When the bottom is activeand the tides are running, bait tends to get washed out of bait bags within lobster traps. When a bait bag is empty it only stands to reason that the trap isn’t fishing.
Skate wing racks have membranes that run through them that hold up to strong tides much longer than soft bait like herring.
Here’s a whole buttload of skatewing racks on Toby’s boat, the Jupiter II.
Good Morning Gloucester 