How to Bait a Crab Basket

Crab baskets, sometimes called crab traps or crab cages, are used to capture crabs. Crab pots, nets and trotlines are also used to catch crabs, but for beginners, crab baskets are an effective and inexpensive way to start crabbing. The simplest crab baskets can be bought for $10 to $20 online or at outdoor stores. Crabbing is common in the U.S. along the Atlantic Coast and Gulf of Mexico, with many different species of hard-shell crabs being the popular catch.

Things You'll Need

  • Bait
  • Crab basket
  • Wire or heavy cord
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Instructions

    • 1

      Pick the right bait for your crab basket. Recreational crabbers often use chicken necks for bait since they are durable and crabs love them. Other options include turkey neck, eel, bull lip -- a tough cut of beef from the face of a cow -- and fresh Menhaden or shad fish. Use different baits to find the one that works the best for you. Also compare prices, and start with something cheap like chicken neck or turkey neck.

    • 2

      Purchase the type of crab basket that will work the best for you. There are many different designs to pick from, with box traps and ring neck baskets a common choice for recreational crabbers. A ring neck basket is the cheapest and easiest option to use. This basket consists of two different sized rings connected by netting. Box traps have sides that open up when they reach the bottom of a body of water and are better in areas that have a stronger current.

    • 3

      Bait your ring neck crab basket by placing your chicken neck or other bait in the bottom of the trap. Do this by tying a large chicken neck piece to the bottom of the trap with wire or heavy cord. Make sure the bait is placed in the middle of the trap and tie it so that bait is actually attached to the trap and not hanging off of it. Lower the trap gently into the water. Make sure to drop the trap slowly and straight down. Once it reaches the bottom the trap will be completely flat. Crabs will come to feed on the bait, and when they do, pull up on the trap. The trap walls will lift up, trapping the crab inside. This trap is best in calm waters with flat bottoms.

    • 4

      Bait your box crab basket with chicken neck or your bait of choice. Tie a wire around the chicken neck and attach it to the bottom of the cage. Make sure the bait is tied tight to the middle of the trap. Lower or throw the basket into the water. Once they reach the bottom the sides lift up, allowing crabs to enter the cage. Once they are pulled up, the sides will close, catching any crabs inside of the cage