Official HW running crab counter

[Becky]

0 ... we're going out camping this weekend with all our gear in tow so here's to hoping!

[Skillet]

Good...was going to fish the usual spots from last season.gonna be out sunday?

Nope - taking a nice long motorcycle ride and checking trail cams on Sunday.

[lokidog]

Still 0 in Area 7....  Although I've reminded two sets of people that crabbing is not open yet.    to both!

[Encore 280]

We didn't do too bad in M.A. 9. This big guy made our legal ones look like babies!

[h20hunter]

Wow....some beasts! Bait of choice right now? I'm planning on using flounder, turkey, and some koke carcasses.

[Encore 280]

We catch fresh sole/flounders and hang 4 or 5 in a pot and let em soak a couple hours. Always fresh bait. Keeps the "Warden" from getting too bored when we can catch our bait while we're waiting to pull the pots.

[h20hunter]

Love hanging flounder baits. We call 'em flounder bombs. My go to flounder rig is a little cannon ball sinker, swivel, leader, small steelhead jig tipped with turkey...drift and drag it along he bottom. My hunch is it looks like a tiny shrimp...they just hammer it and the bait stays on really well.

[Encore 280]

I've thought about trying jigs of some kind but end up using a piece of horse neck clam on a 3/0 hook. This weekend we ended up with a good size sole and bullhead so we kept them and fried 'em up last nite,  . The bullhead has to be a really big one before I'll keep 'em for frying.

[h20hunter]

Never ate bullhead......they get sliced and thrown in the pot!

[Encore 280]

I slice up the smaller ones but the big ones that ya don't get very often go home with us. They're good eaten, nice white meat and not any different than the rest of the bottom dwellers.

[DoubleJ]

We have only been out the once and used trout scraps.  We normally fish for bait while the pot is out too but, from the dock, we were only catching 2" bullheads and flounder.  Young'uns from this year's hatch I'd imagine.  Very frustrating.  Oh, and the 2" pile perch that we couldn't keep off the line.

On a side note, out trout lake is over run with yellow perch too.  Been there 5 or 6 times now and no trout to show for it, only 2-3" yellow perch.

[h20hunter]

DoubleJ....those pile perch are excellent bait for lings....keep a few for future use. Lets see a pic of your new crabbing craft!

[DoubleJ]

DoubleJ....those pile perch are excellent bait for lings....keep a few for future use. Lets see a pic of your new crabbing craft!

I don't fish for lings.  Never have tried.  I did catch and eat a 2lb pile pearch when I was a teen and it was pretty good.  These are nowhere's near that size though. 

I'll take pics when I get home. Have to get a motor.  Only oars right now.  Needs a 10 horse.  The one my dad has is broken he says.

[DoubleJ]

Are the pile perch legal for crab bait?

[D-Rock425]

Anyone know a good place to toss some pots from a dock?