Killie THIEF - Please Stop (Oceanport)

[Arbutis]

I live in Oceanport and launch my boat at Blackberry Park. This has happened several times now so I thought I would just throw a post up - for what it's worth.
I work hard during the week and I put a killie trap out EVERY day and put the killies I catch into a yellow bait bucket as a holding tank. This week I finally accumulated a nice number of large killies so that I could take my kids out Saturday morning for fluke fishing in the river.
Every day I check the trap, cull out the little ones, save the big ones in the holding bucket, re-bait, feed the killies in the bucket.

This morning - around 8:30am I was all set to go out with the kids and as I launch my boat I check the trap and the bucket - - - it was pulled by someone and completely emptied! The bucket and trap were left empty on the bulkhead out of the water.

Sometimes kids will pull the trap here and play around with it - but I had re-baited this last night and found it emptied early this morning. No kids were out this early. I was FURIOUS :mad:! Not only about the stolen bait and the time it took me all week to gather the nice big killies I like to use - but for the disappointment in my kids who were looking forward to some fishing with dad on the weekend.

To make it even worse, I re-baited the trap and put it out to start all over again. When I went to check it a few hours later it was GONE completely. WTF?

Whoever this A-hole is, I hope you read this post and feel like $hit. Stay away from other people's bait buckets! If it's not yours, have some respect and leave it alone.

[Billfish715]

You might have stumbled onto someone's turf but more than likely it's the local kids. It is in a nice neighborhood but it is a public park. We've had killies stolen from alongside our boat in a private dock/condo complex on Branchport Creek. I've had them stolen from shallow water on an island in the Shrewsbury that was only accessible by boat. The crabbers are out and about so no bulkhead is safe to leave anything. Why did you leave it there? Whoever is the thief does not read this board.......guaranteed.

[arat]

The guy is a total a hole but you should know better than to trust people when no one is looking. Many will screw you every time. This is just one more example of that.

[Bass_Appeal]

My uncle has his boat moored at a local marina and left his net in the pole holder , well one morning he went down to go out fishing , no net on the boat ! Thinking someone stole it , bought a new one. Went down the next morning and the old net was there ! Wtf ....he said something to the owner of the marina and a guy actually left a not saying he borrowed the net off so and so's boat ....that so and so happened to be my uncle ....the balls of people , he didnt even know my uncle went onto his boat took his net and used it like it was no big deal !!

[kmaty]

Funny was there last night at a last ditch effort to get some candies there was nobody around the baseball feild area didn't see nor would i care for your killies...i will def keep my eye out tho as im in the area...somany better spots and what do you think would happen in a public area?!:confused:

[shrimpman steve]

People are dbags

[Arbutis]

Yeah you can blame me for putting it there in the first place. I blame myself for that too. I don't live on the water and this is literally a block from my house so there isn't a better, more convenient spot that this.

I like to believe in the best of people (until proven wrong). Do they make bait buckets with combination locks?

I don't know what else to do other than go buy a new trap and start all over again. It just sucks that I have to inconvenience myself and think up ways to make my bucket "thief proof" because of the actions of a couple dim wits.

And another thing (while I'm in the complaining mood) - If you're going to post on these threads, try to use correct punctuation so that the things you write actually make sense when other people read them. Sheesh. It's like reading notes from a first grader sometimes.

Ok. I'm done. Sorry. Just venting. Still pissed!

[Deepdeckhand]

I too have had the problem of stolen traps...No more! What I do is set traps with no floats.Put it in a easy place to snag with bunker snagger and surf rod( like 3 ft off corner of dock). If they don't see it they won't steal it.I believe they make sinking mesh Killy cars too..Just sad it has to be this way...

[njflyfisher]

damn that sucks. Well anyways what bait do you use for your killies.

[frugalfisherman]

I too have had the problem of stolen traps...No more! What I do is set traps with no floats.Put it in a easy place to snag with bunker snagger and surf rod( like 3 ft off corner of dock). If they don't see it they won't steal it.I believe they make sinking mesh Killy cars too..Just sad it has to be this way...

You are right. You have to be stealth. If you have to tie it use some mono attached under the dock. You have to out smart them.

[dakota560]

This poor guy makes a post because some J_____f steals his bait and property and even worse ruins his day for his kids and some here turn it into "How could he be so stupid to leave your stuff in a public area!" WTF! Yeah the unfortunate reality of the world we live in is you can't leave anything to trust but give the guy a break. He had a real bad day and came here for help, not to be abused! If it were me I would find someone who has a motion activated camera like hunters use in the woods, try placing that somewhere it won't be stolen, buy another trap and see if you can't get a shot of who stole your stuff. And when I did I wouldn't go to the authorities, I would kick the persons ass who made my children have a bad day. The world is full of disgusting people who need a knot jerked in them.

Dakota

[thefishermanmechanic]

Well I won't be so hard on you my fellow father fisherman. Protect your harvest lock it have a local "friend" keep an eye out etc. I think you get the point. I don't think anyone from Jerry's website is responsible, trust few protect your own and have a great day out on our shore with your children!

[Billfish715]

I've made my own killie cars from wood and galvanized mesh. I've made them out of all wood. They work very well but are visible.....not as much as a yellow bait bucket, however. Try sealing the ends of a killie trap with bottle corks to keep the bait from escaping. The cork or rubber stoppers can be taken out so the trap can be reset. Or, you can take an old trap and pinch the wire funnels closed. Attach a line to the clip as usual, add the killies, place a small piece of bunker in with them and lower the trap into the water. Tie a small stick or twig to the end of the line to mark it. High tide is best. The trap and its contents remain hidden; the bait stays alive; and you can retrieve it by snagging the line with a weighted treble or long pole. You can do the same at your boat dock if there are incidents with empty or missing bait containers.

[Arbutis]

Here's my new and improved killie trap and holding bucket. Hopefully this will do the trick. I refuse to move my trap from my local boat ramp location. :D

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[GregV]

I had similar issues with crab pots on Little Silver Point a few years ago. I threw the pots off a friends dock and found them emptied out more often than not a couple of days later. I even put a brass lock and chain across the pot door and found the wire door ripped back around the chain and the pot emptied. I stopped putting the pots where they were easily accessible to others. It was supposed to be fun, but wound up being aggravating. I never found out if it was kids or adults but the bottom line is that there are enough jerks out there to ruin a good thing if it is accessible to them.
BTW, I used to pot killies in OP/LB but there are commercial guys working the creeks very hard with pots that hit the kille population hard. Now I just buy them locally.

[MrAC1980]

Just something to consider, if you're having an issue on private property or adjacent to private property, you can pick up a trail cam system pretty cheap and mount it so no one will ever know its there. It'll take pics when it senses movement.

[arat]

Not to be the bad guy but, I keep hearing that since the killies were stolen the guy couldn't take his kids fishing and it ruined their day. He couldn't go to a tackle store and under the circumstances buy some killies and then take his kids fishing? Seems to me that would solve one problem.
I also like the motion activated camera idea then teach the guy a lesson he won't forget.

[Captain Rich]

Here's my new and improved killie trap and holding bucket. Hopefully this will do the trick. I refuse to move my trap from my local boat ramp location. :D

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You are assuming the thief knows how to read :eek:

[jiggingworld]

Here's my new and improved killie trap and holding bucket. Hopefully this will do the trick. I refuse to move my trap from my local boat ramp location. :D

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that's very funny, :)

I kept my boat in Browns Boat yard for 7 seasons, my rods,reels,v nets, etc.. kept in the boat, never had any issue at all.. I guess it depends on area..

[Capt. Debbie]

It sucks and its frustrating. It also may be someone who just let them all go too.

Never know. I feel your pain. I don't have private protected water from either. Even when I had a boat slip the stuff had legs.

[Arbutis]

Not to be the bad guy but, I keep hearing that since the killies were stolen the guy couldn't take his kids fishing and it ruined their day. He couldn't go to a tackle store and under the circumstances buy some killies and then take his kids fishing? Seems to me that would solve one problem.
I also like the motion activated camera idea then teach the guy a lesson he won't forget.

Oh I took the kids fishing. We used artificial instead and caught fish and had a good time. I was just pissed at the fact that my diligent work through the week was violated by some jerk. And I also know that these nice big killies I had stockpiled would outfish Gulp any day of the week in the river. And when you take kids fishing, high productivity and a lot of action is the key to success.

(Sorry if that Gulp comment offended anyone - but that's the fact Jack) :p