I have recently been interested in Crabbing, and was wondering about when the best time to go was, I guess the first couple of weeks the season opens, is what most people say. Now my next step was to buy a few pots to crabbing with. I'm not interested in hoop nets, or any cheap pots, like the star trap. Any good places to buy a few pots, that are a reasonable price? Thanks

I would stop posting all your questions here. It doesn't get any looks...Put it all on the Northwest fishing board. Star traps are cheap man. The are like made out of mesh and clothesline....They are only used on piers...Just go to a tackle shop. They all have reasonable prices (theres not going to be a lot of fluctuation) and if your crabbing off a dock/pier, then by ring nets, but if your crabbing off a boat, buy traps.

Fish hunter 07
Is it your goal to put an end to this board?
Seems as though you are trying to drive people away.
I check this board every day. If someone has a question that I can help with, I will.

If this board is not active enough for you please stop checking it out.

Thanks and have a special day, Bye Bye.

Basser-
I'm not trying to "put an end to this board." Sorry for flaring your temper...My bad I will stop with this anti-WL.com board stuff that you speak of???
Seriously I'll try and stop but I still don't really get what your coming from. I don't want to argue about it either though.

All I'm saying is that, it would be in his(or her) best to post a topic on the other thread too. I am one of the few people who actually visit both boards, and I as you can see I still answer plenty of questions and give help where I can. I visit all of the boards on PP on a daily basis if not on an hourly basis.

I just think that the poster can and will have better luck posting on a few different boards.
The crowd who posts on the Northwest Fishing Board is a different (and larger) group of guys then the people who post on the WL.com board.
All I'm trying to say is that Sockeye Killer should try posting his topics both here and over there. That way it gets more exposure and responses.

It also happens to come to my attention that the Northwest Fishing Board is more full of people who fish saltwater and rivers, as I never see too much about freshwater or lakes and such. Meanwhile, on the other hand, the WashingtonLAKES.com board seems to almost always have with a lot of freshwater (lake) oriented posts.
Since Sockeye Killer is posting a question about Crab pots, I figured that it would be in his best interest to ask a crowd with more saltwater fishers in it (Northwest fishing Board)

Now, I apologize to those who feel that I am trying to run this board off the map.
FH07

Oh and Sockeye Killer:
Let me know where your going to be fishing from (pier or boat) and I will post up some pictures of some crab pots I would suggest for those situations as soon as I get your response.
FH07

No apologize's needed, and you have some good points. I don't mind redirecting people to other more specific boards. I just want to grow this one also. It was a great board before, and can be again. There are people with lots of info here. This place just needs a little more traffic.

Sorry to hijack this post.

I plan to be fishing from a boat, for crab. I've been told many times to go to the Northwest fishing board, but I dont get that website. How do you post a topic their? Sorry to start any arguments, but our editor, (Mike Carey), has told me via e-mail, to post any questions about fishing on Washington lakes.com Forum. So I created an account to ask questions, and seems to be, hardly anyone asks questions at this forum site. Is this the right site to go to, is there any other sites where people go to ask questions?

You get what you pay for in crab pots. I have used the cheap danilson ones for years but have changed out to protocos they are small comercial style traps and weigh a bit more.

The light ones will get pulled out of the bay on strong tides.

The cheap ones work just great I never had an issue with mine.

Paul

Sorry about that Mike and Basser.
I've also noticed that since I started posting on PP (March '06 I believe) that the WashingtonLakes board just gets less and less posts and responses as time goes on.

Mike: Have reader reports or website visits gone down for WashingtonLakes.com?

I've also recently thought about something with WashingtonLakes.com that has puzzled me. Why no rivers? It seems that it would be a great way to get a lot of the folks over there on the Northwest Fishing Board to get more actively involved in posting and having a place to post river reports would probably be quite popular, if it got as many posts as lakes do...

I re-read my words and I realize they were a bit harsh...Bad way for me to put it, so I'm sorry.

Sockeye Killer: I'll round up some pictures and get a big reply ready for you for your Crab pot question tonight.

I'd get the cheesy vinyl coated steel traps that cost about $20 ea. That way when they get stolen (if you crab much they will),you won't be out a ton of money.

The cheesy pots work as good as anything out there. I've never lost a pot to the tides,but I'm sure to use enough rope so the float won't pull them off the bottom. If you're concerned about the tides,you can add a few pounds of rebar in the bottom to weigh it down.

IMO the best time to crab is when its open. These days you really can't be picky about when you're going or the WDFW will close the season before you can go. I've never found that one time of the year is better than the next anyways. I limit when its open in the Summer and I limit when its open right now.

Almost forgot,be sure to get leaded line for the pots,and not the cheap Yellow Poly rope that floats on the surface. The leaded line is only a dollar or two more than the Poly.

The boaters will thank you.

Hey guys, thanks a bunch for the info, I was just wondering what's the best pot to get, and I've been answered, this turned out to be a good topic. I'll check later on tonight to see thoes pictures Fish hunter 07' has, My one problem stiil is where to go crabbing, I asked it in one topic, and it didn't really get answered, I really want to go somewhere in the sound, I read a report that Area 10 has been giving limits. Oh yeah, what is a Shaker, a type of Fish? Is it a salmon? Thanks for the replys!

Shaker=salmon....A very small one...Usually small (5-12 inches usually) and they get the name "shaker" because you just reel em in and shake em off your hook cause you won't get anything with them holding on to your lure, which is sometimes as big as they are...I've yet to collect the pictures, but I'll get to it in a few minutes, its dinner time right now..

Sockeye Killer-Here's my collection of pictures. I'll tell you a bit about each of them and my experiences with them. I had to look at Google Images to find them, and they sure don't have many crab trap pictures...

This one is basically a more recreational sized model of what the Commercial guys use. They are rugged, strong, and seem to work good. I will show you a picture of my favorite one, but some people say that the round traps are easier for the crabs to get in, but I'm not sure yet about the difference. Another downside, if you get seaweed on these, it's a pain to get it all off...Expect to pay around $80-100 for these, not included bait cage or rope.


This is a trap made by Danielson. It is highly popular and widely used for many reasons. You can find them for as cheap as $17 when GI Joes has sales on them, but they will usually run under about $30. They work really well, and they also fold flat for easy storage. Literally they fold to be flat so you can store them in the smallest of places. I would probably suggest these. They are easy to use, pretty durable, they work great, and if you lose them or have them get stolen, it will be easy to purchase a new one...I've posted two pictures of this model. Go into any sporting goods or fishing store and ask for the Danielson traps, they are black and square.




Here's another pretty common trap. It's expensive, expect it to be just around $80-100, w/o line and bait cage. It works good, I've never had the great success that I get with the square Danielson traps. They are pretty much exactly like the top picture, but they look a bit nicer and not so rugged. But for the price and mediocre results, I would stay away from these and the top picture.



Try those Danielson ones, you'll love yourself when you get 3 of them for the price of one of any other kind of traps. They work the best in my opinion, and you will save good $$$.

Thanks fish hunter 07' big help, this morning though, I thought maybe I wasn't supposed to ask questions here, but now I know this is a good resource to ask people. Thanks again

Sockeye Killer, what I would use is a nice bunch of hoop nets, there just as good as the ones fish hunter posted, don't waist your money on things that are 80-100$ You can get hoop nets for as little as 19.95$ But Fish Hunter 07' has some good tips!

Nice Chum fish hunter 07'

That's the just a zoomed in shot of his head, so that's why its a bit fuzzy. It was a nice (and really colored!!) 13lber caught right at where the Wallace kicks into the Skykomish...Ring nets(I think hoop nets are the same) look like this:


They are really tough to use out of a boat, but they work really well cause the crab's get in to the net with out any problem. What happens is that when the line is slack, the top ring sinks down and it lays flat on the bottom. Then, when you start pulling up the lines, the top ring pops up and it looks exactly like the picture, and the crab can't get out..

That's the way this BB should work. Now I know a litte about crab pots, and may use this information sometime.
I like to think it's about helping people out, and getting more people involved in the outdoors.

Good post FH07

Thanks Basser, just trying to get his board back on its feet and get people's questions answered.

If anyone wants a detailed report about crab pots or just anything crabbing related, shoot me a PM (Private Message) or if you don't know how to do that, then holler at me on this board. I'm serious I know a lot about crabbing, so if you have a question, shoot, and I'll do my best to answer it...

Hey Fish Hunter, I'm getting interested in Chum fishing, so I think I will start a topic about Chumming in Hoodcanal. I'm planning to go from the hatchery zone this weekend. I'm going to try that bobber, anchovie rig. People have been saying it's a really good choice. Keep on a lookout on P.P. to see my results from our trip, I'll give a few pointers for anyone who wants to go fishing for Chum Salmon in Hood Canal,when I return. My friend told me that I should get ready for all the "Native American" Netters, for they are usually in bad moods, so I'll keep to my buisness. Bye

The pictures of the round traps in the post are the best. When there are tides, add some lead to the inside bottom. I also like to have a 25 gal plant pot for the rope to curl into when pulling a pot up. Sportco has good prices, but Cushman Marine by Potlatch has an even better model. I use herring or salmon carcasses for bait.

Here is a webiste for Cushman's products.
Crab pots

Funny that you say that your getting interersted in Chum. This year was my first year to try salmon fishing on rivers, and I've been fishing for Chum recently. Never done any Chum fishing in the saltwater but I've heard about it and I know what guys use and stuff....
I've only fished for them on rivers. This is a picture of some of my gear. Of course I am getting more and more as I get tips/suggestions/advice or just see how people catch em and what they use, so this is now just a small fraction of what my tackle box consists of.

Heres a basic drawing of how you set it my gear for rivers:


Basically you run your line through the bobber, and you wrap it around the bobber about 3 times so it stays stationary. Then you let about a foot or two of line hang out from the bottom, and you ties one of those weights on, then on the other side of the weight you put about 2 or 2 1/2 feet of leader on then tie the jig to that. You can adjust the depth by loosening those three wraps around the bobber and then that way you can adjust your depth according to the run your fishing. Usually your going to want to keep your leader length pretty short cause their are runs where its only about 2 feet deep and you want your gear right off the bottom...

However, if you aren't using jigs and your using the anchovies/herring, you basically do the same thing but tie the weight onto the line right below the float and then give yourself about 4 or 5 feet of leader and then put your hooks on the bottom. Usually salmon mooching leaders are perfect. They are like 5 ft long and have two hooks so it will keep your herring on good...

Hope this helps Musky Man.
And sorry to get a little sidetracked.
Seriously though if you all have any crab questions let me know...

It's really funny how this discussion turned into a thing about Chum salmon. I read about Kid Kokanee, and Musky Man going Chum Salmon fishing in Hood Canal. I must say that the Hood Canal Chum fishing seems to be really begiining to be popular. I'm going to try to fish the Snoqualmie River for some Steelhead, I'll have to try Fish Hunters 07' Jig and float rig. Good luck Chum Fishing.

Sorry Sockey Killer that I kinda changed the topic...As far as I know, guys use the same setup for steelhead too. Just like a bit smaller jig though. I have like 3/8 ounce ones, and I think the steelhead guys stick to jigs under 1/4 ounce...

Oh no problem , I'm not Mad, I'm actually kind of interested in this conversation between you and Musky Man. Makes me want to blow away the clouds in the sky for some sun to shine, so I can hit the Snoqualmie River with my gear, and have a shot at thoes Hatchery Steelies. I know a secret spot on the south fork of the Snoqualmie River, I've never seen a person fish there, which makes me puzzled, because it's a really nice hole, with lots of cover, but it's way up in the woods, It is probably an hour and a half from downtown Seattle. It's right of I-90 Eastbound near the Snoqualmie Pass. Last time I fished there I caught a huge Brook trout of all things, how would they get into the river? It was a 16 incher which is huge for a brookie. But nice Info on the Chum Salmon Jigs. I've never tried Jigs, only the egg loop setup with a Puff Ball, under a bobber. When I fish my secret spot, I fish with a little kastmaster, of all things, since baitfishing is illegal. I think the Brook Trout that I caught, got in there from some high mountain Lakes, with streams that flow into the Snoqualmie. When the Summer run happens, I break out the ole' Fly Rod, with my bright streamers.And remember catch and release on the Snoqualmie! Good luck on the Skykomish Fish Hunter 07!

Make sure wherever your spot on the Snoqualmie isn't above the falls. If it is, there's a reason why no one fishes it...

You think I'm fish illegally? I checked the regs. I've even asked the ranger.And where I'm fishing it's totally legal. You can fish above the falls. Check the regs right now on the Wdfw website.

As it turns out I might be going up to my cabin at Whidbey and I might do some crabbing. I'll take a picture of this other model of a trap I have and I'll let you know how the crabbing went..

It's seletive gears rules, and C&R.

Sockeye Killer- I'm not saying you fish illegally, I meant that no steelhead get above the falls. That's the farthest they get...No way up...