hello crabbers hope everyone had a happy new year and a merry christmas with plenty of tasty muddies.... im curious about the modification of crab pots to increase catch rates.. does anyone know any modifications that are worth making to standard rectangular netted pots... would be much appreciated. might be a few bucks coming your way if you give me some successful advice

Wrangler,
have seen and tried putting some fine black mesh on the lower ramp so they can get in easier - didnt find that the nets I had done it o worked any better or any worse then the others - pretty much the only thing I do now is put some form of bait holder n them - otherwise they are standard. I usually fit some form of plastic mesh pocet in the bottom to push the bait into and cable tie closed.

Cheers

Shane

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Not done a lot of crabbing, but did use a couple of small cable ties to just tighten up the lower ramp slightly - if you tighten it up too much you will pull the sides of the frame in and loosen the top ramp. Also do a search in the crabbing section for more details about the mod Shane mentioned.

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how about fitting a dye bomb to stop the poachers.

Speaking of which, I wonder if blowski has seen his crabbing mates again???

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I only use the rectangular pots - less anger when pinched / vandalised by Bogan Crab Pot theives! Plus they stow in the coat easily. I always use zip ties to tighten up the lower ramp, as mentioned above. Once fitted, they stay fine for a very long time.

I always zip tie my pots closed and zip tie half a chicken carcass in the bottom centre of the pot. All seems to work very well and the keepers in one pot is 6.

Good luck with the pots and make sure you throw your floats high up in the trees - makes for an easier retrieval. I also have a wooden gaff (that floats) with a hole drilled in the top of the handle and a fair bit of light rope attached. Makes retrieving a lot easier.

Cheers,

Doors Off

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as above use the chaep ones and zip tie the lower entry ramp a little tighter then standard.
aslo zip ties good for holding bait and fixing holes.

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no sign of the crabbing freinds no calls about the hole in the panel, classical i say.... hahaha have changed spots anyways and now crabbing landbased up the back of sadgroves and Bleesers long treck through the mangroves and produces good results... getting boggy now tho

Yep agree with the Zip ties, I pack heaps of them as you can use them for modifcation, pot repairs, holding the pots closed and holding the bait.

Sounds like you are doing ok on the crabbing front, but what a shame YOU have to change where you go fishing and crabbing because of some a-holes.

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I just stay close to my pots. Improves my catch rate markedly cause no share cropper steals anything from me

Chris

Yeah I had some mongrel steal one of my steel pots up Catalina Creek Last night When I catch the bastard I'll chop his thieving hands off and use them for crab bait

A lot of "stolen" pots, Actual perpetrator usually fits the same description,

"2-4 meters long, dark skin, appeared to be of reptilian descent"

Or made of a wooden type material with millions of green tags on a rising tide holding a float under the water.

Or people putting pots in the main current with too shorter rope or smaller floats.

Some of the common reasons people loose pots and blame it all on theivs. Have a look at buffalo creek on a low after 7m springs and there are pots wrapped around trees every where.

Theiving does happen as well but these are some things to keep in mind as a reason as well.

Was in a welll known tackle store the other day in outer Darwin - and they have bue mesh traps with a small size hard plastic mesh fitted to the entry ramp - would make it easier for crabs to get in... so look around

If crabbing for the first time - a couple of tips

Throw the float high into a tree to prevent it from getting snagged - and if u lose a pot, go back on a lower tide and you will be surprised to see it still there snagged...and stay with the pots when u set them to get an idea if they are in the current (and being washed away).

And if using cheap (and lighweight pots) - set in a small "side" drain - not the main channel - lost count of the number of pots rolling up Buffalo Creek on a rising tide ..

Set pots on a rising tide - set them really shallow .. as long as the pot 3/4 covered wiith water to just covered by water - and face the entry of the pot into the drain or the direction of the current - crabs will follow the scent up current - make it easy for them to get into the pot - and at the moment pull pots every 20 to 30 minutes..

On bigger tides.. crabs are at the very front of the tide - so cant' set them too shallow - and when pulled - don't be tempted to put back in the same spot.. rather keep setting them in shallow water as the tide comes in..

Give up an hour or two after high tide.. crabs are seeking a place to sit out the low tide

And don't leave crab pots in the main channel at Buffalo overnight.. particulalry on bigger tides.... painful to make run along the mangroves and have pots popping up everywhere before first light or retuning on dark - rather set themi in a snake drain...or above the ramp.

Bait - as long as its fresh - if in doubt - chicken carcase will do as good as any others....

And for locations - try finding somewhere where no one is working - crabs are everywhere at the moment - and I find the crabs a bit smaller or thinner on the ground in highly fished areas - so anywhere there is mangroves - or mud - or anywhere shallow in Shoal Bay...