Crabbing Gear?

Master Baiter · 11-14-2002, 06:59 AM

Salty Dogs,

First questions is what are some easier ways to pull pots other than completely by hand? On the other board the anchor puller subject came up and someone posted the EZ Puller site. They claim they are useful in pulling pots, anyone tried it? Other helpful hints?

Also, what is the best style of pot, I have seen a few searching around the net? What are the most important aspects of a pot (weight, shape, etc.)?

Thanks,

MB

OceanBlue · 11-14-2002, 07:14 AM

Mr. Fisherman could probably give you some tips :grin: He's got a "lucky-pot". As far as I can tell, it is a pretty standard, small crab pot. But strangely enough, out of 7 pots in the water, that will be the one that has crabs in it...

Popeye · 11-14-2002, 07:53 AM

MB,
I know several people that have an EZ puller and they swear by them. The size and weight of the pots depend on whether you are Bay crabbing or Ocean crabbing. Ocean crabbing takes about a 25# pot to be effective.

[ 11-14-2002, 08:58 AM: Message edited by: Popeye ]

fish assassin · 11-14-2002, 08:16 AM

Proper grounding of the pot and anything that touches
the pot is the key. Whatever you get for a pot, the
very first thing you should do is take a small piece
of stainless wire and wrap it from one of the wires
on the "cage" to a bare spot on the pot frame.

The second thing you will want to do is put a stout
rope on for a bouy line and wrap the rope where it
ties to the pot with another section of stainless wire
that goes to a bare spot on the pot frame. Be sure
to use a good rope! None of that 1/4" hollow polly
rope! If your pot gets sanded in you will want to be
able to tug HARD on it to get it out!

A good ocean sport crab pot is what is called a "three
quarter" pot. That means it is approximatly 3/4 the
size and weight of a commercial pot. It will be between
40 and 60 lbs., empty. There will be two entrance
"doors" and two escape hatches for under-sized crabs.

Use a single bouy with a small trailer bouy. If you
use a big bouy or two bouys placed close together your
pot will "walk" in big swell conditions.

Put weights on your bouy line ... you usually want to
place these weights 8-10 feet down the rope. This will
keep excess rope from floating on the surface (or just
below the surface). It really *really* sucks to have
some poor slob run over your floating rope and tangle
it in a prop. You usually end up losing your pot as
the rope is cut away from the other boat.

If you happen to be in Pacific City look up "JJ" Jerry
Johnston. He makes a superior pot that catches better
than any other pot I have ever owned. His secret is
that *everything* on the pot is properly grounded.
He is kind of hard to get a hold of during the winter
months, but you could do much worse than having him
build pots for you. Sport pots in this caliber will
run you about $65/each without ropes and floats.

When you get out there and start baiting your pots ...
"Hanging Bait" works best. Use *fresh* carcasses (not
old stinkey ones) and hang them from the top of your
pot as close to the center as possible. You can usually
find clips for hooking bait in your crab pots in tackle
stores up and down the coast for a couple of bucks each.
If you can't find the clips (or hangers), use a strong
piece of string to tie the carcass to the lid of the
pot before closing. "Oregon Green" works best for this
and is very cheap. Available at Englund Marine, or
Harry's Bait and Tackle in Newport or at Nestucca Country
in Pacific City and the gas dock at Depoe Bay.

Good luck and kill a bunch of 'em!!

-assAssin-

TUNA, the *other* white meat!

11-14-2002, 08:22 AM

MB,
We used the anchor pullers with the float for shrimp pots, but I think you would be better off with a davit and either an electric or hydraulic pot puller.

Master Baiter · 11-14-2002, 02:42 PM

Thanks for the wealth of information everyone! This definitely will help me make some informed decisions with purchasing gear and rigging my boat.

pkg40 · 11-14-2002, 03:02 PM

I will second Assasins plug for JJs pots. I now have three of them and all of my old rings and square traps are waiting for the next garage sale. Drop those pups in the ocean or the river and three pots limits my boat consistently.

P.S.

I pull these pots from 80 feet with 45 crabs in them by hand and I am a whimpy nerd. Can't imagine why anyone would want to load up their boat with a pot puller.

keta,

Where you putting those shrimp pots? I want to hook up with someone who as caught a prawn in the ocean off CR.

11-14-2002, 05:22 PM

pkg40,
SE Alaska, There are other Salty Dogs that want to do some prawn searching too. Look for rocky drops. Salmon roe (not cured) works good for bait.

Fishplay · 11-15-2002, 03:38 AM

I've gotta second Keta on the davit. I have one and it is the cats meow. With an anchor puller you still have to lift the pot into the boat and now you have that bouy in the way to boot. Also most of time when crabbing bays it can get crowded, everyone seems to want to drop their pots in on top of yours. You know....must be good here or that other boat wouldn't be fishing it. You need a lot of room to pull pots with an anchor puller! Get yourself a davit system from HERE . There quality and prices are great.

fish assassin · 11-15-2002, 04:34 AM

You can also get motorized/non-motorized pot pullers
from Englund Marine Supply in Newport.

-assAssin-

Richter · 11-17-2002, 07:59 AM

fish assassin,

I'm pretty well set for pots, but a buddy is looking for some "good ones". Do you know how to get ahold of Jerry in Pacific City?

Thanks, Rich

fish assassin · 11-18-2002, 04:56 AM

Sorry, no clue. I just bump into him every once-in-
a-while when I'm hanging at PC. Sometimes I see him
at coffee in the morning down at the Bilge Water ...
uh, that's not the name, it's the resturant right next
to the Paridise Market (used to be Lews Market)...
Oh, I remember now ... the Tide Water (?). He
pops in for coffee a couple of mornings a month. Next
time I see him I'll try to get a phone number for you.

-assAssin-

fish assassin · 01-20-2003, 08:12 AM

It's been a while since we last discussed this issue, but ...

I bumped into Jerry Johnson (not johnsTon as I previously
posted) and ordered up another round of pots ... 4 of 'em this time.
The price on them is 75 smackers, and they are worth every penny
of what you pay for them. Just as an FYI, Jerry has been building
pots for something like 50 years. He used to commercial crab (his
own pots) so he has this building thing down to a science!! Like a lot of
craftsmen on the coast, he doesn't have a phone number where you can
reach him to order pots, but if you happen to get down to Pacific City you
can just ask around for "JJ" and you can get in touch with him!

I swear, his pots will out-crab anything else I have ever used!!

Thanks for all the great pots you've built for me over the years, Jerry!

-assAssin-

Disclaimer: I have no interests in "JJ" crab pots except as a *very*
satisfied customer!! :grin: :grin: :grin: :grin:

sportster · 06-05-2003, 02:35 PM

thanks for the info on the pots.if anyone knows how to get a hold of hime they can email me at www.burris@attbi.com or call me at 360 609 3192.

HOGGEMIN · 06-05-2003, 03:15 PM

I would be interested in buying 2 pots also

HawgJaw · 06-06-2003, 07:45 AM

MB, If you are using Scotty down riggers, Cushman has a davit that hooks to the scotty DR mount that is not on his web site yet (I bought one for $130.00 at the sportsman show). The davit is small enough to fit in my bilge/battery compartment. It makes the pots light enough so I don't need to pull them all the time. The kids can pull them from the middle of the boat. I have the Scotty swivel mount DR brackets which makes it easy to get it out of the way when you are fishing and crabbing. HJ

Sensei-san · 06-06-2003, 09:23 AM

Another good pot maker on the South Coast is Bob's Services out of Roseburg. Call him at (541) 459-5580. His pots have actual tunnels like a commercial pot rather than surface mounted entrances. The crabs are more likely to get trapped and walk around the bottom than escape. His pots are well grounded and fish really well. He makes several sizes of sport pots and with extra rebar if you want a heavier pot for ocean use.

Thumper · 06-06-2003, 09:51 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Keta:
Salmon roe (not cured) works good for bait.

<font size="2" face="verdana,arial,helv">A couple of years ago I was emptying the freezer of old uncured frozen salmon eggs and managed to con my son into taking a bunch crabbing. I thought I was being funny.

Wrong. Uncured eggs are deadly as crab bait. Now we make a point of bringing back 50-100 pounds of uncured eggs from Alaska every fall.