Best crab pot.

[STIKNSTRINGBOW]

Have not been crabbing in years, but been talking about giving it a try.
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The closure this year kind of put a damper on it, but with the re-opening I feel it is time.
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I see pots for sale in every price range, from $20 on up.
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I know I can go with a cheaper one, but really want to start out with something solid.
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"Cheaper" is usually just that.."cheaper"
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Figure I will start out throwing of piers and docks, hopefully from a boat in the future..
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What's the best investment for a trap/pot that will outlast me?
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And I can drop off the dock at Westport, and pull in a couple hours, or out in the sound and leave overnight?

[WSU]

Honestly, unless you are soaking overnight the cheap Danielsons work just as good as anything else.  I also like ring type traps if I'm pulling them often on short soaks.  Crabs don't have to find their way in and it seems to be better on short soaks.

[bigdub257]

I'll second the cheaper Danielson pots.  I catch just as many or maybe more with these pots vs some higher end pots that I have. 

[Mtnwalker]

The rampless "fast fisher" style is what we do best on for short soaks. Overnight soaks then the ramp/escape proof style seem to fish ok.

[Stein]

Nothing lasts long on the bottom of the ocean.  Buy a few Danielson, they work great and don't take a ton of storage space when you aren't using them.

This covers probably 90% of the areas, if you crab someplace crazy that has ripping tide all the time you might need a different pot, but for the average guy they are the best choice in my opinion.

The other thing to keep in mind is that if you leave it out overnight, it might not be there when you go back due to tides, getting run over by a boat, stolen, picked up by a log or whatever.  Risking 4 $20 pots is $80 plus line, buoy, etc.  Risking 4 $250 pots is over a grand left unattended out there.

[Mech]

I am literally on Dungeness Crab land.
They are actually in my back yard.
It’s like a 40 yard paddle at most to get into them.

I use what I consider “cheap crab pots”.
They cost about $110-$120 and can be purchased from Amazon.

The kit comes with the leaded ropes buoys and all that.

I did a slight modification to mine to include a basket style bait bin.
I also use the hanging bag things that came with the set up.

When using both the catch seems to be better.

I own several nice kayaks but my favorite for crabbing is the cheapo sit inside Walmart special.

When I toss the pot on my lap the sit in side offers me more protection than my sit on top kayak.
Meaning I get bit a bit less than when they are being pissed off and on my lap.

A couple of cheap ass kayaks do this well.
Not so much on my trident 13.

[MIKEXRAY]

I had three or four different models of traps , mostly hand me downs . One was an octagon 30 inch , round bait bin in the middle full height of the trap. Little wider and taller but that trap always out fished the other models by double ( Dungeness keepers ) . I sold the others online and bought that model used to give me four of the same.  ( paid the same used as I made on others ) . And my total production is definitely higher , that trap catches more crab and faster for me for sure. Good luck.

I also added 50ft of rope to all pots and fish deeper than all the other pots can reach at 120 - 130 ft. That also added to my catch being more isolated. 

[dilleytech]

The cheap danielson pots have worked better for me then the higher quality octagonal shaped ramped pots. Just look up how to make upgrades to them so they fish better. I can’t ever seem to keep crabs in pots. It’s usual to only have a few crabs in a pot on a overnight soak for me with any pot I have used. But leave them down for an hour and there plugged full.. I’m no expert just casual crabbing over my life.

[Dan-o]

The cheap danielson pots have worked better for me then the higher quality octagonal shaped ramped pots. Just look up how to make upgrades to them so they fish better. I can’t ever seem to keep crabs in pots. It’s usual to only have a few crabs in a pot on a overnight soak for me with any pot I have used. But leave them down for an hour and there plugged full.. I’m no expert just casual crabbing over my life.

I use the cheap pots, and I add weight to the bottom of the doors to keep them closed in a tide.

I think cheap pots fish just fine.....   It's much more about bait and location.   

[JKEEN33]

I’ve used them all and like the cheap Danielson the best. I add some rebar to weight them a little. Spend the extra money on leaded line instead of the traps.

[jstone]

Has anyone heard of the south sound will be open this year? For Crabbing

[tank21]

I have these and they are fantastic.  Out fishes the square ones and they are great to stack up.

Got them at LFS in Ballard.  Highly recommend

[jstone]

I need those
Instead of my big square ones

[tank21]

and they are made of stainless and so they are good and heavy.  Not too heavy though.  Having that whole top open up with the netting is sweet for getting the catch out quick.  I had a dandy red rock grab my thumb on the little Danielson's and I thought it was going to explode right out the tip.  Wow, the pressure.  I personally ate that bugger.

[STIKNSTRINGBOW]

What brand are those?
Only ones like it I can Google have only 2 entrances, or are not collapsible.

[Hunt_n_Fish]

Cheep danielsons with rebar and 3 or 4 oz cannonballs on each door.

[PolarBear]

I’ve got a dozen of the cheap Danielson traps weighted with old cast iron window weights. After having 6 expensive pots stolen at Nisqually, the cheap ones don’t hurt as much if you lose them one way or another.