pot size

I ordered an 18x9 pot from nwcrabpots. Its a round pot. Just wanting to poll the community to see what others run with. This 18 sounds pretty nice for the yak. And 2-3 crab at a time is plenty for me. What size are you guys running?

I ahve an old Danielson and several hoop nets.

I've also got an old folding Danielson and some (heavy duty) hoops. If I'm having friends over later and going for a limit of crab, I like to fish the hoop traps and use the Danielson as a "holding area" for my crabs until I'm ready to come in.

I've also got an old folding Danielson and some (heavy duty) hoops. If I'm having friends over later and going for a limit of crab, I like to fish the hoop traps and use the Danielson as a "holding area" for my crabs until I'm ready to come in.

Sorry... but how is a warden to know if your stocking crab in that pot to be picked up later... say after coming in with a limit?

If you come in with a limit and all gear I think you would be ok

The use of "crab hotels", where the doors are secured from opening/closing, is not legal.

However leaving crabs in your pot, after you retrieve your limit, is still considered "fishing" and not illegal.

I have left a string of 12 pots out for half the season, no problems... 

http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php?topic=62282.0

Question: It is legal for boaters fishing crab traps to pull their limit of 10 Dungeness crabs and then leave any extra legal-sized crabs in the pot for harvesting the next day? Those crabs left in the trap may help encourage other crabs to load up in the traps to take another day. Is there anything illegal about this? (Jayna S.)

Answer: It is not legal for someone to take their limit and leave additional crabs in their trap(s). Sport fishermen are allowed 10 Dungeness crabs per day and in possession. It doesn’t matter where the crabs are being held, whether on board a boat or in a trap or at home in the freezer. If they are being confined and held in a trap for another day, it is still considered “possession” and counts toward their limit.

http://californiaoutdoorsqas.com/2015/01/15/why-are-wild-pheasants-on-the-decline/

My neighbor said he has big colas this year. Oh wrong Pot.

http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php?topic=62282.0

Question: It is legal for boaters fishing crab traps to pull their limit of 10 Dungeness crabs and then leave any extra legal-sized crabs in the pot for harvesting the next day? Those crabs left in the trap may help encourage other crabs to load up in the traps to take another day. Is there anything illegal about this? (Jayna S.)

Answer: It is not legal for someone to take their limit and leave additional crabs in their trap(s). Sport fishermen are allowed 10 Dungeness crabs per day and in possession. It doesn’t matter where the crabs are being held, whether on board a boat or in a trap or at home in the freezer. If they are being confined and held in a trap for another day, it is still considered “possession” and counts toward their limit.

By that reasoning it would be illegal to have more than ten keepers in your trap at any given time. I agree that after a limit is reached the rest should be returned.
Are you saying that I cant fish if I have  a limit in the freezer? That sucks
http://californiaoutdoorsqas.com/2015/01/15/why-are-wild-pheasants-on-the-decline/

However leaving crabs in your pot, after you retrieve your limit, is still considered "fishing" and not illegal.

Huh? While I know that a whole lot of you like to do this, it is not legal.

I don't leave any pots behind when I come in, and I am never more than a few hundred yards from any of my crab gear when I'm fishing like this. I never have more than 10 crabs in my possession (on my kayak). I may at one point have more than 10 crabs in my pots (for example if a few more meander into my "live well"), but I see no legal issue with that. On a good day of crabbing, we ALL have more than 10 crabs in our pots at one point or another.

I'm simply using my (legal, not sealed) box trap to keep my catch alive and healthy while I continue pulling hoops. I don't believe I am breaking any rules, but please correct me if I'm wrong.

By that reasoning it would be illegal to have more than ten keepers in your trap at any given time. I agree that after a limit is reached the rest should be returned.
Are you saying that I cant fish if I have  a limit in the freezer? That sucks

1.  You can't keep more than 10.  Once you pull the trap and it is over the limit, you have to reduce the number of crabs in your possession to 10.  If you send the trap back down with crab still in it after you have you limit on your boat, you are over the limit because once you brought the trap on board, those crab were in your possession and you can't unpossess them without releasing them for purposes of your daily limit.

2.  Correct.  The bag limit is the possession limit.  If you have 5 crab in your freezer at home and you live alone, you can take 5 more.

Reality check:

1.  Nobody is going to care about this practice of holding crabs in a trap unless you have pissed them off for some other reason.  It is extremely difficult to police, there is no profit motive or commercial poaching, they aren't grossly overlimit, and most importantly its extremely difficult to police.

2.  If you have a game warden with a warrant going through your freezer at home to see what is in there, you have way way bigger problems than a minor overlimit of crab violation.

I don't leave any pots behind when I come in, and I am never more than a few hundred yards from any of my crab gear when I'm fishing like this. I never have more than 10 crabs in my possession (on my kayak). I'm simply using my (legal, not sealed) box trap to keep my catch alive and healthy while I continue pulling hoops. I don't believe I am breaking any rules, but please correct me if I'm wrong.

That is exactly what higrading looks like.  Don't get caught.

Explain to me how "higrading" is illegal? I'm not aware of any law that states I have to keep every legal crab I catch until I have my limit. We can release small keepers and retain the big ones if we want.

I keep the first ten (or however many I want) legal males I catch, as long as they aren't haggard and missing too many limbs.

However leaving crabs in your pot, after you retrieve your limit, is still considered "fishing" and not illegal.

Huh? While I know that a whole lot of you like to do this, it is not legal.

I want to make sure we are talking about the same thing.

Day 0-
I drop 5 traps and leave them out for an overnight soak. 

Day 1-
I come back in the morning and pull 3 and get my limit with the third.  I rebait and drop the traps back down after checking them and clearing the crab out of them.

I leave the other two out without checking them.

Day 2-
I come back the next day and start the process over again after having consumed or given away my entire catch from Day 1.

..............

At what point(s) did I break the law?  Or are we talking about something else?