Crab trap questions

Since the swell is big and the local salmon haven't been biting I'm thinking about crab season instead of fishing this morning. 

If I interpret the regulations for crab gear when fishing from a private vessel in NorCal correctly:

1) Hoop nets must be checked at least every 2 hours, but "traps" can be left for any length of time.
2) There is a detailed description of what constitutes a hoop net, but the only requirement for a trap is that it have two 4.25" escape rings within 5" of the top of the trap. Meaning traps can be any size and have any number of doors or funnels, any size mesh, etc.
3) There is no limit on the number of traps or hoop nets a person can set.

Is this correct?

So if wait 2.5 hours to check my hoop net I'm liable for a ticket, but if I set a string of one hundred oversized crab traps and check them once every three months that's all cool?

You might want to check, but I think sport crab season opens on Nov. 1st.

Sorry, that was last year. It opens the 7th of November this year. First Saturday.

Sorry, I wasn't clear that I was just asking about gear regulations and how often traps need to be checked. But yeah, I'm eagerly awaiting the dungeness opener.

Me too. Headed to Anchor Bay on the 8th for two weeks and bringing  the crab rings. And yeah, there seems to be no time limit for trap soaks but there is for the ring nets. Go figure; it ought to be the other way around. They can just walk off the ring nets, but they're usually stuck in the traps. You know, Hojoman posted a link for suggested regulation changes. Maybe folks could send this one in. I'll look it up.

Sounds like you have it right.  Hoops and rings are short soakers, not sure why you would want to leave them be for long periods of time.  Crabs can run in and out of those things, so you have to pull often.  For me I set three rings, and by the time i'm done setting the last one, I go back and check the first.  If there are crabs, I measure and bag then drop back down.  If not, I "walk" my line forward or backwards, (deeper or shallower) depending on what my guess is, and drop it then check the others, and repeat.