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Topic: Organizing crab pot/ring floats and ropes  (Read 2179 times)

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fishyhead

  • Sardine
  • *
  • Location: SF bay Area
  • Date Registered: May 2011
  • Posts: 5
Hi everyone,
I am wondering how you organize crab floats and ropes considering the new regulations with cone shape and red float.  My old setup with a pool float was easy to self organize by winding the rope around itself.  However that is no longer a legal float.  I hate tangled messes in a kayak.  Please post photos if you have some good ideas.

Thanks
Fishyhead


SOMA

  • Salmon
  • ***
  • Location: Chico
  • Date Registered: Dec 2013
  • Posts: 987
All my trap ropes have be re-purposed, thank you California F&G. 


johnz

  • Salmon
  • ***
  • Location: Alameda
  • Date Registered: Jul 2014
  • Posts: 618
The regulation for floats are ONLY related to "traps", not hoops (conical other flat hoops).  You can inflate a condom as far as DFW cares with your hoops .

Sent from my LM-G850 using Tapatalk

John
Hobie Revolution 16


AlsHobieOutback

  • - = Proud Member of Team A-HULLS! = -
  • Administrator
  • *****
  • "I love it when a plan comes together!"
  • Location: "In the Redwoods!" AKA: Boulder Creek, CA
  • Date Registered: Apr 2007
  • Posts: 14811
To keep my floats, ropes, and pot/rings organized, I keep them detached until I' ready to start setting them out.  If possible I bait my traps before I launch, but do not connect my ropes/buoys.  I keep the buoys and ropes in my crate behind me, and if there was some sort of problem on the water I could drop my gear overobard in an emergency and not be tangled.  My main crabing line is wrapped around one of those cheap extension cord wrapper things from HomeDepot and has a brass clip on the end to attach to my pot/ring.  My buoy has a 12ft weighted rope on it to attach to the cordwrapper thing.  I clip the main line to the ring/pot and pay it out until it hits bottom.  Then I attach my float and floatline, which has a 2oz weight 1/2 way down so the rope doesn't pile up on the surface.  I pull my gear until I'm done, and then when I'm calling it a day un-clip everything in reverse, break it all back down and drop any extra bait over the side.
"A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for."

 IG: alshobie


SpeedyStein

  • Sea Lion
  • ****
  • Location: Concord
  • Date Registered: Sep 2020
  • Posts: 2625
As johnz mentioned, you only need to use the specific floats for actual traps, which aren't legal right now.  I use a foot long piece of pool float and one of the little 3" promar floats on each line.  The pool noodle makes mine immediately identifiable as mine, and adds a little extra vis to the line.

Both of my hoop rings came with 100' of line, and I haven't disconnected or changed it. I coil it and use a little bungie toggle thing to keep it coiled.  On the kayak, I keep it coiled until I am about to deploy it.  If I am in less than 50' of water, I use the bungie toggle to collect some of the line to keep it from going all over the place.

These things:
https://www.lowes.com/pd/RSI-Shade-Fabric-Bungee-Ball-Tie/1000460507
- Kevin


 

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