this is the ground line or main line for one of my trawls of lobster pots. it joins 10 pots with a buoy at each end. it is the most common way to fish lobster pots around here. the ground line is approximately 650 feet long.
occasionally there are gear conflicts where your gear crosses someone else's or theirs crosses yours. The mainline may need to be cut and you don't want to drop it over, it is common courtesy to tie it back together. Most people use the fishermen's knot or the water knot. this is a tightly drawn up water knot. My gear has a lot of these. They cause the line to jump out of the hydraulic hauler while you are hauling a trawl. They also get caught on the rocks on the bottom and can part the trawl off, making more work. When the gear comes in for the winter you usually try to cut them out and splice the line back together
I sometimes use a rope burner because it keeps the ends from fraying and makes it easier to splice. but...being a knife guy and getting the "no dice" for using the burner in the apartment, i had to settle for the byrd rescue 2 to cut the knots out.
once the knot is removed you have to unlay the ends for a short distance...
then "marry" them, or join them in an alternating fashion.
once they are married you then can make the first tucks...this is the most difficult part of the splice. master this and the rest is cake...
some people alternate the tucks, doing the right side then the left. i prefer to splice one whole side first...it is just how i learned. I like to do 3-4 tucks per side.
then i do the other, usually i burn the ends off close to the splice because little tags like that will pick up seaweed and sea grass as the line moves along the sea floor.
from the cut to the completed splice it usually takes me about 2 minutes but it depends on the kind of rope, experience etc.
enjoy. :D
