I was de crabbed at West Point 2 weeks ago. I here maritime law says you can legally shoot the bastards. Is this true?

I have had 2 pots taken this year and had my pots checked several times. At least someone re baited them the last time.
I am down to fishing 2 [Bleeeeep!] pots, and not worrying about em. I check them irregularly, and get more than enough crab. Just tough to plan on having enough for a group.

scumbags

I always drop my pots in 50 feet of water at low tide with a 50 foot rope. Only time it can be pulled is the next low tide.

Almost forgot...I always rig the bouy so the square end is down.....that way the kelp can move it to a new place for me.

Agree!

Check this site to see if there's a pic of the Arima:
http://arimaboatownersgroup.yuku.com/

I would be very curious to know how many people's pots have actually been raided, and how many pots were flat-out skunked.

I pulled my pots this afternoon, and got nothing other than a 4" red rock in my best pot. I was quick to blame a pick but I realized the pots were right where I dropped them.

They have produced since Friday, but maybe the crab just weren't there yesterday and today.

Crab do move around. I was told that a crab was found in a pot west of the entrance to Sequim Bay that had been tagged in Boundary Bay outside Blaine. I don't know if it's true but it's a good story.

I was a commercial crabber for a while out there. We used the zip ties all the time to verify someone raiding our pots. Get a pack at the hardware store and get it done. It is really easy to use them.

Get the large zip ties.....that way if you do catch a pot thief, you can zip tie his hands to your pot before you reset it.

Only reason I can see to strip the bait too is that you dont want any other crab wandering in the trap. Henceforth ergo, it must be an activist group.... probably the same outfit that Set-Free-The-Lobster lady belongs to...The Crustacean Nation. Theyre everywhere apparently and they are crazy nutwhacks.

And when someone runs over it as the tide is just coming up or dropping and wraps their prop, or trolls over it and snags it, it would be justice if they kept your poorly set pot. There is a reason for the floats to be visible and above the surface.

Crab CAN and WILL get out of pots that most folks think are escape proof. Once they tear through the bait, they have no reason to hang out. Crab thiefs seem to be at an all time high, but I've had a few overnight sets this season where they've cleaned me out on bait and been gone by the morning

Sucks when ya can't drop'em and go fishing or go site seeing.Boring as hell to sit and stare @ the bouy's before pulling'em.........Good luck,
SZ


PS, That sucks Matt..............

I was cleaned out on an over night soak as well and I had left a limit in the pots. They left the bait containers, opened, minus the chicken legs. Crab don't eat bones. Not that fast anyway. Can't prove it but my guess is a tribal member. Take our crab and make sure we don't catch any more by also taking the bait. Otherwise wouldn't it be more prudent to leave the bait so the owner would never know he'd been hit?

Rad! I like seeing people actually get popped. A slap on the wrist just make them break the law more.

If that Hummer had a boat trailer on it and was used to store over limit crab, it should have been seized along with the boat as it also fascilitated the crime. This isn't a case of a couple soft shell, or miscounting. These guys are intentionally stealing from everyone. Throw the book at em.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.404712216253061.95166.220381881352763&type=1

I hesitated to post on this topic but I have to use your claim and the claim of a co-worker as an example of "wanton rumor spreading". (Sort of like Wanton Waste of game.)

Short story, we use the exact GPS coords to set pots. Jim comes to work on Monday claiming the Indians stole his pot. bla bla bla...
Next week I go out there and there it is, right where we set it, empty, no crab, no bait, nothing but kelp.

Pots get robbed, but if you're going to start spreading rumors, at least have some facts. Nothing makes me more angry than people generalizing when they have no facts.

By the way, crab may not "eat" chicken bones, but I've pulled pots with crab still holding on to leg bones OUTSIDE the bait box. They are deft and strong creatures and will rob that bait box in short order.

They will also leave when there's no reason to hang around.

Regards,

Mike

Could have thrown some heavy stuff overboard to gain speed....??

Hey jackass...explain how crab opened the bait cages while you are at it. Why I bet while incarcerated the crab teamed up, dismantled everything, carted off all of the bones and then brought in a crew to put them all back together. These were clearly picked by a PERSON! Stop practicing wanton waste of brain cells. "I hesitated to post on this topic" you should have listened to your intuition instead of looking like an idiot. "Nothing makes me more angry than people generalizing when they have no facts" Oh yeah?