Crabbing and lost pots

[TheRealAndy]

I went up nundah creek the other on low tide. Spotted a lot of pots, with only 4 being sunken and still in use. I reckon that of all of the post that are claimed to be stolen 1% are genuinely stolen. I have never lost a pot. So here is a few tips based on the lost pots I have seen.

1. Tie on good knots. Use a bowline. If you dont know how to tie a know, then learn. I reckon this is the number one cause of lost pots.

2. Use decent rope, dont use that crap nylon stuff you buy from bcf. If you must use it then splice it or use some whipping. If you whip it, put a half hitch in before you whip it. That crap thin rope wont hold a bowline. One of my mates uses splice rope onto locking snap hooks, so he can remove the rope from the pot. Try and use silver rope or telstra rope from the markets. If you can find a floating rope, even better.

3. Dont leave your pots in the middle of a busy channel. This is a surefire way to have a boat cut your line.

4. Use enough rope for the water you are in. If you are in 2 metres of water, use a 4 metre piece of rope. Using shorter rope also means less chance of fouling your prop when retrieveing. If you are in 10 metres of water, then use 12 metres of rope. However, dont use 12 metres of rope in 2 metres of water.

5. Use a decent float. Dont use OJ bottles etc cause they can fill up with water. Use polystyrene. If you want to recognise you pots then use two floats, one being polystyrene.

6. Use a GPS if you have it. That way if you do lose your pot you can try check it on a lower tide or perhaps use a grapple hook to locate.

[Raesen]

Mate a great post and info for all contemplate. I do already use some of your ideas but a couple that I currently dont use I will be adopting in future.

Thanks again
Pete

[BigE]

tie a snappa lead 1M from the float. It holds the rope straight down for one meter avoiding props that dont run directly over the float.

[trueblue]

If you are going to use a bowline, use a locked bowline - a standard bowline can come undone if there is no tension on it, especially with slippery rope

to lock a bowline you simply do a half hitch or two with the tail

[tunaticer]

I use a locked clove hitch and have never lost one through a bad knot.

My father uses a maspro fencing clip to hold the tail to the mainline after the knot so it can never come undone.

Jack.

[trueblue]

I personally don't use any knots at all now when crabbing. I have a bunch of different length ropes spliced up, and I simply choose the right length rope for the depth of water I am in, and clip it on with a stainless steel clip.

Saves heaps of time

cheers

[Horse]

A bit of sheet lead a couple of meters under the float keeps the rope uner water and is easier to handle than a snapper lead (net leads are great)

If tides are big or in areas of strong current add a brick or better still a dive weight

Do not use empty milk containers as they are illegal and very flimsy. Oil containers etc also get punctured and sink. Use proper floats

I have lost two pots in 20 years

[Nico.d.R]

i think a lot of pots get hit at night aswell , one way to help other boaties see your pots at night is useing glow tubes on your floats , i think bcf has 4 or 5 packs for about 5 bucks they fit pretty well into the top of a round foam float (about 6 inches long). if you use glow tubes dont use the green or red as you might confuse other boats travaling at night .
cast net weights are great on the rope have them about 1m apartand you wont get your rope cut buy props .

ps. andy are you bringing pots to noosa?

cheers nico

[blueline]

you fellers have nothing to worry about up here the crocs take our pots.

[oldboot]

I think part of the problem is that crab pots are too cheap these days and lots of blokes dont bother collecting their pots.

I think if you go to almost any creek arround town you will find abandoned pots in various condition.

I recon it would be a good clean up australia day project...... but you would need specific authorisation from fisheries...... otherwise it would be considered "interfeering with fishing aparatus".

These abandoned pots are nothing more than dangerous rubish.

I cant believe the thin spindley rubish rope that is sold as crab pot rope.

How would you pull up a pot with several crabs up by that rubbish.

That stripey rope is cheap as chips.... for about $50 you can get a roll of 400M.... that would be a lifetime supply of crabpot rope for most people.

Most people in the building industry should have a roll knocking arround.

cheers

[pontificator]

abandoned pots make great lizard habitat, but are less desirable when run over on the plane ;_)

clear 2 litre or 1.25 soft drink bottles are my pet hate as floats.

Net weights work for me in keeping ropes on floats clear of props

[JayT]

Hey, yeah the glo lights in the floats work awesome,
Just fish near them at night cause every man an his dog can see em

[TheRealAndy]

Come good tips there, keep them coming!

Nico, they way the weather is looking at the moment I doubt anything will be happening at noosa! But if it does I might bring up a couple of pots.

[trueblue]

Don't drop all of your pots in a nice neat straight line... That is just a smorgasboard for a thief. (its ok if you are staying near them and if it is close by the shore, but definitely no good if in the middle of the bay)

When I put pots out overnight in the bay, I spread them out well out of sight of each other and mark them on the GPS. This way, if someone comes pas and sees one, they can only see one and probably won't bother lifting it. On the other hand, if there is a nice long string of pots, and no boats on the horizon, they will all be raided for sure.

I have not lost any pots since starting to set my post this way

cheers

Mick

[Pete62]

Hi Guys, we always secure the gates on our traps with Cable ties, only detures honest theives from knocking off the crabs but at least u know if crab theives r about.
Cheer's Pete.