Crab Trap Riggin'

OK so a bunch of us ordered traps via Ben (thanks again Ben). Can one of the master crabbers (chuck?) chime in with how to rig them...What thickness line and how much do you put on? Floats? I assume most if us will drop them in HMB and/or SC/Monterey.

check out the following link:
http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php?page=18
it has all the info you need to know about crabbing from kayak.

if you need to install the escape rings, use coper wire to make a ring and simply attach it on the trap using string straps as shown in the pic.

duh...I totally spaced that Chuck had this article. thanks for the kick in the head

Hey Eric,

While not kayak specific, the following article from Coastside Fishing is a good all-around piece on crabbing:

http://www.coastsidefishingclub.com/crabbing

Did you go with the TR-102 collapsible traps from Promar? I too want to get all rigged-up for crab season.

Jeff (a.k.a. Steelerhead)

Ive never crabbed with the cages just nets down south while going for lobster. How do u set up these escape rings im lost and need to try and get some cages my local big 5 sells the metal ones are those a little bulky for the kayak. More pics please

I know Karen can order them the problem is getting 5 guys to go in on them around where i live no one fishes it seems...

Jeff, we ordered the new version, Promar TR-102W, these already include two 4 1/4" escape rings.

rhyak, karen can order you a lower quantity but she won't give you the same 20% off discount I received from group buy.  The TR 102W is $27.99 retail and I don't know if she would give you the 10% NCKA discount or not.

Thanks Ben... A few questions:

How many traps/rigs do you typically carry on your yak when you go out for a drop?
Do you mark their location as a GPS waypoint?
Where have you found the best place to drop?
If out of HMB, where do you launch?
How long do you let your traps dwell?

I should plan on joining you experts on a trip sometime

Cheers,
Jeff (a.k.a. Steelerhead)

Jeff, so many questions.

Pretty much all of us who bought traps are crabbing newbs, so I'll leave most of those questions to them if they see this, but answer what I am "thinking" as of now.

Q1:  I plan to carry my two traps and a ring to see how well they produce and how well I can handle them.  If i feel like I can handle more, I might buy more later.
Q2:  I think that I would, depending on conditions.  If its calm and we're doing short soaks (<30 min) probably just leave them be - i plan to use a bright color pool noodle as a buoy.
Q3:  No idea, going to try HMB probably first since that's a nice gentle launch spot until I get used to the weight/stability of the traps on the back of the kayak.  After that the ocean is open to us, linda mar/muir on good weather days...maybe up north towards ft bragg!
Q4: You can launch out of princeton harbor proper at the boat ramp if you're quick and stay out of the boater's way, other spots would be maverick's beach parking lot and launch off the sand beach on the inside of the harbor.
Q5:  This I am not sure of, I am thinking about half an hour soak before a pull, then will decide if I should do longer soaks - i think this depends on how well the crabs are crawling on the day.

Thanks Ben, all makes perfect sense to me!

Jeff (a.k.a. Steelerhead)

Jeff, we ordered the new version, Promar TR-102W, these already include two 4 1/4" escape rings.

rhyak, karen can order you a lower quantity but she won't give you the same 20% off discount I received from group buy.  The TR 102W is $27.99 retail and I don't know if she would give you the 10% NCKA discount or not.

Any traps left for sale?  PM if so.  Thanks.

sorry, unless someone flakes on me, they're all sold.  you can try to arrange another group buy with karen if you want, or buy them yourself.  group buy is best since you can spread out the shipping cost.

the boxes are very heavy, 50lbs, 42 x 28 x 9" in dimensions so they cost a bit to ship the whole box.

In my experience 20 minutes to a half hour is a good amount of time for the crab rings but you definitely want to let a trap soak a bit longer than that. More like four to six hours to fill up the danielsons that I use. HMB or Linda Mar are both good options.

Also make sure you weight your lines down so that they don't float on the surface creating a hazard for boaters and getting you float cut off. Crabbing is a lot of fun especially when it comes to the eating part.


-Eliot

1. How many traps/rigs do you typically carry on your yak when you go out for a drop?
2. Do you mark their location as a GPS waypoint?
3. Where have you found the best place to drop?
4. If out of HMB, where do you launch?
5. How long do you let your traps dwell?

1. this trap is light in weight.  you should have no problem handling as many as 5 traps.  i personally take only 3 traps coz i like having some relaxing time between pulls.
2. it's always helpful to use the waypoint feature.  i always do.  it makes crabbing a lot easier to have the drop locations marked on your GPS than paddle around looking for your traps without drop marks.
3. depends on what type of crabs you are targeting.  ChuckE mentioned about it in his article.
4.
5. 45 mins to 1 hr should be good enough

Great input, thanks everybody!

Jeff (a.k.a. Steelerhead)