oldflounder
Contributor
- Messages
- 543
- Reaction score
- 76
- # of dives
- 200 - 499
I had started a thread previously on ghost traps. I want to expand it to include other lost fishing gear. The more I read about the problem the more it bothers me. Lost fishing gear - pots, nets, fishing line/lures - are not only trash and an eyesore, they can pose a serious hazard to us, if we are newbies especially, and not aware of what's beneath the surface. I do a lot of independent diving and am very cautious but it scares me what would happen if I drifted into a gill net in 10' viz alone. Last year I was diving off Ft. Adams/Newport, RI and I heard somewhere that we should be cautious of the lost gill net that was somewhere in the vicinity down the coast. I wish there was a way for us to post the location of these hazards on a board such as this. I was night diving a few months back and I came across a loose mooring rope floating partway up to the surface in front of me. I started pulling it down to see what was at the end of it and how long it was, out of curiousity. My hand hit something hard in the dark. It was an 8" long fishing lure with large triple hooks at each end. It was firmly embedded in the rope. I couldn't get it out. I can just imagine what would have happened if I had been swimming along and got my shoulder or back portion hung up on those hooks. Would I have had the presence of mind to saw through the 1 1/2" manilla rope or would I have panicked? I know this was pretty site specific and a report here probably wouldn't have done any good, but maybe a posting at the dive site might have. I went back the next time with wire cutters but the lure was gone - someone else must have found it. I know we all have horror stories and close calls to tell. How can we spread the word about these hazard sites???