RE: [Paddlewise] Trolling and crabbing?

At 08:22 AM 2/16/99 -0900, you wrote:
>
>It sounds as though my concerns about large toothy denizens of the deep
>swiping my catch are largely unfounded, if I have any experiences that
>suggest otherwise I'll be sure to post them.
>
>Dave Seng
>Juneau, Alaska
>

I'm working from memory here, but it seems to me the guide book "Sea
Kayaking Canada's West Coast" makes reference to a kayaker losing a lot of
flesh off his hand when a hungry seal lunged for the fish the paddler was
landing. 

That said, I do fish from my boat and have for years. I use a low-strength
line that will break if I catch anything bigger than I want to land. I
mostly catch bottom fish (Ling Cod, Kelp Greenlings) which do not put up
much of a fight. I club them with a "fish billy" and put'em on a stringer.
As others have mentioned, I fillet them far from the tent, and wash the
kayak deck thoroughly afterwards.

To take this in another direction, I'm curious about catching crabs (I
don't mean the kind you get from careless selection of a tent and/or
sleeping bag mate). I have seen full circular tube-and-netting crab traps
that disassemble, but they still look a bit big for a long tour, unless you
were going to eat crab for every meal. I have recently seen smaller wire
mesh folding pyramid traps. The idea seems to be that you lower the baited
trap, and hover over it watching until a suitable crab starts to dine, then
pull up the trap, which lifts the walls around your dinner guest. Anyone
tried one of these? 




Philip T.
N49°16' W123°08' 
"The opinions expressed in this posting are not necessarily those of my
employer, or indeed, of any sentient being."
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