Collapsible Trap Crabbing

[rugbyfish]

Does anyone here crab using collapsible traps instead of a trot line? My wife and I are thinking about giving it a try this summer. We have paddle kayaks, so trot-lining would be difficult. I am just wondering if it is worth buying some crabbing gear, as steamed crabs are crazy expensive. We aren't necessarily looking to bring home a bushel, just enough for meal or two.

[moc]

I use to crab off of a Wilderness Tarpon 120 kayak for many years, before I started running trotlines from my electric powered canoe and my peddle yaks. I did not crab often with the traps, but if you fine a good spot where the crabs are running, you could get a dozen or two crabs. Make sure that you use the topless traps since they can stack inside of each other for storage. I would not deploy them too far from the ramp since I would like to come back to shore and deposit my crabs that I caught and to get more traps. The distance from the ramp depends on how far you want to go back and forth if you choose to do it that way. The more traps the better for me. So I could not take them all out at one time. However, in your case there are two of you, so you can take and manage 8 traps each. In addition, sometime in the cooler months the crabs would not go for the trotline but you can get them in deeper water via the traps.

[justeric]

Follow up question.
A guy crabber at the Fishing Expo last weekend told me that the crabs only spend about 5 minutes on a chicken neck before moving on. With a trotline it is going to take way more than 5 minutes to get to the same chicken neck after dropping it back into the water. He told me that the crabs stay on the razor clams longer since they are harder to eat and smell stronger. Do you have any thoughts on how long crabs eat a bait before swimming on? Given the length of time a crab will stay in an open trap, it probably makes sense to not over do it with to many traps?

[M_Duong60]

Follow up question.
A guy crabber at the Fishing Expo last weekend told me that the crabs only spend about 5 minutes on a chicken neck before moving on. With a trotline it is going to take way more than 5 minutes to get to the same chicken neck after dropping it back into the water. He told me that the crabs stay on the razor clams longer since they are harder to eat and smell stronger. Do you have any thoughts on how long crabs eat a bait before swimming on? Given the length of time a crab will stay in an open trap, it probably makes sense to not over do it with to many traps?

I also plan on trying out crabbing from the paddle yak this summer, thinking about trying the hoop nets myself. I briefly looked over the regulations and it seemed like only 10 collapsible traps (and or hoopnets) are allowed to be used per person? After reading what you said I'm starting to wonder if that is overkill too.

Has anyone tried using catfish carcasses for bait? I mean I don't see any reason it wouldn't work but was wondering how it held up to chicken necks out of curiosity. Probably isn't as good as razor clams or mullet/bunker.

[justeric]

I also plan on trying out crabbing from the paddle yak this summer, thinking about trying the hoop nets myself. I briefly looked over the regulations and it seemed like only 10 collapsible traps (and or hoopnets) are allowed to be used per person? After reading what you said I'm starting to wonder if that is overkill too.

Has anyone tried using catfish carcasses for bait? I mean I don't see any reason it wouldn't work but was wondering how it held up to chicken necks out of curiosity. Probably isn't as good as razor clams or mullet/bunker.

I don't have any experience but the guy selling crab traps at the fishing Expo recommended razor clams in traps. MOC told me that he has to go over the bay bridge to buy them. I'm not sure what the shelf life is on razor clams but I suspect you throw them out after one days use. Seems everyone uses chicken necks since they are easy to get and cheap. I'm interested in hearing some responses on using catfish and or other fish left overs.

[thedutchtouch]

i'm no expert, and i haven't crabbed from a kayak yet, but i have 30 topless traps that i made myself years ago (making that many cuts the per trap cost to less than half of buying them, but it takes a while and your hands get sore), and have crabbed them off of piers (such as the one at jonas green park) and off of my 12' jon boat. i preferred topless traps to ring nets because i lost fewer crabs out of them - they're a bit more forgiving for the non-vertical pull that a tide around a pier sometimes causes, and i had a few rings nets that crabs scurried out of when the ring net was being raised up to the pier (both of these are relatively avoidable from a boat/kayak). i like how the ropes on a topless trap are also never under the crabs, i have a feeling i've scared a crab or two out of a ring net with the lines laying on the bottom, but later learned this can be fixed with a small cork tied where the strings meet your main line to float the line above the ring net. if you buy ring nets, make sure the inner ring can't move past the inside of the outer ring- if they overlap, you can sometimes accidentally flip crabs out when pulling them up.

all that said, ring nets sure do pack down and store in a smaller space, my traps stack in a milk crate, but a 15 trap stack is about 3 ft tall, a bit unwieldy for a kayak most likely.

finally, bait- i've always used chicken necks, thought clams and clam bags etc were just too expensive, avoided salted bull lips for the same reason (that's more of a commercial crabber bait). i experimented with fish a few times but it seemed to be easier for the crabs to steal from my traps, i've used string, zipties, springs, snoods, and clips, all of which will hold a chicken neck much better than a piece of fish in my opinion. having a bait cage or net bag would of course fix this.

a bit of a ramble, but hope at least some of that helps.

[moc]

I agree with thedutchtouch assessment of topless traps vs rings. I had had the same experiences as he did. I lost so many crabs from the net sometimes coming up side ways or at an angle. The topless traps are more forgiving. I ended up getting rid of my ring traps eventually.

I have used both perch, chicken necks and clam bags for bait in the traps. I find my productivity seems to be tide to the time of year. Sometimes when the crabs want nothing, the clam bags seem to attract them. Clam bags are more work and not worth it to me on a kayak with traps....too much logistics in storage. You can make anything work, but if is becomes a pain, then you will shy away from it eventually.

As for how long the crabs stay on the chicken, I cannot say. It seems to me, from what I have run into, the longer the soak, the better chance of me catching a crab in my traps or on my trotline. One limiting factor with the necks is that you may need to refresh the traps by putting in fresh bait, because a crab will only hang around until the meat is gone. On a great crabbing day, this can happen fast.

Clam bags will last longer, but it is more work. I go across the Bay Bridge for my clams because I find it cheaper there when I need enough for my trotline. The razor clams are almost 50% to 75% less. However, if you only need a few, then some bait shops carry them, such as Anglers Sport Center on Rt east of Annapolis, MD. Remember to use fresh, not frozen clam bags. I did a test with another kayak running the same location, almost next to each other as a test. I caught 1 bushel of big crabs on my trotline with fresh bait and he barely got a 1/4 bushel in the same time with his frozen bait.

[Slobber Bob]

I also plan on trying out crabbing from the paddle yak this summer, thinking about trying the hoop nets myself..

Let me know when you are down this summer and I'll show you a good crabbing spot where you can just dip net crabs off the bank after dark.

[mchottie]

The bait shop I frequent runs three crab boats during the season.

Razor clams are far better attractant in a large trap, rather than chicken necks.