fishing with a handline

91xlt said:
would anyone be able to post a pic of some of these rigs?

great thread!
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Here's a picture of Euell Gibbons using a tapered coke bottle rig from an old National Geographic.

PB1.jpg



A close up of his rig.

PB2.jpg




dipbait said:
Ive caught two fish with handlines. I was snorkeling , the fish didnt seem to pay me much attention. Got a hook , short piece of string, caught two crawdads as bait, and caught two smallmouths. I will recommend octopus hooks for this technique as well as limb lines, trot lines, jug lines,and throw lines.
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I too caught Smallmouth with a handline while snorkelling. It was totally unsportsmanlike. We would chase the smaller bass away, to let the bigger ones take the bait. There was nothing timid about the bass. They would swim all around you. Trout, of course, were completely opposite. Every once in awhile we would get a glimpse of their tail fins and they were 'hotfinning' it out of there.

Doc
 
Back when beer cans were steel....
They worked good.
My experiences were all from docks on the Great South Bay (saltwater).
That worked well for smaller fish. Big fish can beat up your hands pretty good.
Braid will make a mess of your hands, cut you like a steak knife :eek:

Knots?
Palomar/Trilene knot are the most used.
Line to line of same diameter Blood Knot
Line to line of different diameters (line to leader) Albright Knot.

All said, I'd rather use a rod and reel.
Or at least a pole :)
 
Wow! Great thread. This brings back memories.

When I was a kid we used handlines all of the time. We used a simple rig made up of two small blocks of wood - 2 x 4 x 1 or so connected by two dowels of about 3/8 to wind up the line. My dad would wrap the cord around his toe and read a book. We fished from a small rowboat in salt water.

We fished for flats - flounder, but occasionally got small tautog or cod that way. A simple flounder hook baited with clams with a 3-4 ounce lead sinker attached.

It works well.
 
runningboar What flys, wet and dry would and do you carry and how many would you carry of each.

Thanks

Bryan
 
I fish with a hand line quite often durring the summer. I have caught many bass, bluegill, trout, and perch with them. My basic setup is a soda can or bottle with 15 yards of 10# test line, a few sinkers, and a small hook. most of the time casting 25 to 30 feet is no problem. I love this set up when the brush and trees are too thick to cast with a real rod and pole, or when I need to really hike a distance to where I want to fish. I would live to try a cane pole, but river cane dosn't grow in NH, and I found useing a sapling to be a bit clumsy. Joe
 
When I was young we would wander around the lakes and streams and if we found lost or cast off tackle and line we would set up a rig, wind it around a stick, chase down a cricket or tree frog and we'd be fishing! Caught quite a few too. We were usually near a landing or a bridge and we would offer our catch to the locals who were fishing there and they were glad to have them.
 
sicily02 said:
runningboar What flys, wet and dry would and do you carry and how many would you carry of each.

Thanks

Bryan
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Some of my favorite patterns, adams, ginger quill, humpys, especially yellow humpys if there are caddis in the stream, irresistable, stimulator, elk hair caddis, muddler minnow, hares ear, pheasant tail and telico.

A couple of each takes up very little room, weighs nothing and are dynamite on trout and panfish.

With a stout cane pole and about 2 feet of heavy test line you can catch bullfrogs too, just dabble the fly in front of them and hold on, loads of fun. Chris
 
RescueRiley said:
I've been curious about this..does anybosy have any experience or tips in this area?? Tonym perhaps??
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Sorry Riley, Don't know how I kept missing this thread. I have practiced a few times with a my lil fishing kit. In our area it is easy to target sunfish as they are more aggressive. I use 30lb spiderwire that I keep on a sewing bobin. I also keep several feet of 10lb flouracarbon as a leader for clearer water, where I feel the fish can see the line easily.

I wrap the line around a soda can or beer can.( unfortunately it is very easy to find those around ponds and lakes in the north east.) I keep small bait keeper hooks as well as lil inline spinners in my kit. I have had sucess with both. It is kind of a pia to keep the spinner going while pulling it in, but after a few casts you get the hang of it. I mostly use the spinner in streams where I am targeting small trout. The courrent of the water easily keeps the spinner moving nice.

For the bait holder hook, I always have luck finding worms under damp leaf litter. I use a small piece of worm on the hook, and some tree bark as a float.
With this method I am ussually sight fishing. I find the sunfish and just toss the worm to them. It doesn't take too long to get a few fish. Just pull them in slow, I have lost a bunch by yanking the line in too hard or fast

We will definately hook up this spring to get some practice in.
 
Fishing with a hand line is common here :thumbup:
Especially at the sea you can catch some nice fishes that way :)
 
I fish with a hand line all the time - but I've just been through my hard drive and cannot find one picture.

I'll even occasionaly use a hand line for surf fishing - wade a little way out, swing the line above your head until it gets up a good head of speed and let go. I can cast 30-40m this way.
 
I live most of the time in Australia. My eighty-four year old father-in-law, a lifelong fisherman, has never used a rod and reel. He regularly outfishes others in the boat using rods and reels. His father, one of those guys the other fishermen try to follow out, never used a rod and reel and fed his family on fish during the depression.

Malcom Douglas, the Australian outback/crocodile/fishing/survival guru uses both hand line and rod on his TV series. He's for real. If one of the U.S. outdoor channels ever picks him up, don't miss it.

As a kid (near New Orleans) I caught lots of catfish with short "trot" lines tied to bleach bottles. I'd bait and leave them after school every day and pick up my catch the next day.
 
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