General Crabbing Tips

First, I drill a bunch of extra holes in my plastic bait jars. Then i chop up and stuff a bunch of frozen anchovies or sardines or fish carcasses in the jars. Then i cut 8 inch pieces of bailing wire and thread them between the bone and tendon of chicken legs giving an extra wrap around the leg before wiring it to the bait jar. The chopped fish provides scent while the chicken leg gives them something to chew. When crabs are actively chewing, the clicking sound attracts other crabs and keeps them from leaving when the surge blows the gates open.

Oily fish...ie Macks. The best is Albacore bellies. When you use these you can actually see the oil bubbling up to the surface in 40fow after a 3 hr soak! Unfortunately i like smoked albie belly as much as crab, so its usually mack/squid combo. as KJ said a little "hang bait" really helps to hold em.

I had been using whole sardines in a mesh"onion Bag"... I only soaked for 20 mins and my 4-5fish were gone.. (i notice they dont like the heads and leave that behind..) now I have switched to the JAR... i like the chicken strapped on idea to keep them busy...

First, I drill a bunch of extra holes in my plastic bait jars. Then i chop up and stuff a bunch of frozen anchovies or sardines or fish carcasses in the jars. Then i cut 8 inch pieces of bailing wire and thread them between the bone and tendon of chicken legs giving an extra wrap around the leg before wiring it to the bait jar. The chopped fish provides scent while the chicken leg gives them something to chew. When crabs are actively chewing, the clicking sound attracts other crabs and keeps them from leaving when the surge blows the gates open.

after seeing jacks success with this method, this will be my new method, cameron

First, I drill a bunch of extra holes in my plastic bait jars. Then i chop up and stuff a bunch of frozen anchovies or sardines or fish carcasses in the jars. Then i cut 8 inch pieces of bailing wire and thread them between the bone and tendon of chicken legs giving an extra wrap around the leg before wiring it to the bait jar. The chopped fish provides scent while the chicken leg gives them something to chew. When crabs are actively chewing, the clicking sound attracts other crabs and keeps them from leaving when the surge blows the gates open.

yeah same here. tubs with squid and a bag or cage with fish and chicken. Last week I used catfish heads. My local ranch 99 had the for .59 per pound. All day crabbing and I used $2.85 in bait. I ended up getting 8 dungie keepers.  I also attach the bait to the trap with some 6 inch sections of copper wire (stripped from electrical re wire I did) cheap and simple

All those things work great, and I use them.  I have a salmon head from that one I caught at the end of the season - salmon is one of the best baits for Dungeness. 

All those things work great, and I use them.  I have a salmon head from that one I caught at the end of the season - salmon is one of the best baits for Dungeness. 

oh sure rub in the salmon score!!!! Jerk! 

All those things work great, and I use them.  I have a salmon head from that one I caught at the end of the season - salmon is one of the best baits for Dungeness. 

oh sure rub in the salmon score!!!! Jerk! 

Lol. Eric, you can use wsb carcass. I'll use RF carcass, as I haven't caught either wsb nor salmon.

Has anyone tried seafood base?

I can sell you some. 

I started doing this last year and it sounds somewhat cruel, but funny at the same time.  How about catching them and keeping them alive in 20-30 gallon tubs - silence of the lambs style? An aerator/filter with regular water changes will take care of it.  I only kept them alive for a few days, but Rudy perfected the technique.

http://www.youtube.com/user/HALIBU77#p/u/36/1Ru1Oucj4hQ

Another idea is going out on charters - ~$40 for 6 crabs? Maybe some of the relatives will want to join you!

All those things work great, and I use them.  I have a salmon head from that one I caught at the end of the season - salmon is one of the best baits for Dungeness. 

oh sure rub in the salmon score!!!! Jerk! 

Lol. Eric, you can use wsb carcass. I'll use RF carcass, as I haven't caught either wsb nor salmon.

I almost ran out of freezer space for the meat....Let alone the carcass (hows that for rubbing it in) 

I can sell you some. 

I started doing this last year and it sounds somewhat cruel, but funny at the same time.  How about catching them and keeping them alive in 20-30 gallon tubs - silence of the lambs style? An aerator/filter with regular water changes will take care of it.  I only kept them alive for a few days, but Rudy perfected the technique.

http://www.youtube.com/user/HALIBU77#p/u/36/1Ru1Oucj4hQ

Another idea is going out on charters - ~$40 for 6 crabs? Maybe some of the relatives will want to join you!

Cool vid. Never thought of storing them

I hear poacher is good bait.  I'm just sayin'...

 

Using WSB or salmon heads or carcasses as crab bait is like trading gold for equal weight of silver! The carcasses belong on the smoker/barbie and the heads in stock.

Using WSB or salmon heads or carcasses as crab bait is like trading gold for equal weight of silver! The carcasses belong on the smoker/barbie and the heads in stock.

Agreed. I filleted one side of each fish and steaked the other. Hence, no meat lost. I did, however, dump the heads at the beach! The crabs should be thanking me.