this happen and what areas were the traps in? People who steal gear should get a public butt whopping and have their boat and gear auctioned off and donated to charity. Definately scum from bottom of barrel.

 

[Rain City]

SteelyDan, sorry to hear that. When did this happen and what areas were the traps in? People who steal gear should get a public butt whopping and have their boat and gear auctioned off and donated to charity. Definately scum from bottom of barrel.

Maybe you guys could start a different thread to talk about it?

 

[the butcher]

Sorry I'll end the discussion as of right now.

 

[DFordello]

Tunstall may be slow on the reports, but it might be hot tomorrow. It doesn't matter what the reports from the past few days say. Get out there, pick a spot, and work it until you pull out and move to the next spot. These winter fish are hard to find so have a good day on the water and if it's windy, tuck into tunstall. It's all about getting out there and enjoying the sunshine and maybe you get into fish.

Thanks. Started at Hutt yesterday, moved down to Tunstall, saw tons of bait. Had two strikes but nothing to the boat, but what a gorgeous day to be on the water!

 

[Onchy]

Awesome water yesterday, felt like a spring day.
Fished tunstall from first light til 230 or so. Decent action, lots of bait in shallower up until the tide change missed one clip popper and had another short 137 in 140ish feet. Moved out deeper after the tide and the bait was packed on bottom ended up going 3/5 one def short two probably within a few whiskers of being legal 187/177 in 170-200 ft. 3" herring aide spoon was the ticket, not much love on anything else.
Looked like there was tonnes of bait out deeper off RC, diving birds everywhere - nice to see!