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.