Favourite Crab Traps?
- Thread starter Stoisy
- Start date
Whole in the Water
Well-Known Member
I like the heavier gauge vinyl coated square traps. They catch well when you tune them up with weights and zincs. They are lightweight and easy to handle. They are relatively cheap and less prone to being stolen as the stainless steel or commercial ones. My 2 cents.
A large old school commercial stainless trap works the best for us. But it really depends on your circumstances. First off it weighs a ton so you need a boat of sufficient size and free board with a good power puller and a rubber mat to protect the sides of the boat etc. You also need a fit crew member or two with good backs etc. to do the final pull in and throw back. Boat space is not an issue because we leave a couple of traps in the water for the whole season and sometimes alternate and pull just one of them at the end of the days fishing for some crabs and a re-bait. Have never had one of these traps stolen as compared to the light and expensive smaller sport size version of the stainless commercial trap. We have a coded zip tie lock system on the traps that still allows the rot cord system to work so we can tell if the trap has been messed with/raided and so far it does not seem to happen. The commercial quys sell off their old traps periodically and you can get them from them for around $40. They are very robust and will last almost forever, not something you can say about those cheap plastic covered steel box traps.
The heavier the trap is, the deeper you fish it, its comparatively low value and bulk seems to discourage thieves as does placing them close enough to a marina where the thieves don't know who is watching with bino's, all seem to reduce thefts and it no longer seems to be a problem for us. Have fished many types of traps and all of them will catch some crabs, but most of them are not what we find to be highly effective at catching and retaining keepers and many are light, smaller and easy for the thieves.
If we were not able to run the old school large commercial traps, I would go with the smaller but similar all stainless traps. I use to fish one and it work reasonablly well until it was stolen. Got it on sale but it was still a hundred and 20. bucks down the drain.
The heavier the trap is, the deeper you fish it, its comparatively low value and bulk seems to discourage thieves as does placing them close enough to a marina where the thieves don't know who is watching with bino's, all seem to reduce thefts and it no longer seems to be a problem for us. Have fished many types of traps and all of them will catch some crabs, but most of them are not what we find to be highly effective at catching and retaining keepers and many are light, smaller and easy for the thieves.
If we were not able to run the old school large commercial traps, I would go with the smaller but similar all stainless traps. I use to fish one and it work reasonablly well until it was stolen. Got it on sale but it was still a hundred and 20. bucks down the drain.
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Not for us, but what it does do is keep the non stainless weight ring and with some, bars on the bottom of the commercial trap from being eaten away by electrolysis, especially when the rubber wrap on it is warn away which is often the case with old used traps obtained from the commies. With a zinc that ring is gray, but without it, it is rust colored and pitted. You would be surprised how fast that ring can get worn away, of course some may like that to a degree, as it makes the trap lighter and easier to handle.
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Whole in the Water
Well-Known Member
They do for commercial SS traps. Most commercial traps have them. When the vinyl coating wears off the cheaper traps there can be some galvanic reaction that can put off crabs. Plus they add weight and increase the life of your traps.
SpringFever552
Well-Known Member
I've got 2 of these, stainless, they were made by a guy whos name I cant remember in lower mainland, I bought a few of 1st ones he made, he use to set up a booth at the Vancouver boat show even used my pictures to advertise lol, but not sure hes even making them anymore.
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ReelSlim
Crew Member
I'm with @Sizzla on this one. Although I have to admit where I crab it's pretty much lights out in the summer so not so sure it's really the traps...lol I keep wanting to buy myself some shiny new ones to go with the boat but hate the thought of them getting stolen. Not to mention we really only put one trap down for the summer and it's mostly entertainment for the kids checking them everyday. I bought 4 of these for $19.99 each during a sale and so far I get about 4 seasons out of them before they rot out. Looks like it will be about 12 years before I get my upgrade! lol
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Sir Reel
Well-Known Member
Those would be great. I find the vinyl ones tend to rust on deck once they get older
It is not just the trap, it is knowing your area well, and getting use to the spots and depths that are good and may change with crab migration etc. and most important of all for us, making it work in an area that gets hammered by massive amounts of commie trap strings. In a spot they have just left most of what you will catch is under size males. As we got more and more dialed in we found we would fish less traps as we did not need 3 or 4 to get our limit and then some. We also use to bait up all the traps on the way out in the morning. Now we usually only pull onetrap when we come in and I think we do just fine with only one trap pulled. The commercial trap we use is about the smallest of the ones available and is only a two door but is very heavy. We are in a good spot now and don't move much even if the commies are working it hard because how many crabs can you eat. I get sick of eating them part way through the summer and fish them less although the crew is happy when we limit out which happens often enough.
Here is a pictures of our trap with a decent catch. We usually pull it every 2 or 3 days so many of them are legal males as the females and many of the under size have had time to escape out the size restricted escape rings.
Here is a pictures of our trap with a decent catch. We usually pull it every 2 or 3 days so many of them are legal males as the females and many of the under size have had time to escape out the size restricted escape rings.
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What is your go to bait for your longer soaks? Thanks
Most of the time it is fish heads and frames, usually salmon but whatever we have. Sometimes there has been the head and frame off of a larger halibut. Sometimes we will even throw in salmon guts which has a huge amount of scent but do not last long. If we have no fish bait, say at the beginning of the season, it is chicken legs and backs. The smaller stuff goes in the bags or bait holders and the bigger salmon or halibut heads and frames just get thrown in the trap in addition to the smaller stuff in the holders and bags. The more bait the better as it is not just the crabs but all the tiny shrimp that will eat it up quickly.
scott craven
Well-Known Member
I have used the round commercial traps but by the time you get a full load of crabs
they are too awkward and heavy.
I agree the Danielson style square traps are easy and light.
Thanks for the reply. I use the same stuff but don’t have the luxury of leaving traps out in a good spot. Spots are key. I also have to watch the thieves here. Setting in certain spots result in traps gone and my ex commercial ones don’t just drift off.
ILHG
Crew Member
They work great, but they are light and need some weight to insure they land proper when dropping them. I have had them packed with crabs. They even catch fish that venture in to check out the bait.
Sir Reel
Well-Known Member
They fish fine and folding is a plus but I found it really hard to get crabs out out due to the netting as apposed to wire. Their claws seem to get stuck in the mesh and don't release
