Octopus

[EmeraldBullet]

Anyone try trapping octopus before? Do you just buy a big clay planter and drill a hole in it to tie a rope to? How deep does the water have to be? Thanks for any tips.

[Stein]

I've caught them in crab traps and once in a shrimp trap I modified by making the openings bigger.  I have no idea how a guy would target them.

[steeleywhopper]

Grandfather told me once that many many years ago he would drill holes in the bottom of one gallon paint cans and then sink them on a ground line. Think commercial halibut ground line except paint cans instead of hooks. Gramps said they would get a few to eat and it worked pretty well.

[RB]

I've caught them in crab traps and once in a shrimp trap I modified by making the openings bigger.  I have no idea how a guy would target them.

 

One in a crab pot and usually get one or more a year Shrimping, not sure other than diving how to target them.

[Jake Dogfish]

I have heard of people trapping them in Canada.  Don’t know if it would be legal here.

[Sundance]

five gallon buckets rigged to a groundline every 10fms, a few 3/8" holes drilled in the bottom of the bucket and a single hole in the lip for your bridle/connection point. Sand flats or eel grass, anywhere where there isn't natural rock cover. They are curious buggers.

[Alchase]

Back in the 70s, our Portuguese neighbor on Hood Canal, would string coffee cans 10’ apart on 100’ lines. He would check them at low tides. Almost always had a octopus in each can. He would bite them between the eyes (soft spot close to the brain) to kill them. And sell to a restaurant supplier.

[Stein]

I have heard of people trapping them in Canada.  Don’t know if it would be legal here.

OCTOPUS Must be caught with hands or instrument which does not penetrate the OCTOPUS, except that octopus taken while angling with hook and line may be retained.

I'll ask my attorney if a bucket is an "instrument which does not penetrate the OCTOPUS", but I'm thinking it is.  Daily limit 1, no irritants like bleach allowed.  There are no regulations around how many traps or how the traps are constructed which to me means that a) it isn't allowed or b) nobody does it so they aren't worried about over-harvest.  I'm going with B.

You guys are getting me interested, might have to give it a try as they are tasty buggers for sure.  I would have thought you need bait, but the hiding place method seems to make sense.  I've had the privilege of seeing several during night dives and they are fascinating for sure, almost to the point where I feel guilty eating one.

[h20hunter]

My 2 cents....do not harvest an octo at popular beach dive sites. Legal or not it's simply not cool.

[steeleywhopper]

My 2 cents....do not harvest an octo at popular beach dive sites. Legal or not it's simply not cool.

Could make for some great YouTube content

[RB]

My 2 cents....do not harvest an octo at popular beach dive sites. Legal or not it's simply not cool.

Could make for some great YouTube content

All kidding aside, it actually made the news before, and is why there was a change in the harvest rules for Octopus.

[Igor]

My 2 cents....do not harvest an octo at popular beach dive sites. Legal or not it's simply not cool.

Could make for some great YouTube content

Way before YouTube, octopus wrestling was a big deal in the Puget Sound:

In the early 1960s, thousands of people turned out on the shores of Titlow Beach near the Tacoma Narrows for the World Octopus Wrestling Championships.

https://www.knkx.org/post/world-octopus-wrestling-championships-once-attracted-audience-thousands-shores-tacoma

[Angry Perch]

Crazy critters!

[Stein]

There are octopus protection areas, but places like Edmonds aren't on the list.

https://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/management/mpa/octopus-preserve

Alki Beach Junkyard
Alki Beach Seacrest Coves 1, 2, and 3
Days Island
Deception Pass
Les Davis
Marine Area 12
Redondo Beach
Three Tree Point

[jackelope]

Anyone care to explain how the bucket/pot thing works?

I'm also intrigued.

[h20hunter]

Anyone care to explain how the bucket/pot thing works?

I'm also intrigued.

They just crawl in. That's it.

[Stein]

They love to hide in cracks and crevices when not out hunting.  When diving, a good way to find them is a pile of shells/food debris outside the opening.  My guess is they find the bucket inviting and hide in there and you just pull them in.  They are nocturnal for the most part, hunting at night and sleeping in their hiding spot during the day.

[jackelope]

Anyone care to explain how the bucket/pot thing works?

I'm also intrigued.

They just crawl in. That's it.

I just realized this is done along with diving for them I guess.
So you're making hidey holes for them, then dive to them and grab them.
Correct?

[h20hunter]

Anyone care to explain how the bucket/pot thing works?

I'm also intrigued.

They just crawl in. That's it.

I just realized this is done along with diving for them I guess.
So you're making hidey holes for them, then dive to them and grab them.
Correct?

Most bucket traps sre set and pulled like pulling xlcrab or lobster pots.

You could easily grap a 10 pomder...kinda....but a big one would be rough!

[Rob]

The big ones are...  well... big.  Largest one I saw was off the Duwamish head near the fixed marker.  The suction cups were the diameter of coffee cups.  That would put it well over 150 pounds.

We have two kinds of Octos here.  the Giant Pacific Octos (AKA GPO) are the large ones.  The Red's are small - probably only a pound or two and grapefruit sized when full grown.

Always had a soft spot for GPO's.  Something about an animal that will come out and check you out, climb all over you and then try to swipe your dive light on the way back to it's cave is endearing!

[Jake Dogfish]

My 2 cents....do not harvest an octo at popular beach dive sites. Legal or not it's simply not cool.

Could make for some great YouTube content

All kidding aside, it actually made the news before, and is why there was a change in the harvest rules for Octopus.

Actually it was a Octopus caught by a diver at Alki In 2012, and put on the news that created all these protection areas.

[carpsniperg2]

Man they are big and strong. I would think grabbing ahold of any with any size would be a underwater rode. Could even lose your breathing gear in a tussle.

[Stein]

It's funny watching someone try to pry one off their face, 8 arms beats 2 arms.  Not so funny when you are the guy trying it.  They can do a number on your mask since they can suction the flat glass and pull on it pretty good.

I have no idea how you would wrangle one of them into a bag if they didn't want to be there.

[Rob]

There is a guy named Eric Morris who use to write Octopus Tales in NW Dive News - more or less the Pat McManus of the NW diving world.

Standup guy who use to (may still) make dry suits.  I bought a couple and they are amazing!

Anyway, Eric wrote a story about a free diving buddy of his who was tagging along while they were diving and spotted a large GPO on a cobble bottom.  He dove down to harvest it.  When he grabbed it, it grabbed him back - and hundreds of rocks!  Basically if his scuba buddies had not seen the situation it probably would have drowned him.

Found the story here:
https://products.kitsapsun.com/archive/2003/02-13/72140_an_octopus_s_garden.html

[Rob]

It's funny watching someone try to pry one off their face, 8 arms beats 2 arms.  Not so funny when you are the guy trying it.  They can do a number on your mask since they can suction the flat glass and pull on it pretty good.

I have no idea how you would wrangle one of them into a bag if they didn't want to be there.

Totally agree - they stick to everything, and are basically slimy jelly!

[luvmystang67]

The japanese use small terracotta pots and run lines of them.  Unsure if they use any bait or not.  I don't see why it wouldn't work here.  I've always wanted to try it, but your pot might need to be a little larger.

https://soranews24.com/2014/07/31/we-go-octopus-hunting-learn-how-to-turn-octopus-heads-inside-out/

[Alchase]

No bait needed, the octopus crawls in and becomes very protective of the pot. Won’t come out even after being pulled up.
And a huge 6” diameter octopus can fully climb into a pop can sized container. It is amazing to see a huge octopus slowly come out of a small container.

[Alchase]

Oki Poki (teriyaki octopus) is amazing! They also fry and smoke up well.

[Jpmiller]

I had a guy asking for scraps of 6" pipe to make octopus traps but as soon as he saw I was interested and started asking questions about how to trap them he said he didn't want the competition and left.