General Crabbing Tips

[EWB]

yep...drive to HMB and got for 'em there. WAY better crabbin up north. I wouldn't bother setting gear in SC

[Howard]

Thanks Eric, will do.

[9erfan]

Outdoor proshop in Rohnert Park just got all there crabbing gear in. Traps as low as $20  and a kit that has rope, buoy with flag for $15. I was going to pull the trigger but already had $50 worth or stuff in my hand.

[Sin Coast]

I only know of 1 yakker who can get dungies in SC area on a consistent basis. So, they're out there if ya spend the time looking & trying. But it ain't easy. 

[BigJim]

Howard,

I used my crab ring a fair amount last year in the Capitola/Pleasure Point area and never got one dungie...

Got some nice fat rock crabs though in the kelp potholes, and it was pretty fun to drop the ring, fish for a while and then come back and pull it up and see what I got!

Good luck!

 

Sincerely,

Jim

[hamachijohn]

yep...drive to HMB and got for 'em there. WAY better crabbin up north. I wouldn't bother setting gear in SC

by "north" do you mean Bodega Bay?  Where?  Is it that much "WAY better"?  just asking cause I don't know any better. 

[EWB]

No, just HMB. I suppose the the more north the better (less fishing pressure) others can chime in on bodega and places north. In SC you will get NO DUNGIES and maybe a few rock crab. In HMB you will be able to limit on dungies. May take you a few set's but you'll get 'em

[KV]

Up here in Bodega Bay it is looking good for the dungies.  I dropped 2 rings about a week ago and was just doing circuits between them.  Being out there for maybe 2hrs @ the most i threw back @ least 8 or 9 FAT dungies, one had to be about 9" across.  I am going out @ midnight on the opener fully expecting to limit quickly.

[Mooch]

Much harder to beat a salmon head

I hear the furbags love salmon and tend to tear up crab traps. Any truth to this?

[mako1]

I once had a juicy salmon head in a pot, in 15' of water. It was attracting lots of crabs. Damn harbor seal eventually stuck it's head in the one-way gait and stole the whole head. I saw the birds afterwards and it didn't immediately register. It must have been the Houdini of seals.
Lesson learned? Yeah, don't turn your back on pots with salmon in them. Crabs love them, but so do the seals!

[9erfan]

I was planing on going crabbing at Doran beach for the opener. It will be my first time crabbing period. I plan on launching from the beach near the jetty. I know I will figure out what not to do, but tips from people who have been there will be greatly appreciated.

[bwodun]

only tip i can give for doran would be get away from the jetty, or you will have alot of rock crab, but other than that just watch out for boat traffic and drop just about anywhere, ill be there monday, gotta work all weekend, good luck, cameron

[hamachijohn]

In addition to the crab setup, I bought a prawn trap at OPS.  I hear I can just stack the prawn trap on top of the promar (with zipties?) and it'll work fine.  Can anyone provide some advice on this?

Hamachijohn

[nudling]

Sounds like it should work John - as long as you can pull it up w/out interference?  How deep do you plan on dropping it?  I recall that they tend to be >150ft.

As for tips for first time - make sure that your trap doesn't walk and keep track of where you placed them if you don't mark it w/GPS.  No, I didn't lose my promars on my first trip. 

[hamachijohn]

YIKES !! 150ft to 200ft depth to catch shrimp??  I think I'll return the shrimp trap, as I'm only expecting to be in 50-75 feet of water while crabbing.... unless someone else also plans on doing some shrimping.

Sounds like it should work John - as long as you can pull it up w/out interference?  How deep do you plan on dropping it?  I recall that they tend to be >150ft.