Crab Poach Patrol?!?!

Regarding those timed release devices...how would you set your trap besides putting it overboard and letting it drop to the bottom really fast ?...and risking the pot ending up sideways/upside-down, due to it falling really fast through the water column ?

You will need to add weight to the pot or it might drift with the tide. Bouy will always be lifting the Pot

 I always have 5 lbs of weight via (3) 20 inch sticks of 5/8" re-bar wired to the underside of my pot. I still don't want to drop my pot to the bottom because they might partially collapse,fall open or gates jam closed in the sand or land upside down. I might try a bag of rocks connected directly to the buoy(14" pool noodle spooled with braided 5/16 nylon) with the galvanic release.
        I don't know how its gonna pan out. I would appreciate any ideas you guys might have. I know there are a lot of smarter people than me on this site.

I always have 5 lbs of weight via (3) 20 inch sticks of 5/8" re-bar wired to the underside of my pot. I still don't want to drop my pot to the bottom because they might partially collapse,fall open or gates jam closed in the sand or land upside down. I might try a bag of rocks connected directly to the buoy(14" pool noodle spooled with braided 5/16 nylon) with the galvanic release.
        I don't know how its gonna pan out. I would appreciate any ideas you guys might have. I know there are a lot of smarter people than me on this site.

I think putting the weight on the float would make it more likely that the rope will get stuck on the bottom as it moves around in the currents. Maybe connect the release 3/4 of the way up the rope to just below the buoy. Then you could let the trap down carefully almost the whole way but the float would still be well underwater. That's what it looks like in the manufacturer's picture.

I was thinking about that but then I would have to lower the pot all the way down to find bottom then pull it 1/4 way back up and hold it there while rigging the release then drop it and let it land how it lands.

Also, I try to drop my pots in places that are mostly sand where the bouy is less likely to snag.

I was thinking about that but then I would have to lower the pot all the way down to find bottom then pull it 1/4 way back up and hold it there while rigging the release then drop it and let it land how it lands.

Another rope to lower it down could easily be used - perhaps tied to the buoy, then just throw it in once the pot is on the bottom. 

I was thinking about that but then I would have to lower the pot all the way down to find bottom then pull it 1/4 way back up and hold it there while rigging the release then drop it and let it land how it lands.

Another rope to lower it down could easily be used - perhaps tied to the buoy, then just throw it in once the pot is on the bottom.

Hmmm, that might work. I would probably need a way to detach the pot from the lowering rope so I don't need 2 ropes for each pot. Maybe the right knot or a small hook with a small weight that I could unhook from the cage and retrieve.

Something like this?  Weighted rope obviously.

Something like this?  Weighted rope obviously.

Yes, Crash that is the situation exactly. In fact that is how the manufacturer reccomends to use it. But it is made for heavy steel commercial pots that are just tossed off the ship.

Something like this?  Weighted rope obviously.

Yes, Crash that is the situation exactly. In fact that is how the manufacturer reccomends to use it. But it is made for heavy steel commercial pots that are just tossed off the ship.

In my drawing the rope is long enough to lower it all the way to the bottom before letting go.

Something like this?  Weighted rope obviously.

Yes, Crash that is the situation exactly. In fact that is how the manufacturer reccomends to use it. But it is made for heavy steel commercial pots that are just tossed off the ship.

In my drawing the rope is long enough to lower it all the way to the bottom before letting go.

Something never made much sense to me.  Wouldn't you still have roping swinging in the ocean, ripe for whale entanglement?  Or perhaps it must not be there if you can't see it?

-Allen

Something like this?  Weighted rope obviously.

Yes, Crash that is the situation exactly. In fact that is how the manufacturer reccomends to use it. But it is made for heavy steel commercial pots that are just tossed off the ship.

In my drawing the rope is long enough to lower it all the way to the bottom before letting go.

Something never made much sense to me.  Wouldn't you still have roping swinging in the ocean, ripe for whale entanglement?  Or perhaps it must not be there if you can't see it?

-Allen

Yes, but the rope is only covering some fraction of the water column, not the entire thing.

Something like this?  Weighted rope obviously.

Yes, Crash that is the situation exactly. In fact that is how the manufacturer reccomends to use it. But it is made for heavy steel commercial pots that are just tossed off the ship.

In my drawing the rope is long enough to lower it all the way to the bottom before letting go.

Something never made much sense to me.  Wouldn't you still have roping swinging in the ocean, ripe for whale entanglement?  Or perhaps it must not be there if you can't see it?

-Allen

Yes, but the rope is only covering some fraction of the water column, not the entire thing.

Why does that make a difference?  Whales swim in all directions.

-Allen

Something like this?  Weighted rope obviously.

Yes, Crash that is the situation exactly. In fact that is how the manufacturer reccomends to use it. But it is made for heavy steel commercial pots that are just tossed off the ship.

In my drawing the rope is long enough to lower it all the way to the bottom before letting go.

Something never made much sense to me.  Wouldn't you still have roping swinging in the ocean, ripe for whale entanglement?  Or perhaps it must not be there if you can't see it?

-Allen

Yes, but the rope is only covering some fraction of the water column, not the entire thing.

Why does that make a difference?  Whales swim in all directions.

-Allen

The same reason that Gill nets don’t stretch across the entire length of the river.

In my drawing let’s assume 50 FOW.  The rope now only covers 15” instead of 50, a 70% reduction in coverage in the water column.

To prevent entanglement you would keep most or all of the rope coiled very close to the trap.