[Paddlewise] Crabbing

I have never tried a triangular trap.  The pro's use cylindrical ones, about
3-4 ft diameter by 18" high.  They work well, but don't fold down into a
kayak size bundle readily.  The common folding traps in NW BC are
rectangular, and seem to work OK, but not as well as the round ones.

With a good 15-20 ft spring tide, running them from shore (no boat) would be
feasible, but generally, the trap is set in about 30-40 ft of water.  Kind
of deep to wade.

For bait, bottom fish work great, or fish heads/guts or similar.  Chicken
parts work too.  I have been told that red meat (beef, pork) make the crabs
toxic, but I don't know for certain. Fish parts are the safest, and work,
and smelly isn't a necessity, but the crabs don't mind if they are a bit high.

I have never tried to crab from a kayak (yet!). Getting the crabs out of the
top of a typical trap may be kind of difficult, and messy.  Might be easier
to do it on shore, then take the trap back out when empty.  Put the crabs in
a gunny sack to keep them cool, moist and in one place .  My preference
would be to keep them on deck, if doing this from the kayak.

The minimum size Dungeness crab (in Canada) is about 6-1/2" across the back,
so that gives a good starting point for choosing the pot.  The bigger, the
better, as they die a lot quicker if the water doesn't come off the boil as
they go in. Red rock crabs are smaller, so a smaller pot can be used.

Stay away from aluminum pots for this job.  My experience with aluminum
Bulldog billycans from England is that they develop pinholes leaks when used
to boil seawater.  They seem to last OK when used for porridge, though.
Maybe other alloys hold up better to boiling seawater.  Big "stainless"
steel pots are pretty cheap these days.

Good luck, and don't forget to thank the crab and its Maker as it goes in
the pot.

Rob.




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