Crabbing 101 Help?

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  • hi3cho

    Ultimate Member
    Nov 16, 2012
    1,306
    Edgemere
    I use (2) 600' lines. 600 feet of baited line and 6' of chain on each end will fit into a 5 gal spackle bucket. If you use 2 lines, you'll need 2 more clips.

    Be one with the crab.
    62c828163c9c876f1dfe3cfa4b186f42.jpg


    Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

    Where did you get the lid for the orange basket? My StepFather uses the orange basket but has a homemade plastic tub lid that someone made him. I like yours a lot better.
     

    hi3cho

    Ultimate Member
    Nov 16, 2012
    1,306
    Edgemere
    I have always used 30 stackable topless traps. The area we always crabbed in did not really allow a straight run long enough or flat enough to use a trotline. We have used a trotline in our new spot but its not as easy to use/maintain if you aren't going regularly. Crabs just did not run very well for us this year so we did very little crabbing. Maybe 5 times all year. We used to go once a week all season.
     

    fabsroman

    Ultimate Member
    Mar 14, 2009
    35,852
    Winfield/Taylorsville in Carroll
    Alright, I am subscribed. Two things on my bucket list of many are learning to duck hunt from a boat and learning to crab using a trot line. Learning to weld is on the list too.

    Been thinking about getting a 20' duck boat. Would that work for crabbing too or would it be better to have something smaller?
     

    marko

    Banned
    BANNED!!!
    Jan 28, 2009
    7,048
    You need “Beautiful Swimmers” by William Warner while it’s still cold. It will get you revved up for April.

    THAT BOOK is a great read. Won't tell you how to crab, but tells you about the crabs.
    What a shame mature, PREGNANT females who burrow in the mud at the Mouth of the Bay would get dredged up by VA
    waterman in the winter. WTF????? Dumbasses. ANd you wonder where are the crabs.

    And since I'm on a VA rant, Omega Seafood deploying Purse Seine Nets to get whole schools of Menhaden (bunker)
    from the bay. Why, that's Rockfish primary food! Well, if there are no bunker, they eat -
    LITTLE CRABS. So yes, Richmond Politicians, your hand are STINKY FILTHY DIRTY.
     

    marko

    Banned
    BANNED!!!
    Jan 28, 2009
    7,048
    Been thinking about getting a 20' duck boat. Would that work for crabbing too or would it be better to have something smaller?
    fabro, you're good with a 20'er, now fab up your trotline system. I'd use collapsible traps as well.
     

    fabsroman

    Ultimate Member
    Mar 14, 2009
    35,852
    Winfield/Taylorsville in Carroll
    fabro, you're good with a 20'er, now fab up your trotline system. I'd use collapsible traps as well.

    Would you use collapsible traps at the same time you are using a trot line? Seems like life would be difficult trying to put both out. Guess I could deploy the collapsible traps first and then the trot line and alternate between pulling the two of them up.

    The hard part about all of this is learning how to do it. Granted, YouTube helps, but still not the same as learning from somebody first hand.
     

    bkuether

    Judge not this race .....
    Jan 18, 2012
    6,212
    Marriottsville, MD
    Here is my advice from a Chesapeake Bay mariner.

    Best to set your lines far away from navigable inlets and travel lanes. Also for floats, trying to use something large enough to be seen. Needs to be larger than an apple...... Grapefruit sized or larger... And for the love of God DON'T paint them BLACK! :rolleyes:
     

    smokedog

    Ultimate Member
    Sep 10, 2009
    4,811
    Frederick Md
    Would you use collapsible traps at the same time you are using a trot line? Seems like life would be difficult trying to put both out. Guess I could deploy the collapsible traps first and then the trot line and alternate between pulling the two of them up.

    The hard part about all of this is learning how to do it. Granted, YouTube helps, but still not the same as learning from somebody first hand.

    I usually put out 1200' trotline and on my ride back to run it again drop 30 traps for the return trip. More gear more fun.
    Did this running solo one time and it was a lot of work and not much fun.:lol2:
     

    Derwood

    Ultimate Member
    Jun 2, 2011
    1,075
    DC area
    ^On that topic, in Beautiful Swimmers there is an excellent chapter when the author goes trot lining with an old timer in the creeks and bays off Kent Island. When setting the trot line, he says the old man named Lester Lee kept putting a pole in the water to try to set it right on the shelf from where the depth was 6 feet. I couldn't quite tell if he was trying to put it in the deeper part of the drop off or just before the drop off (i.e. where it goes from 4 feet to 6 feet and he sets it on the deeper ground, or where it goes from 6 feet to 8 feet and he sets it on the higher ground).

    Can anyone provide a little more insight on this? I also got the impression that he was setting maybe 50 yards offshore where the first dropoff is located and not out in on the edge of the deeper shipping channel.

    Lester Lee's chapter is also sort of jokingly titled Chicken Neckers because apparently Lester thought trot lining with chicken necks wasn't terribly effective and was the mark of the amateur hobbyists. Lester preferred to use eels. ...I don't even know if eel as bait is evailable. When the book was written in 1975 it sounded like the supply was almost gone then since people had started eating them. I catch eels by mistake while cat fishing pretty regularly (and hate getting those bastards off my hook). What bait do most people swear by these days? Razor clams? Chicken? Bull lips?
     

    Mikey

    Active Member
    May 19, 2009
    524
    Ridge MD
    I use eels. I have a single eel trap on my pier, I generally catch an eel or two every two days. With the limited amount of trot lining I do anymore that is enough to keep my line baited.
     

    hi3cho

    Ultimate Member
    Nov 16, 2012
    1,306
    Edgemere
    Would you use collapsible traps at the same time you are using a trot line? Seems like life would be difficult trying to put both out. Guess I could deploy the collapsible traps first and then the trot line and alternate between pulling the two of them up.

    The hard part about all of this is learning how to do it. Granted, YouTube helps, but still not the same as learning from somebody first hand.

    Yes alternate between the two. Sometimes the pots will be running and the trotline will not and vice versa. Also since the pots are easier to move locations, you can use them to scout other areas if you want to move your trotline since it take a lot more work to move.
     

    Doco Overboard

    Ultimate Member
    Yes. Majority of them are done with 1.5 or 2" PVC pipe/fittings.

    Got it, thanks. Never heard that before.

    Thats sometimes the hardest thing to get right. If you're lucky enough to be able to rig it for some vertical travel it can help for different water conditions or how much free board you have that day. Especially in a small craft or aluminum skiff.
    The problem is having it firmly attached and stable but easy to remove when you want to use the boat for something else.

    Have somebody make you a net with stainless steel hoops and bolt it to the pole if you plan to use it often. It's worth the effort. We always chunk some traps over on both sides of the lay, and don't forget cold beverages and a hat.
     

    PJDiesel

    Banned
    BANNED!!!
    Dec 18, 2011
    17,603
    Mine spins off (threaded pipe) but I like the ramp with flap style better than mine.

    One thing to note, the more "whip" you cause the more mud that'll sling depending on the speed you are running the line at.

    My boat and Dipper/mate can get fairly muddy due to just having a U shaped pipe.
     

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