I'm fairly new to the PNW and would like to start crabbing & shrimping from my boat.
Somebody recommended McKay's pots? Now, how much weighted line for each pot?
I'll be pulling them up by hand over the side.
If all goes well, I might invest in a manual davit/pulley later on?
So, how deep do you set your pots around Puget Sound?
Puffin and Reel Creel did this last year and had some success.
The seasons are short on Saturday and Wednesdays, 4 hours a day.
The depth varies from say 200 to 500 feet. You have not pulled shrimp pots by hand or you would not volunteer for it. It's a brass plated son of a bachelor and you can't pull fast enough for long enough to stop the little devils from escaping. I pulled by hand on my first trip. Even with two of us and only 300 feet of water it was brutal. I had elbow problems for several months after.
The crew of the 'Kismet' did well last Easter on Vancouver island with limits for all hands. I used net mesh basket shaped traps purchased in BC and they worked well. We used an electric hauler (Ace brutus) and the traps had alot more prawns per haul.
Although the mesh was the correct size Puffin had a game cop (might have been a mistake) give him grief over the net mesh type traps when he used them in Puget sound. I think most use a wire mesh type trap in Washington.
We used a cheap line 1/8" poly and weighted the line with 1 pound pencil weights and long line clips about 50 feet from the bouy. They will go right through the davit.
PM Reel Creel and Puffin for first hand reports.
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PSD, McKay makes excellent shrimp and crab pots. They're pricey but well worth it in my opinion. Unless they're lost or stolen you should have them for as long as you would be able to use them.
How much line you need will depend on the depth of water your fishing. Most of my crabbing is in water less than 75' deep so all my weighted crab lines are about 100'.
For shrimp I use regular poly rope and go with no less than 400' as I'm usually fishing in depths of 250 to 350' deep. I put weights on the poly rope with halibut clips about every 100' to keep my rope vertical. You can use weighted if you like but it's not necessary.
Crabbing is only open in most area's through the first of the year and shrimping won't reopen until late April or May. I haven't checked yet to see the date they've set for the shrimp opener. It's a very short season with only 3 to 6 days of total fishing allowed in most of the immediate Puget Sound areas and those are Wednesday and Saturday. Usually the San Juans stay open for a longer period ot time.
Dave, Google "Puget Sound Anglers" They have 16 chapters and meetings once a month in several areas...They are pretty nice people that you can learn a lot from..There are several Shrimp holes that get no publicity..P.S. Don't even think about pulling them buy hand.. Good luck
Crabbing & Shrimping around Puget Sound?
Re: Crabbing & Shrimping around Puget Sound?
slabhunter
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