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Crabs are some of the most widely popular and tastiest meals from the sea, but that doesn’t mean catching them is easy. You can’t really fish for crabs because they don’t often stay on the end of a line to be reeled in and getting close enough to catch one by hand is hard because they’re skittish and fast. Plus, crabs are tough creatures with strong claws that pinch, and they can live in the oceans most rugged conditions, so even getting to them can be a challenge. A great way for the average fisherman to change their tune and hunt crabs is to use crab traps.
Crab traps are specially designed contraptions that are set out and baited to trap crabs. They come in a variety of sizes and designs, so you can choose the best crab trap design that works for your location. Crab traps should be durable, efficient, strong, lightweight, and portable to ensure that you have the best time and fall in love with the sport of catching crabs.
Best Portable Crab Trap
Promar
- Stand Out Features - Why We Love It
- Effective and efficient design will easily trap crabs
- Collapsible design makes it super portable and easy to store
- It also reduces bulk, which lightens the fishermen’s load
- Can be baited in seconds, which is great for beginner trappers
- Two ramp style entrances let the crabs in, but not out
- Bait bag and easy carry handle included
Product Dimensions: 24 x 18 x 8 inches
Weight: 1 pound
Design: Collapsible
Holes: Two ramp style entrances
Closure: Hinged with locking snaps
Color: Black
Accessories: Bait bag, easy carry handle
Best Crab Trap For Hand And Rod Casts
Kufa Casting
- Stand Out Features - Why We Love It
- Cast by hand or with a fishing rod, so you can drop it into place or throw it into the deep depths
- 100 feet of smooth casting braided rope can be used on a dock, shore, or boat
- Lightweight design is portable
- Bait bag included to get you started catching crabs
Product Dimensions: 22 x 12 x 2 inches
Weight: 1 pound
Design: Open top
Color: Black
Accessories: 100-foot rope, bait bag
Best Small Crab Trap
South Bend
- Stand Out Features - Why We Love It
- High quality materials are durable and strong
- Wire mesh has a tight weave design to keep crabs secure inside
- Rust resistant feature ensures you’ll always be able to open the trap door
- Large square design holds a large amount of smaller crabs
- Would be great for blue crabs
Product Dimensions: 10.5 x 10.5 x 10.5 inches
Weight: 1 pound
Design: Box
Color: Black
Best Wire Mesh Crab Trap
FJ Neil Snap
- Stand Out Features - Why We Love It
- Folding design is portable and easy to store, so you can take it from the car to the boat
- Two large side entryways allow crabs in to find the bait
- Box design is collapsible and folds completely flat for easy transportation and storage
- Ready to use design; simply pull on the take-up lines to expand the trap
Product Dimensions: 10.5 x 10.5 x 6 inches
Weight: 1.6 pounds
Design: Box/Folding/Collapsible
Holes: Two large side entryways
Color: Black
Best Large Crab Trap
Kufa Rubber Wrapped Ring
- Stand Out Features - Why We Love It
- Large size and open top design are great for Dungeness crabs or other large species
- Highly durable netting keeps crabs secure
- 18-inch deep net will easily capture small and large crabs, plus ensures optimal catch security
- Ideal for long soaks, so you can leave it overnight
- Orange rope is highly visible even in inclement weather
Product Dimensions: 16 x 18 inches
Weight: 6.2 pounds
Design: Ring/Open top
Holes: One large open top
Color: Black/orange
Accessories: Orange 50-foot rope
Best Crap Trap For Quick Baiting
Rob Smith Blue
- Stand Out Features - Why We Love It
- Perfect as a blue crab trap
- Metal is vinyl coated to make it durable and resistant to wear
- Metal is long-lasting and high quality
- Small holes let crabs in
- Easy open top for quick baiting
Design: Box
Holes: Two small holes
Color: Black
Accessories: Rope
Best Crab Trap For Dungeness, Stone & Rock
Promar Folding
- Stand Out Features - Why We Love It
- Folding design is easily portable
- Four small hole entrances to maximize your catch
- Two escape rings in case you can’t retrieve the trap
- Hinged tending door making baiting and retrieving crabs easy
- Collapsible design is easy to transport
- Corrosion resistant coating makes it long-lasting
- Great for Dungeness, Stone, and Rock crabs
Product Dimensions: 24 x 22 x 13 inches
Weight: 8.9 pounds
Design: Box/Collapsible
Holes: 4 small holes and two escape rings
Closure: Top door
Color: Blue
Best Heavy Duty Crab Trap
Tackle Factory Topless
- Stand Out Features - Why We Love It
- Rugged design is made of galvanized wire
- Heavy duty to be resistant to strong currents
- Large open top and tapered sides make it ideal for large crab species
- Great for Dungeness crabs
Product Dimensions: 31 x 13 x 13 inches
Weight: 2.01 pounds
Design: Folding
Holes: Open top and tapered sides
Color: Silver
Best Kayaking Crab Trap
Kufa Vinyl Coated
- Stand Out Features - Why We Love It
- Collapsible design is easy to store and transfer
- Great for kayak fishermen who are space conscious
- Vinyl coated metal is heavy duty and rugged
- Four entry tunnel and one-way latches keep your catches secure
Product Dimensions: 24 x 24 x 12 inches
Weight: 7.05 pounds
Design: Box/Folding/Collapsible
Holes: Four
Color: Black
Best Ethically Designed Crab Trap
Danielson Pacific
- Stand Out Features - Why We Love It
- Ethical design lets crabs free
- Two escape rings for small crabs
- Fall away rot cord system disables the trap if it is lost at sea
- Vinyl-coated steel wire is durable
Product Dimensions: 24 x 24 x 13 inches
Weight: 8.82 pounds
Design: Box
Holes: Two escape rings
Color: Black
Accessories: Fall away rot cord
How To Choose A Crab Trap – Buying Guide
Crab traps are designed for a variety of species. Catching just one type of crab can get boring but investing in a great crab trap an ensure you get a variety of flavors. Plus, the portability of a crab trap can ensure that you can set up your trap in the reef, at the beach, or off the pier, which makes crab fishing easy and fun.
Often crab traps have a smart design with a hole that lets the crabs in but prevents them from crawling back out. You can set the trap and leave, which means no pinched fingers. Below we have the most important considerations that make a quality crab trap design.
Type
There are three types of crab trap designs that you can choose from. The box, ring net, and pyramid crab traps are the most commonly used traps on the market.
Box crab traps are the most popular design that is used by many people because it leads to the most success and is the most efficient. It is highly successful at keeping crabs in the trap once they are caught because of their smart design. A box crab trap will have multiple holes that serve as entryways for the crabs to swim in, but not out. The only downside is that these types of traps can be very bulky and harder to transport.
Ring net crab traps are a collapsible crab pot that is made of two rings; one larger than the other. A durable net connects the two rings and is where the crabs will be held once they are trapped. The larger ring is inviting for crabs to investigate and acts as an open top crab trap, which is highly successful at luring in curious crabs. This type of trap is easily portable because of the collapsible design, but it does require a precise placement and positioning to catch crabs.
Pyramid have the easily recognized triangular shape that is great for baiting and trapping crabs. To set the trap, you place the bait in the middle and as the crab crawl in, the trap top closes and ensures they can’t get back out.
Size
To determine which size of crab trap would best suit your needs, you should consider what type or types of crabs you are looking to catch. Crabs come in many different sizes and some are quite a bit larger than others, which means you need your trap to match accordingly.
Most crab trap designs will tell you how much weight they can hold, which allows you to make an estimate of how many crabs of a particular species it could successfully keep inside. For example, blue crab traps can be much smaller than a Dungeness crab trap because they are a smaller species. A blue crab is about 5-7 inches wide, whereas a Dungeness crab can be over 10 inches in width.
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Hole Size
Like the overall size of the crab trap, the size of the hole will need to be large enough to let the crab slip in, but not too big that they can easily see the hole as an escape route. Most crab trap designs have a hole in the shape of a funnel, which reduces the amount of crabs that are able to outsmart the trap and escape.
Not all crab traps have small holes, so you’ll need to be careful. Folding crab traps and slip ring crab pots will likely have small entry points, which allows them to be left in the water for longer to try and catch as many crabs at once. An open top crab trap will likely have a large hole for the opening, which allows crabs in but also allows them out just as easily. Traps like these will need to be monitored and brought up whenever you feel a tug, so you can try to catch the crab before it is done with eating the bait.
Material and Construction
Whether it is wire or mesh that makes the walls of the trap, metal is the best material for a durable crab trap. Metal is a long-lasting material that is also strong, so it can take some bumps and scrapes as it gets dropped into the water. It’s also a material that the crabs themselves won’t be able to break or cut through with their strong claws, which ensures you make more catches.
Overall, durable and quality materials will make a better crab trap with a great construction that is strong enough to hold all the crabs you catch, as well as be used for multiple trips. Crab trap reviews are a great way to determine if a design is made with quality materials because the higher the rating, the more likely you are going to enjoy using the crab trap design and with a high success rate.
Depth
The depth that you intend to set the trap is also an important consideration for the crab trap design. You want a crab trap that will easily sink to the bottom because that is where the crab will be lying in wait. However, depth can be hard on crab traps because of the pressure and temperature of the water. The best crab pots will be durable enough to withstand a deep depth without failing to function.
For ethic reasons, any top rated crab pots should have an automated mechanism, which allows the trap to empty itself. This is a smart feature in case you are unable to retrieve the trap from where you set it, which will allow the crabs to live for another day.
Specific Applications
There are a lot of different reasons why people trap crabs. Some want food, others are studying for research, and it can even be a fun activity for the family. It is important that you consider why you are trapping crabs and for what purpose, so you can find the perfect crab trap that suits your needs.
FAQs
Q: How do crab traps work?
Crab traps function because of their design, which is optimized to let crabs in but not out. They are frequently set with bait to entice crabs in and, depending on the design, the crabs will pass through a small hole, which they won’t be able to escape from. The holes lead to the middle of the trap, where the bait should be set, and then the material of the trap creates a solid holding space for numerous crabs.
Most crab traps are monitored, so that the trapper can sit with a line in hand, which is connected to the trap. When they feel movement on the line, they can raise the trap and see what they caught, hopefully capturing it before it can attempt to escape. This is a highly successful way for people to trap crabs and is used both professionally and recreationally.
Q: How to set up a crab trap?
To set a crab trap, you’ll have to check your specific design. Collapsible crab pots, like the slip ring crab pots, will need to be expanded to make space for the crabs. Other crab traps will not require any further setup because they are not a folding design. You’ll want to tie a rope or line to the trap, so it can easily be retrieved and pulled up from the depths. Once you have set up the trap, you will need to place the bait and the best place is in the middle. With the bait, you can lower your crab trap into the water and wait for any movement before you bring it to the surface to check.
Globo Surf Overview
When you want to try your hand at catching crabs, using crab traps is a safe and easy way to catch some of these tasty animals. Crab trapping is a great way to get outdoors and experience a new activity. You don’t have to be a professional to use a crab trap because of the portable and lightweight designs on the market today.