New crab fisherman....... Don't have a clue. All help appreciated

[jeffywestcoast]

I have tested salmon against chicken and hands down.. Salmon is the best crab bait i have tried...


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[Kildonan]

If you have a tuna fishing buddy, no bait beats albacore tuna trim. Nothing!!!

 

[Fisherf]

These were my results. canned chicken 11. fresh salmon 6. banana. this is the total amount for 3 days. they were checked every 24 hours. they were set in Cowichan bay, BC in 30 meters of water.

 

[Fishtank]

Where the traps side by side or in different locations?i agree with tuna being the best,you can see the sent cloud c omming off it as soon as you put it in the water.once tryed a whole freezer burnt turkey in one trap,didn't catch a thing,maybe me should have let it defrost longer haha

 

[Fish Camp]

chicken stays rotted longer before feeding to the crabs ,I fish chicken deep 300.Plus i'm not sure on regs of using fish parts or whole for crab in camp.could be construded as bag limit catch.

 

[Fisherf]

The traps were in a triangle 50 meters apart @Fishtank. we didnt want to get them much closer because we were worried about tangles.

 

[dmurph]

Prawn heads work great for crab bait.

 

[Time]

Fisherf
Appreciate your report and scientific approach, hope your project is going well.
But, why "canned" chicken?
Additives put in compared to fresh chicken could influence the results?
I'm sure your results are valid, no question about that, but a more interesting question would compare fresh chicken backs (which are commonly available, and inexpensive, at most meat markets and grocery stores, and are more commonly used) versus salmon pieces.

Again, congratulations on completing your project, and not meaning to be critical of your testing.

 

[MarkM]

I've had great success with "Chicken Backs and Necks" sold frozen in small trays at Superstore. Approx $2.50 per pack, split pack in two while frozen and can bait two traps. Clean and easy to keep a stock in freezer without family freaking out. It's fairly fatty so seems to work well. Two hour soak in Pedder Bay weekend before last was 23 in trap 1 and 14 in trap 2 - although only three keepers total!

Not scientific at all, but a couple of weeks ago I baited one with the said Chicken and one with an old freezer burned piece of Coho... nothing in the Salmon baited pot at all. In general I have had my best results in the Mill Bay area with the chicken backs.

...when I figure out how to catch Salmon rather than just wash hooks and burn gas I will try again

 

[Fish Camp]

Great post MarkM!! welcome to the forum.

 

[manicmoose]

Had to make an account just to post heh... I don't live on the island but my in-laws do and we go out for crabs quite a bit when we come out. We use a lot of the salmon "left overs" as our bait. Last year when I was out with them we stuffed a video camera in the trap and sent it down. This is the full length video, however it just goes to show you do not have to leave it down for a long time in order to catch something - we left this one down for 45 minutes.

[dr_X-wyRNPo]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dr_X-wyRNPo&feature=youtu.be

 

[photocopy]

Many years ago I met a commercial fisherman in Prince Rupert who told me the best crab bait was a rag soaked in kerosene. For obvious reasons I never tested it out.

 

[Kildonan]

Love the video, moose. If one were to meet their end in Davey Jones' locker, wouldn't be long for your carcass to be consumed, eh? Lol

 

[getbent]

What went floating by at 12:30??? Some big dark mass...

 

[Lipripper]

Big chunk of weed in the slow current?

 

[getbent]

Kinda what I thought but wasn't sure

 

[Fisherf]

some photos.

 

[Chasin' Dreams]

Congrats Fisherf! Looks like you're having a blast out there. I've had excellent success over the years with both Chicken and Salmon working the best for me. I've had days where Salmon out fishes Chicken and other days the other way around. I've used a lot of different baits over the years but those are the two I use the most. I've never tried Prawn heads yet but will now that i read dmurph has had success with them. Nothing better than catching something with free recycled bait.

 

[fshnfnatic]

Prawn heads work really well.Have had many sets where the traps were literally stuffed to the hilt.Definately give
them a try if you can get a hold of any,Fisherf.

 

[Cuba Libre]

What kind of vessel are you using -- looks a bit like an inflatable whale watching boat?????