

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.