# Catching Ly's



## Yankeefisher56

Had a question I have been out on the pier and have noticed a few folks using a certain rig to catch bait but cant fugure out what its called or where to get them. It looks almost like a ribbon in the center of some clear netting and they drop it down and pull up Ly's all day. I am very curious about this rig and want to know if someone can tell me how to make one or where to buy one. Thanks in advance


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## Jason

I've got 1 I use to use and had great luck w/ it.....I believe its mono 1 inch holes and has a red ribbon woven through the middle w/ a weight at the bottom....If I can find mine stuffed away, I'll take a :takephoto


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## User6882

guys ill tell u that if a marine patroleman sees u with 1 then ur gona get a ticket cuz the banned them a few years ago.

they r ILLEGAL n u will get in trouble if ur caught with 1


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## kingling

its called a red ribbon rig


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## TheonlyMariner

We used to make them as kids for pier fishing, #7 stainless leader and small crimps, make one, run wire through next and make a chain, tie a piece of red or black ribbon to top or put it through a snap run it down half through the center ring and secure at the bottom with the weight. They used to work great, at this day and age have no clue as to legality.


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## ironman172

I think there still legal in Alabama....any bait store should have them over there...I was in a plant that use a similar nylon mesh that I got a bunch of(they just throw it away), but need to get to gulf shores to use it...:doh...if they haven't banned it over there as a gill net...:banghead


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## reelthrill

For whatever reason, they are illegal in Florida. I do make my own out of 1 inch cast net mesh. Some officers don't say much about using them but you never know when one might write a ticket for using one.


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## ironman172

I just took a pic of some mesh I can get from ....are the bait rigs still legal in Alabama??


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## Yankeefisher56

Thanks for all the help and the responses guy's really do appreciate it. Since they are illegal out here doubt I will be using one but I thought it was a great little rig and it seemed to pull out bait instantly which would be great while I'm trying to pull bait out quickly to throw on some tarpon.


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## Jhoe

I'm still a fan of the good ole cast net.


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## kingling

id like to see someone throw a castnet onthe school of ly's at the pier 

it would weigh a ton if you got into them


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## konz

> *kingling (7/29/2009)*id like to see someone throw a castnet onthe school of ly's at the pier
> 
> it would weigh a ton if you got into them


A couple years ago I threw onto a school of ly's out at the palafox pier. It was an 8' bait net and I threw on what I thought was a small wad of ly's (hoping some menhaden woudl be underneath)..........well there weren't any menhaden just lots and lots of ly! It took me and my cousin to pull up that net!........unbelievable.


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## Glastronix

I was wading at the point in Florida Town Bay a couple of summers ago mullet fishing. I was using a 10 foot bait net, and I saw what I thought was a mullet swirl. It turnrd out to be about a billion LY. I let as many as I could out in the water, and I still had a hard time dragging the net back to the beach. There were still hundreds of LY in that net.


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## Dylan

Hey bud, just get ya a good ole sabiki rig..Find the black spots and throw in it..I talked to an FWC officer once about the red ribbon and he said the gill net ban included the ribbon but said he wouldnt worry about it to much..Sabiki rig will catch anything a ribbon will..


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## User6882

back wen navarre pier was still alive i thru a 12 ft net on a cloud of lys n it took me n 3 other guys 2 lift it back up

the bad part was there was just as many jellyfish as lys


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## acoustifunk

I had a guy help me on Bob Sikes pull up an 8ft with a load of ly's. One of the funniest thing I saw is when a guy threw his net on some mullet, they had no choice but to tie the hand line to the hitch of a truck and pull it up. That's no BS!


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## User6882

> *acoustifunk (7/30/2009)*I had a guy help me on Bob Sikes pull up an 8ft with a load of ly's. One of the funniest thing I saw is when a guy threw his net on some mullet, they had no choice but to tie the hand line to the hitch of a truck and pull it up. That's no BS!


we used to do that on the 3 mile bridge.. we had HUGE hand made nets that wen open went from the pillar to another n it took a 4wd truck 2 pull the net up


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## Pier#r

> <TABLE border=2 cellSpacing=0 borderColor=#000066 borderColorLight=#000066 borderColorDark=#000066 cellPadding=2 width="100%"><TBODY><TR><TD bgColor=#ffffce vAlign=bottom width="100%" align=left>Category: *General*
> Date: *8/29/2002*
> Source: *Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission* - *Franchesta Wilson*</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
> 
> 
> 
> *FWC FINDS RIBBON RIGS ILLEGAL FOR USE IN FLORIDA WATERS*
> 
> The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) has determined the ribbon rig-type of baitfish-catching device to be illegal for use in Florida waters.
> 
> Ribbon rigs are commonly marketed as Bait Catchers.
> 
> The device is used to catch baitfish. It is made from a piece of monofilament mesh, which is a few inches wide and approximately 18 inches long, with a red ribbon running the full length. The ribbon attracts baitfish and they become entangled in the mesh netting.
> 
> Article X, Section 16 of the Florida Constitution prohibits the use of any net that entangles or ensnares fish; and Section 370.093(1)(b) Florida Statutes, prohibits the use of most monofilament nets. Ribbon rigs are illegal for both reasons.
> 
> "We realize some fishermen aren't aware the ribbon rig is illegal. We want to get the word out that fishers should immediately stop using ribbon rigs to catch baitfish," FWC's Major Bruce Buckson said.
> 
> Wal-Mart announced it would pull Bait Catchers from shelves in their Florida stores.
> 
> NOTE: An image of the ribbon rig is available on the FWC Web site at <http://floridaconservation.org/whatsnew/images/baitctch.jpg>.
> 
> This news release can be found at: http://floridaconservation.org/whatsnew/ribbonrig-st.html


*NOTE: these rigs ARE still legal in Alabama. Like Dylan said though, a small Sabiki (or gold hook) Rig often works just as well (though it's not nearly as selective).*

Hope this helps!


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## FishAddict

I've made these from stainless wire making interlocking rings, and you can be somewhat size selective by making larger or smaller rings. You just thread the red ribbon thru a few of the rings. They will last a lifetime.


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