Canyon Balls and High Flyers

[Fishthebite]

Hello all. Had a few ?'s for all. I fish out of OC,MD and don't know the difference of commercial "gear" out there on the 100ftm line. What is the difference beteween Lobster Balls/pots and Longlining gear visually? I have seen "high flyers" on the balls and have seen "high flyers" solo. I don't want to get hung up on either out there while chunking or swording. It has already happened once! Any input to distinguish the 2 would be appreciated.

[fishpicker]

Very good question , Very good place to ask it. Pots and LL gear can sometimes be tricky.

Pots will generally have a series of polyballs of all different colors very close to the Hi flyer. Very Close is key 30 feet or less !!!!!! A LL hi flyer sometimes is a polyball with a long pole and radar reflector in the middle sometimes it will be a single Hiflyer like you would see on the pots. You should be able to see smaller dobbs or ployballs a few hundred feet away.


I'm not saying this to be arrogant I'm telling ya for your own safety. Very important if you do get entangled in LL mainline do your self a favor and don't try to handle it nothing good is gone come from that. That Mainline is under a lot of strain and will HURT you , your crew or your boat. It will cut you like a razor !!!!!! Your better off cuttin your rig !!!!

[MakoMike]

Almost all lobster pots had two poly ball and a high flyer all close together. A single ply ball, with or without a high flyer is usually a long line. At least that's the way it is up here, off MD I'm not sure, I didn't think they had lobsters down there.