NorCal Kayak Anglers
Kayak Zone => Gearing Up and Rigging Up => Topic started by: Widgeon on December 25, 2017, 11:21:25 AM
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Hey ya'll, got a gift cert to bass pro burnin' a hole in my pocket. I want to get set up with some crab rings and whatever I'll need to utilize them (rope, weights, etc). Any suggestions would be appreciated----
Phil
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I switched from flat rings to the conical style. I haven't used them much yet but I like the design. The crabs will have a harder time getting away.
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I had 7 rings on my yak in front of my feet a few weeks ago - I like that they are flat - the buoys take up more space than anything.
Also, to up your odds and get the most from active crabbing (as opposed to soaking your gear), you need to run at least 3 or 4 and sometimes 6 to 8 pieces of gear - hard to do that with pots or the conical ones.
The basic 32" Promar rings are good - comes with 100' of rope I think. Should have a small buoy to hold up the 3 short lines attaching the main line to the ring, and a main buoy - the main ones that come with it are often pretty weak. I add a big commercial crab float to that. As for weight, I fish those Promars just as they come and do deal with a bit of current, but I put a priority on not getting in strong current situations because that usually means shitty crabbing success anyway. A little current is good, and the Promars do fine.
I like to crab as shallow as possible, but sometimes I need up to 80' of line - it's good to develop systems to loop up the excess line so it doesn't just stretch across the water. Zip ties are an easy way to deal with that.
For bait I like to use the green mesh bags ($6 each) with cinching openings and pins that allow for attaching the bag to the netting of the ring. In addition to that I like the stainless steel bait pins (10 for $5). In other words, I use both - I secure the bait bag to the netting in the middle of the ring with the pin that comes with it, and then I use a stainless steel pin as backup - you don't want a $6 bait bag walking off with a crab and leaving you not fishing at all. The pins are nice too because you can stab them through a fish carcass or chicken parts and have raw bait hanging - this is something to consider if crabbing is slow or there's lots of other gear in your crabbing area. Hang a fresh lingcod carcass and start pulling that thing every 5 to 10 minutes and you should be in 'em.
There's technique to pulling rings because the crabs can actually escape if while retrieving it you lag, pause or tip the ring. You need to approach the gear so that you pickup the buoy and start gathering the rope and your momentum carries you upwind and/or up current so you're over the gear when you bring it up quickly. Again, shallower is better if you can do it.
I love crabbing with rings because you're actively fishing and the better the bait the better your odds of getting those little scavengers on your stuff instead of hunting around on nearby gear or other natural food sources. Also, the crabs should get on your gear faster than they'll climb in the doors of the pots and traps, so you can start getting legals faster than other types of gear much of the time.
If you were closer I'd take you out and show you the ropes. Good luck and have fun! :smt001
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Thanks Eric! Ok, so going to get 5 or 6 of the promar traps,to the green mesh bags, and some of those spring steel pins. I haven't seen the promar traps with the rope and buoy but I'll check around.
One thing---how big should the "small" buoy be to hold up the lines that connect to the trap? And also, do you use the "clip on" style of weights to keep your main rope down below boat propellers?
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Thanks Eric! Ok, so going to get 5 or 6 of the promar traps,to the green mesh bags, and some of those spring steel pins. I haven't seen the promar traps with the rope and buoy but I'll check around.
One thing---how big should the "small" buoy be to hold up the lines that connect to the trap? And also, do you use the "clip on" style of weights to keep your main rope down below boat propellers?
The small buoy is about the size of a mini football or a pineapple round. I don't use any weights - they'd get in the way of pulling the rope. The key is to loop up the excess rope and secure it with the zip tie - that way the main float is more right over your gear. You have to avoid placing your gear in ship channels or harbor entrances, and you're working in the immediate vicinity of your fleet, so you shouldn't have a problem with boats running your stuff over unless you spread out too far or place it in bad spots.
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Here is a couple tips that work good for me.
1. Connical hoops tend to hold crabs longer than flat hoops. Thus less are needed. Also, they stack well and take no more space than a flat hoop with a buoy.
2. I use a floating rope with a clip on weight. The weight will create an arch between the hoop and the weight before going up to the buoy. As the waves pull the float up and down, this arch will absorb the tugging action and you will scare less crabs off your hoop.
3. Be sure to uses a bait that will leave a slick (oily like squid) and also a bait they can dine on (like fish carcuses) to keep them around.
4. Be sure to secure your hoops to the yak in a way that will allow them to separate from the kayak in the event of a roll over.
I prefer a PVC goal post to set my hoops on during transport.
Good luck.
Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk
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I use lead line on my box trap.. not sure if that would bother the ring. it doesn't float so you don't have to worry about boats hitting it.