Crab Trap Recommendations?

[Franko Manini]

I need to replace a couple of crab traps this year. I know there are a lot of different styles out there, from the common coated wire square, to the full on stainless round traps. I have heard that round traps fish better than square traps because crabs will follow on edge until they find the entrance.

What are people using for everyday, toss out before a day of fishing type traps? I fish Sooke, Sidney, and off the Vic waterfront if that makes a difference.

Thanks folks!


Franko

MILF (Man, I Love Fishing)

 

[Bugs]

I need to replace a couple of crab traps this year. I know there are a lot of different styles out there, from the common coated wire square, to the full on stainless round traps. I have heard that round traps fish better than square traps because crabs will follow on edge until they find the entrance.

What are people using for everyday, toss out before a day of fishing type traps? I fish Sooke, Sidney, and off the Vic waterfront if that makes a difference.

Thanks folks!


Franko

MILF (Man, I Love Fishing)

Ladner Traps 30 inch recreational (round stainless and modelled on commercial style)... Only two doors so if fishing in a high current area important to line the doors up with the flow. Best set was 27 keepers (keeper size.... not kept..) in 2 hours... last set (Thursday in Victoria... again about two hours) was 14 keepers

Cheers

Will

 

[Hookin'up]

Only two doors so if fishing in a high current area important to line the doors up with the flow.

And how would you go about that and be sure the traps are not spinning on the way down?

franko,
I use the bauer crab traps and the work very well for me, you can find them for around $70

 

[Revenge]

You tie the rope to the side of the trap that has one of the doors . When the trap hits the bottom you hold the rope and drift with current till the trap is facing the right way

 

[wolf]

I use whats ever around I find about 4 or 5 a year drifting around and re use them Ive only had one that had a name on it or useless I return them.

sometimes Trotac or Crab shack have old commercial ones where the bars have rotted out and you get them for 30 to 50 bucks sometimes you have to patch them a bit but they are proven....
Im sure the other expert on here will chime in soon, LOL

Good luck wolf

 

[Fish Camp]

I use square collapsable ,hand pulled at 300' .I would not want to pull a larger trap with more crab. I have tried with old rotten traps to make one with wider doors and gates,and it caught bigger crab.Trap didn't last before rotting out.Never thaught if you widen the gate they came in ,you must widen the escape rot twine hole.

 

[Fish Assassin]

I like using the $20 square traps found often at Harbour Chandler. Some stores ask $40-60 for the same trap. They last for years and if they go missing its no big loss.

 

[the fog ducker]

ive had several types out west , honestly ,the newer improved inexpensive box cage type, with gate bushings work as good as
the Ladner SS traps ,which i also have and use , sometimes produce even better , rinse off , should last ya years ,
i sold my 30 inch x commercial SS traps , to heavy ta deal with for alot of us ,
not sure who on the island carries them , Army & Navy here on the mainland has them ,
i also bought there mesh bags , no rusting out to deal with
use zap straps for placement , there cheap , not as painful if they get pinched ,
ive had days where they were stuffed as to barely get them over the rail , THEY WORK !!!

fd

 

[scott craven]

X 2 on the square traps, available at trotac.crappy tire,capital iron etc.
work great , cost under $30

 

[Fish Assassin]

That's the one........

 

[mhbradley]

These also work well for me, but you have to make sure the gates are sitting properly or your traps will come up empty

I believe the brand is Promar, but maybe Derby can confirm that.



I picked them up with ropes and floats for a fair price from PNT... in one year we easily took 100 keepers in these traps.

As Fog Ducker says, rinse them off as they are not SS... they will last years if you treat them well.

 

[Whole in the Water]

While they are nicer traps out there like the ones above, I don't use them as the nicer the trap the more likely it gets stolen, especially in populated spots. The cheaper square traps work just as good as the more expensive ones. The key to more crabs is not so much the trap shape but obviously the location and the bait type IMHO.

 

[mhbradley]

While they are nicer traps out there like the ones above, I don't use them as the nicer the trap the more likely it gets stolen, especially in populated spots. The cheaper square traps work just as good as the more expensive ones. The key to more crabs is not so much the trap shape but obviously the location and the bait type IMHO.

I agree with those statements for the most part.

Cheap looking floats are a good deterrent for theft.

 

[Califbill]

Depends on how you crab fish. The Danielson traps are the best fishing for short soaks. 3-4 hours. They will leak crab, but the crab will stay in while bait available. The round, heavy commercial rebar traps for longer than a day soak. They are heavy enough to not walk with tide and current. And they do not leak the crab. Best lightweight trap is a Cushman ( same as EZ pull ) Crab keeper. Too expensive for me. The Promar traps work well. I have 2. Weight the Danielsen and Promar or they will walk with waves and tide. Do not put too much float on them, or they will float away.

 

[Whole in the Water]

You can weight the cheaper traps and put pencil lead on the doors to reduce escapes to help the cheaper traps to fish better. I leave the cheaper traps for day long soaks weighted this way and they just fine.

 

[Franko Manini]

These also work well for me, but you have to make sure the gates are sitting properly or your traps will come up empty

I believe the brand is Promar, but maybe Derby can confirm that.

View attachment 16813

I picked them up with ropes and floats for a fair price from PNT... in one year we easily took 100 keepers in these traps.

As Fog Ducker says, rinse them off as they are not SS... they will last years if you treat them well.

I like the idea of a round trap, and these are less expensive than the stainless jobs.

I don't understand how you could screw up the gates...

Interesting design too, because with gates every 120 degrees of the circle, there is no "wrong orientation" relative to the current. Neat design.


Franko

MILF (Man, I Love Fishing)

 

[Franko Manini]

Cheap looking floats are a good deterrent for theft.

Know a couple people that use the same philosophy relative to their spouses!


Franko

MILF (Man, I Love Fishing)

 

[Fish Camp]

I'm a bit of a Chicken backs in the trap days, for opening that bait cooler.I haven't made my mind up on wether to continue using rope from the four corners of the trap, to a float Knotted, into main sink line. Tidy and stacks better for travel to omit these ropes from a box syled crab trap.

 

[mike780]

i bot a couple of those cheap $30 dollar square blue crab traps last year and i had no clue where or how to set last year and they did well for me. Every time we set them down we had atleast 5-6 keepers PER trap and around 12-15 per trap total. I didnt think that was to bad? More than enough for me and the wife.

 

[Cuba Libre]

One thing that can screw up the lighter trap gates is to THROW them into the water instead of lowering them from the surface. Thats a recipe for the lighter gates to hang up and stay open.