Crab pots

[localboy]

I took my 26 yr old son out for a day of father/son bonding. He was up from Vancouver and had never been on the boat. We headed out @ 0900 from Everett and dumped two pots in the small bay just to the east of Camano Island State Park @ about 1100. We decided to make the run to Coupeville to eat some lunch and let them soak.

Returned about 1430 and picked them up. Exactly the same bait in both pots, although the pots are different makes; the significance of which I will explain later.

Pot one=one male, too small to keep. Oh, well. Pot two=eleven crab (boy was my son EXCITED upon pulling it up!!!!)...but, only one keeper. Either JUST too small or females. Back they went. Based on the time, we decided to move, re-bait, dunk again and soak for one hour.

Pull at about 1530. Pot one=one undersized male (again ). Pot two=eight crab; all BARELY undersized or female. Hmmmmmmm...pot one is less efficient at catching them. Why? A quick look at each pot and my question was answered.

Pot one is a Willapa brand, I bought at Fisheries Supply for about $80. The design is, IMO, lousy. The wire mesh used to make the trap is bent up at the bottom of the gates, thus creating about a ~1" barrier to a crab trying to enter. It would have to get OVER the wire mesh to get in.

Pot two is a McKay brand I bought from a boat dealer in Everett for about $100. The entrance to the gates is flat to the bottom of the pot & thus the ocean floor. It also seems like it's a much better quality made trap. I posted pics in my album.

I'm going to cut the bottom wire off of pot one, remove the gates and lower and re-bend the gates so it's a smoother transition/entrance. My thinking is crabs walk on the bottom and creating a barrier, even a small one, is just making it harder for crabs to enter the trap. It seemed to be "proven" by my experiences yesterday, albeit it a very unscientific study.

I know Fred swears by the inexspensive folding traps (~$40) and I've seen what he & Robbi caught at Bellingham so now I'm regretting pot one (Willapa) I bought from Fisheries.

[Salmon Fisher]

Mark,

Yes, that is a poor design alright. I have always used the cheap Danielson ones. I almost always use fresh chicken pieces and/or salmon carcass. I also use those mesh bait bags and hang them from the top of the pot with a big stainless clip. Best place and cheapest is LFS fishing supply in Bellingham. The crabs can eat through the mesh bag and let more scent trail out and thus more crabs come in.

Looks like you did OK, we always soak for 1 hour, check and then adjust pot to a different area and depth close by if not catching.

Good luck, the modification should work fine.

Patrick

[mrw90]

I would say that the measure of a good pot isn't really it's ability to catch undersized males and females. The basic design of the Willapa pot is pretty standard and will catch crab. Most crab pots that I've seen require the crab to climb an incline to get into the pot. Crab are pretty good at this, and if the large males are in the area, they'll get into this kind of pot. My suggestion would be to focus more on where to put the pots. The fact that there was no legal crab in either pot says that the location that you were fishing in is either not good, or more likely, has been fished out already.

[nordicstallion]

crab tunnels are enclined to keep them off the bottom and triggers from contacting the sand or soft bottom.small crab sqweeze by but larger ones cant pass.

[rjmcnabb]

Hi Brats,
A question about crab pot design, but not related to catching abilities until you see them drop through the bottom as you hoist the pot. Several weeks ago, my brother gave me a pot that looked to be ss rod, with a ss wire "knitted" cover. I had the pot continuously wet for a week or so off my marina dock, and it produced fairly well using canned catfood. Two days ago, I pulled it in and could see crabs fall out as it neared the surface. Half of the bottom was gone, with various pieces of wire hanging on. The pieces I found, and some of the remaining net all showed corrosion where the wires crossed over and around. The sites of breakage were quite sharp, I suppose because they were thinned by galvanic corrosion before they broke. Wire mesh on sides and top seem OK, but they could be a different kind of wire; they were not part of, or connected directly to, the bottom mesh. Also, one of four connectors welded between the upper and lower rings is severely etched and covered with heavy rust. Anyone ever experience something like this? I will try to replace the bottom with plastic or cordage mesh, and maybe bolt on a zinc. Any light on my mystery would be appreciated, because I've hit the end of my ideas on electrochemistry.
Along that vein of thought, should I have zincs on my trim tabs?
Rod

[mrw90]

A couple of thoughts. First, the pots I use are stainless and sound pretty much like the one you were using. Mine do have a large piece of zinc that screws onto a threaded post that is part of the frame. I think that if you can repair your pot, you will want to add some sacrificial zinc to the system. Second, since you mention that you were crabbing in or around a marina, I would guess that there is a fair amount of stray current in the water from one of the surrounding boats. If you keep your boat in the water, watch anything metal below the waterline and check your zincs frequently.

[rjmcnabb]

Thanks mrw90,
Now I know what the threaded boss on a bottom cross-bar is for. The trap is nicely made, but I concluded that thing was just part of a recycled piece of metal used to make the frame. The really rusty spreader (turns out there are six, not four) is third farthest (or third closest, I guess) from the threaded boss. Any significance to that??
Thieves' Bay is a very nice marina (private, and I think you could refer to it as rural,) but the slips have neither power nor water service; I suppose that electrolysis is not great, although galvanic corrosion still exists, as ever.
Rod

[bmacpiper]

[Fishhawk]

Can any of ya'll out there offer any sage advice about blue crabbing on the gulf coast?

Types of traps and where to buy them, best bait, etc;

I would also like to know if blue crab traps can be fashioned from wood or plastic and if so are there plans/drawings for those traps?

This is an informative thread for me. thanks all.

Capt Dan

[localboy]

[Doryman]

[localboy]

The crappy crab pot I have is weighted with ~10" pieces of ~5/8" rebar zip-tied to the bottom and coated against rust. Simple.

[Doryman]

[localboy]

Warren, the re-bar was installed by the manufacturer of the black trap I bought from Fisheries. It's sold as a "weighted trap". It appears to be some sort of black paint, not a vinyl coating; but it is just regular old steel re-bar.