Best Dungeness crab bait

T

Take it EC

New member
I was wondering what bait most of you crabbers use in Puget sound. I usually use salmon and other fish scraps but I know clam guts can be good and there is always the tried and true chicken.
 
Of the common baits, turkey, chicken, and salmon, turkey always wins for me. Chicken is a distant second. Then salmon. Seems odd that salmon would be last. I tried to use up some year-old frozen salmon and got zero every pull.

I just bought a "tube" of ground turkey to try as bait in a commercial bait holder. I didn't get a chance last weekend because of the weather. If I can't get out this weekend, I may have to eat the stuff.

Mark
 
If you can get shad, that seems to work best in our area. We spend a couple of days on the Columbia catching enough for bait. They fight hard, and are fun to catch. For real excitement, use a fly rod.
 
The best bait, according to a lot of commercial guys is mink. After they're processed for their pelts... mink farmers sell the carcasses to crabbers for a competitive price.

I like to use dark meat chicken legs/thighs. I'll use whatever I have freezer burned taking up space, usually old tuna steaks, salmon, etc. but if Im actually going to buy bait, I'll buy dark meat chicken.
 
The only thing I've seen crab turn up their noses at was a slab of beef fat I tried once. My primary crab bait is all the albacore remnants except fins. Next is hanging rock fish carcassas. Hell, left to their own devises, they will eat each other so I don't think you can go wrong. They will even eat YOU if they get the chance.
 
I would add clams to the list (littlenecks and cockles, which you can legally harvest since you have a shellfish license). It's what crabs love to eat in the wild and shellfish growers in our area struggle with keeping crabs out of their beds.

That all being said, I believe that the AMOUNT of bait you use is more important than the KIND of bait you use. Clams, salmon, chicken, turkey...all good, but I find that if you really stuff that bait box, I mean cram it as full as you can, that can really make the difference. Don't be stingy with the bait!
 
I have used turkey legs with some success but usually I catch some rockfish and hang the carcasses in the pot. That works great every time.
 
Any roadkill will do just fine, raccon particularly. Just joking....well, kinda. If you had to pick just one, i think shad is hard to beat. I know someone who tested shad vs salmon andfresh chicken, putting the three pots next to each other. Shad always has done best with his testing. I think a bait bag full of big bay clams cracked slightly with a hammer is second best option from my experiences.
 
I like the breast thigh combos for 70cents a lbs. It has a lot of skin and fat and that helps. Also like to use bags instead of the mesh cans. You need the crab to be able to get to the bait and tear it apart. That will release more smell into the water. When i pull my pots and only have females i leave one in the trap before putting it back down. Having a crab in there making noise and releasing smell into the water helps. But other then that is location. If you pull three pots and only one has keepers, move your other pots to that spot or depth. I believe depth/temp has a lot to do with it.
 
starcrafttom":1qthjeru said:
When i pull my pots and only have females i leave one in the trap before putting it back down. Having a crab in there making noise and releasing smell into the water helps.
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That's a good tip right there! Thanks. I had not thought of that but it makes great sense. I trust you will do that even if they are not all female?

Caty Mae said to use turkey legs, and I really liked Caty Mae and sure do miss her, so turkey legs it is for me. I also like to stick in some salmon parts or old bait fish with it to get the scent going going quick.

I usually drop a few scattered pots then anchor and leave the lightest one tied to the boat while we watch a movie or fiddle with the fishing pole snares. We pull it up at least every hour so the trick of leaving a live one in the trap will be tested for sure.

This year, since I just retired and will have more time for crabbing and older arms for pulling I bought an electric puller/davit. I went with the EZ Pull because I liked the way it is designed. Since I'm only dropping in 35' or so of water I did not get the hands free option but it can be added later.

They say to mount it on the starboard side and I presume that it so it is easier to get the boat to the line from that side. But is there any other reason to not put it there? I am planning to stick mine on the port side because it will fit the best, be the most out of the way, and can be positioned so that the pot can hang from the davit and be spun around into the boat dead center through the railing opening without hitting anything. So that's where it goes. The davit is three pieces so I can pin the top section either way to allow the motor and wheel to be on whichever side of the post works best.
 
Thanks for the info, I've watched a video several times called crabbing 101 or something like that and they caught a lot more than 3 limits using turkey as bait. They threw back so many legals it must be a good bait or area, thanks for all of the replies.
 
TyBoo":2uv9y98i said:
fiddle with the fishing pole snares.
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Do you mean those little bait boxes that have slip-loops of fishing line around them? I just looked at those at West Marine. $5 and they are the right size for a CD 16. Do they work?

Mark
Limpet
 
Yep. Those are the ones. They do work and are kind of fun. Frustrating sometimes though, because often the crabs are just clinging to the bait box and as soon as you break the surface they let go.
 
Best crab bait; TUNA HEADS with the GILLS. Period. Nice and bloody and oily. Plus they last. I'll put something inside for the buggas to eat too, like salmon carcasses or half a chicken. But for an oily, bloody, smelly...and yummy bait trail: TUNA HEADS. It's like crab crack.
 
Spam-- seems to fill the pots just fine. I like it because i can keep the cans on the boat for a long time with no mess and throw a pot out whenever I want without having to get bait.
 
i use my spent fish carcasses 90% of the time with consistent, good results. mostly salmon with some ling/halibut/rockfish/sole mixed in. recently i've portioned them into gallon ziplock bags, poured shrimp/crab oil or attractant in there, let sit and marinate overnight, then toss in the freezer. sometimes i'll toss a can of cat food in pot too.

when fish carcasses run out, chicken or turkey legs.
 
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