How to Fish With a Crab Pot

Fishing for crabs using a crab pot is an efficient way to catch these delicious crustaceans. A crab pot is a wire trap with entrance funnels that allow crabs to go in and feed on bait. Once the crabs are inside the bait chamber of the pot, there is no way to escape. The use of crab pots allows you to multi-task -- you can leave your pots for hours at a time and enjoy boating or walking along the pier.

Instructions

    • 1

      Gather bait for your crab pot. Effective baits include chicken legs, small fish, chicken necks and duck necks. Crabs are not picky eaters; try a combination of scrap meat and other types of fish or cut bait.

    • 2

      Secure the bait inside the crab pot using a 4-inch gauge wire for each piece. Insert and wrap the wire through the bait and then wrap the remaining wire on the frame of the pot. The bait should be positioned at the bottom center of the crab pot. If your crab pot has a bait pouch, simply place the bait inside the pouch. Fasten the pouch to hold the bait in place and then secure it to the crab pot.

    • 3

      Tie a 10-meter nylon rope with a 1-centimeter thickness on the top frame of your crab pot. Attach a bright-colored buoy near the end of the rope to help you keep track and locate the crab pot easily.

    • 4

      Lower the rope and suspend the crab pot from the pier, shore or in waters with sandy to rocky seabeds where eel grass grows. Look for crab in depths of 55 to 85 feet, especially for dungeness crab. Adjust the length of your rope to match the depths of your crab fishing grounds.

    • 5

      Leave the crab pot for 1 to 2 hours. Come back to your buoy and pull the rope up slowly. Coil the rope line as you pull to keep it from knotting.

    • 6

      Grab the crab pot and harvest your catch. Wear gloves and move the crab to a large container with a lid.