shore crab snaring, tides

Thinking about hitting Baker Beach or China Beach Saturday as it looks like the waves won't be too big and doing some shore casting with my crab snares.

Any intel on what tides are best (hi/low/slack), also how much weight would you recommend?

I know Nudling is one of our resident SF experts on this subject (see his TGIF post from last year).

Hit it from 930 AM to 130 PM. Reload your bait every hour.

thanks bro!

I like the tide swings...either the high or the low will work.

As for weights I usually try to fish with 4oz and may bump it up if needed.  I also use my own home made snares which are a lot smaller than the commercial ones which allow me to cast farther.  Keep your traps full of bait as the crabs can eat it quick.

I have not been out this year off the beach as I've heard its been slow....A buddy was out a few weeks ago and got 3 but also said the sand dabs were in pretty thick so he swapped over to fish for them.

What kind of rig did he use to get dabs from the shore?  Certaintly not Sabiki...

Some tips (from my experience):

- Tides don't seem to matter (but slack tide is easier to fish because less weight is needed)

- Squid stays in the snare better, but herring catches more crab

- Use enough weight to keep it in one spot. 3-6 oz usually does the trick.

Good luck out there!!!

After getting a few in close at Bonita Cove from the yak on opening day, I tried from the beach (there's nice parking lot with less than a 10 minute walk down)a few weeks ago and didn't get any, but I was wondering about the method.  Do you actually feel the "bite" then "set" the snare?  The last time I got one from my yak on a snare I was just reeling up every 5 mins or so to see if I had one, and they seemed to be just holding on to the cage/bait and not really snared.  Lost a big one this way!  Should I have "set" it?

I think he was using a hi-low rig or something similar.

After getting a few in close at Bonita Cove from the yak on opening day, I tried from the beach (there's nice parking lot with less than a 10 minute walk down)a few weeks ago and didn't get any, but I was wondering about the method.  Do you actually feel the "bite" then "set" the snare?  The last time I got one from my yak on a snare I was just reeling up every 5 mins or so to see if I had one, and they seemed to be just holding on to the cage/bait and not really snared.  Lost a big one this way!  Should I have "set" it?

The way I do it is SLOWLY pull back the fishing pole to feel if there's any extra weight to the snare. If I feel like there's a bit of weight - other than the sinker and bait inside the snare - I'll stop pulling and wait a good 20-30 seconds and then set the snare. If you don't feel any extra weight on the snare, your bait is either gone or the crabs haven't arrived.

If you're interested in making your own crab snare check out these two YouTube videos:





Instead of using the 150# leader material for the snares, I'd recommend using 80# Mason Hard Nylon Leader Material. A lot of the locals around Pacifica swear by this and I have to agree. I've gone through tons of different leaders for my snares but this one lasts the longest and doesn't "close" in on itself when you're casting.

Thanks, JTfishing!