Handling the Gear
![Checking the traps](images/pilechk.jpg) ![Tons of lines](images/lines.jpg)
The captain and his deck-hand check the traps. To
the right is a seemingly unorganized mass of lines and buoys on the deck
attached to the traps. When everything is layed up correctly, believe it
or not, the lines play out just right.
![Laying up traps](images/traplay.jpg)
The traps are taken off the stack in sequence . The
last trap to be layed is in the lower right hand corner of the stack. At
that point the deck-hand (who has to get the trap on the opposite rail and
drop it) is almost at a full run on a deck with lines on the way out. I've
seen him do this on days we were running in 4-6 foot seas. A mistake would
be bad.
![Tangled traps](images/bnbbouy.jpg) ![More tangled traps](images/snag.jpg)
To the uninitiated (or inexperienced), setting traps
in inshore water can appear to be a bit of a black art. There can be so many
trap lines in the water that you think you could walk to shore on the buoys.
I've seen the captain immediately haul a line he had just set because he
knew he had either missed his target spot or was laying over someone else's
gear. Exactly how he knows this without x-ray vision is still a mystery to
me. There are a number of things that cause trap lines to move into each
other causing them to tangle, but in this case it was a matter of a less
experienced lobsterman setting a trap line over ours and probably not realizing
it. If the owner of the mislayed gear sees this page, he will recognize his
buoy colors immediately - and so will other local lobstermen.
![Picture of lots of gear in the water](images/buoys.jpg)
There can be a lot of gear in the water during the
milder months.
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