Chat with a shrimp boat captain changed how I rig my lines

I was doing a hull inspection on a trawler in Biloxi last week and the captain came out to smoke. He watched me rigging my lifeline and asked why I was using double enders for everything. Said he watched a diver get tangled on a pot line once and swore by snap hooks with a breakaway setup instead. I switched to his method on the next job and it's way faster to swap gear between dives. Has anyone else gotten tips from boat crews that actually made a difference?

2 comments

2 Comments

bethcarr1mo ago

Friend of mine used to run charter trips out of Galveston and he told me about a similar thing. He had a deckhand show him how to tie a specific knot that lets you break away under pressure without losing your whole setup. Saved him from getting tangled in a crab pot line once (which was honestly terrifying to hear about). I've used that knot ever since and it's never let me down.

julia_burns91mo ago

So basically a fail-safe for when you hook a submarine?