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. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Rob, Thank you for your reply! I must confess that it reads like a well written text book, and certainly is a "keeper...!" [Thank God for Eudora and it's mail boxes] >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. Your last phrase about being a "bit high?" Do you mean "high in smell?" <g> I have checked my fishing rules and Dungeness crab rules are the same, though now one must keep a record of the catch. That's okay as I recently had the opportunity to try Red Rock crab, and it is just as tasty to me...<g> Ah! Thank you for your comment on Aluminum pots also! The ones I was considering are enameled so that should work also eh? I will have to do some experimenting with sizes but that may be "put on the back burner" for at least a little bit [with the kayak I mean] as this weekend forecast is for SUN and that means my first trip(S) to the Lake to get myself ready for the Sound perhaps mid next-week!<g> >Good luck, and don't forget to thank the crab and its Maker as it goes in >the pot. Ah... a very good reminder Rob, thank you for placing in your post...<smile> Thanks again, Tom... A kayak paddler with a brain injury that is VERY glad He no longer lives in the close vicinity of seattle... <gadfly911_at_earthlink.net> homepage: none yet *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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