Cray/Crab Pots off the yak

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    Posted: 29 Jul 2010 at 5:07pm
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hey guys i love eating crabs and have always wanted to get a crab pot but wondering if theres any complications of doing this from the yak?  I got a ocean cabo 5m tandem yak that I use for fishing so plenty of room to have a crab pot on board..

anyone ever done this?  wondering the same about cray pots which are heavier than cray pots but the though of getting a couple of crays off the yak would be awesome! 
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote piwikiwi Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 30 Jul 2010 at 3:20pm
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Jim Rainbow has done the craypotting thing in the Naki with great sucess. Now he doesnt like crayfish anymore LOL
PM him or hopefully he will read this sometime soon.
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Phishpula Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 30 Jul 2010 at 3:25pm
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Seen a few pots put out but nothing gathered. As Piwi said, Rainbow seems to be the expert on catching bugs from a yak
Turtle free since 2012
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Raumatibeach Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 30 Jul 2010 at 4:34pm
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I've got plenty of crabs in pots off my yak, you don't seem to have to go very deep to get them either.

Hoop netting for crays might be a lighter option for you if you're worried about the weight.
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote yakkaman Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 30 Jul 2010 at 4:56pm
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Jim I'm looking at the square collaspables cray pots on trade me.
 
I do alot of crabbing I just drop a small bike rim weighted and haul up every couple of minutes I get a feed of big ones and smallies go on the hook.
 
Makes great burley too!!!
100% Fishing!!!
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote merman Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 Aug 2010 at 4:35pm
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  - I just drop a small bike rim weighted -


Clap  good old kiwi ingenuity, good one yakkaman Thumbs Up

I have a square  collapse able one like on tm, if any one in chch wants to borrow it(not forever) pm me

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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Youngfisherman Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 Aug 2010 at 4:48pm
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If you want really light weight crab pot buy one of those jarvis walker crab pots $20 where i buy them. For paddle crabs you would only really need to go out about chest deep, also my dad reckons crabbing on a full moon aint worth it. If you use the jarvis walker pot tie a rope onto a empty 1L milk bottle and tie the other end to the pot. helps a little if you weight it couple of sinkers 
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Naki man Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 Aug 2010 at 5:53pm
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Are there any regulations on net size for crabs
The solution to any problem - work, money, love, whatever - is to go fishing - the worse the problem the longer the fishing trip should be.

"I have a lot of very large problems"
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote piwikiwi Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 Aug 2010 at 7:02pm
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Your old jockey white y fronts made of mesh may let your crabs out nakiman Smile
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Youngfisherman Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 Aug 2010 at 7:39pm
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no mesh size but they have to be able to escape(i think), limit of 50 in welly and no size limit too but softies, babys and females in berry should be returned.
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (1) Likes(1)   Quote Rainbow Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 Aug 2010 at 9:11pm
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Jim   Catching crabs and crays are two differnt things.   You can catch crabs during the day but for crays it is best to leave pots overnight.    Also for each species you need different pots that are not really interchangeable since craypots have  to have escape ports.     I don't do crabs so can only comment on crays.     I have tried the warehouse collapsible net pots and despite modifications I do not think they catch well.    I strongly suspect that these pots move slightly under the influence of the buoy and that could put crays off from climbing up.    At first I blamed the net mesh so put in a carpet mat to climb on.    Was a bit better but all in all they are not good catchers.    I kept a record that verifies it.     I also use a Kaikoura Pot which is OK but expensive and has some minor design issues.    These are:  Design is rectangular so since you never know how they sit in the prevaling wave action they can get pulled over by the pull of the buoy if they sit broadside to the strong waves/current.   I also believe the bait cage is too far from the funnel.    
 
My most consistant pot is a commercial beehive or round pot made from No8 wire.    I built in an externally accessible bait cage with a mat lid that also acts like a ladder.    On some I have used a sleeve funnel made by cutting up a plastic flower pot but dont think this is essential.  No additional weight is needed for that and the Kaikoura.     
 
I use the smallest tear drop buoys.    The 4mm rope is attached to a three string bridle with a small float to keep it clear of the funnel.     The rope is threaded through the hole in the buoy and its end has a shark clip fastened.     This allows me to adjust the rope lenght to the depth of the water without the need to tie off additional rope in a bundle near the buoy.    The reason why I do this to avoid having too much rope floating on the surface potentially being cut by a propellor.    The shark clip keeps any spare rope from floating anyway.    
 
With such small buoys none of my pots have walked through wave action but I did have a couple stolen.    Best buoy colour is red.     Best time to set them out is late afternoon so that the bait is still fresh and gives off good scent.    Best time to check them is at daybreak before others do that for you.    For bait use fish frames.   I just use KY and gurnard frames or any othe fish that I have on hand.
 
Have not set mine for month since nobody in my family is too keen on them.    However, they make very good pressies.
 
Finally I have no problems pulling them up from the P13.   Heaviest load where 8 large males all around 1.5-2kg.      On that day there was at least a 3m swell and forced me to make an allout desperation heave to get the pot onto my lap.   Bugger when you have to throw a couple back especially when you pulled empty pots a few mornings in a row.   I wear an old pair of fishing waders as the bugs dig their claws into anything they can grab.    When pulling up dont store line on you lap as you never know what can happen.    Spill it as you pull it up much like I pull up my anchor rope.
 
Hope this helps although a bit long.    
 
Rainbow 
 
Oh I nealy forgot.    I paddle out with one pot sitting on the bow hatch cover and one on the rear well.   They are not tied on so if something happens they can fall off.    All the line is checked and the bait cage filled at the ramp so that I dont have to muck around out there undoing tangles and baiting pots.    You dont want to take your eyes and mind off the surrounding sea for too long especially in big waves and strong wind which can greet you when you have to check your pots next morning.  
 
Always approach your buoy upwind (If you come at it from the downwind side you will drift over the rope which is not safe practice).   Grab the buoy with one hand and hold it.    With the other store the paddle in the paddle bungie.   I had to change the bungie to make one hand operation easier.  
 
Remember handling bulky cray pots from a yak in all sorts of conditions  can be dangerous so work out an operating  system that is safe and stick to it.     
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Youngfisherman Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 Aug 2010 at 8:57am
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Hey rainbow, never heard of catching crabs during the day, thought they only come out after sunset.
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Rainbow Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 Aug 2010 at 12:37pm
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There you learnt something new.    I often paddle past guys in boats just outside of the New Plymouth  harbour catching heaps of crabs in bright day light.    They are also a pest stealing my bait off the hooks, even swimming up a meter to latch onto it.
 
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Jimm Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 Aug 2010 at 1:44pm
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cheers for the excellent detail rainbow mate! 
 
where abouts can I get myself one of those beehive cray pots? looked on trademe and fishing stores but haven't found any.. just looking at the photos, are there any escape holes on this type of pot - (fisheries regulations?)
 
Yakkaman you use a bike wheel rim to catch crabs? do you add any netting to the rim or just the plan rim is enough to snag em? how do you add the bait to this contraption?  are crabs just about everywhere or only at certain types of beaches (ie sandy or rocky?)
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Rainbow Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 Aug 2010 at 5:17pm
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Probably at Hunting and Fishing stores or other marine outlets.    They are pretty standard.    Only buy the pot and all the other stuff yourself.    A 2 litre plastic milk bottle will do as a buoy for a start.   Write your name an phone number on it to make it legal.     30m  x 4mm polyprop rope from Mitre 10 is pretty cheap too.    
 
Rainbow
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Raumatibeach Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 Aug 2010 at 8:02pm
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Originally posted by Youngfisherman Youngfisherman wrote:

Hey rainbow, never heard of catching crabs during the day, thought they only come out after sunset.


I do my crab fishing during the day, leave your bait out in the sun so it reeks a bit first.I a half full pot in an hour or so sometimes, kot of small ones though.

This might help you, http://www.sit-on-topkayaking.com/Articles/FishDive/KayakCrabbing.htm
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote yakkaman Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 Aug 2010 at 9:37pm
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Originally posted by Jim33037 Jim33037 wrote:

cheers for the excellent detail rainbow mate! 
  
Yakkaman you use a bike wheel rim to catch crabs? do you add any netting to the rim or just the plan rim is enough to snag em? how do you add the bait to this contraption?  are crabs just about everywhere or only at certain types of beaches (ie sandy or rocky?)
 
I have mesh with 4 hooks they hold bait in place and twenty oz sinker drops to bottom, best over sand. I just anchor up and fish pull up crabs in between if i was lucky enough to catch that elusive big fish then drop ya bouys and away me hearties
 
Oh yeah 20in rims fine just make mesh or netting loose so when you lift they stay inside you can get 8-10 at a time stinky bait!!!
 
Probably illegal but a dozens a feed
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Jimm Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13 Aug 2010 at 2:10pm
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rainbow mate i notice that a lot of craypots have a plastic entrance like the one you have here (the red plastic at the main entrance): what's the purpose of this and did you make this yourself?  Best reason i can think of is it's a surface which prevents the crays climbing back out through the main entrance of the trap?  do these plastic collars increase catch rate by much?

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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Rainbow Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13 Aug 2010 at 11:46pm
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Jim   You can use anything that fits, plastic bucket, plant pots,  etc.     It probably makes climbing out harder, that is all.    Dont worry about the colour as the saying goes : "in the dark every cow is black".    I dont use collars anymore and still catch my share.    Very often they are used in commercial pots that have no wire funnel.
 
Rainbow
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote pulsin Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14 Aug 2010 at 6:32am
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what an awesome detailed post thanks for that, i have  a small 13ft boat and would love to try and catch crays, i like the look of the round pots, does anyone know where i can get these in auckland, also i have heard there are crays in and around Narrow Neck reef, is this true? can anyone point me in the general direction of where else i might try, i usually launch from either, HMB, KK bay, Okahu bay.
cheers
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