Dear Scott,
 
From what I recollect, it was simply a cluster of tin cans with the tops
cut out...whatever they could find at the local dump.  Since Bill caught
Trophons, I suspect he used clams for bait and probably didn't
extract the meat, rather just craushed the shell a bit to attract
whatever came along.
 
Usual down-time for traps and tangle nets is over night...set in the
evening, picked up in te morning...since most gastropods are nocturnal
feeders.  One afternoon, Linda (my wife) and I were diving off El
Requeson at about forty feet when I decided to try an experiment.  The
bottom was littered with live Agropecten ventricosa, so I smashed one
with my knife and settled down on the bottom to watch.  Within five
minutes, a half dozen different species were making a bee-line for the
scallop.  It stands to reason that the same bait could be used at any
depth.
 
Best regards,
 
Kim Hutsell
 
Scott E Jordan wrote:
>
> Kim,
>
> How were these tin can traps set up: were they simply baited cans with one
> end (top) removed, attached at several points on the same end with fishing
> line?  What is the minimum and the ideal amount of time for such traps to
> sit on the bottom?  Other details?
>
> Regards,
>
> Scott Jordan
>