Rookie question about time and tides

[Dukerman]

Would like some advice on time and tides.

I run a 1200' trot line early AM. What about running the line late afternoon till sunset? Worth it?

My buddy who got me hooked last year always ran it first AM and never in the PM.

The tide question, any better then the other:

Tide moving in
Tide moving out
or just moving period?

Thanks for any advice

[POLECAT]

Crabs are opportunistic.
They eat whenever they can.

Current flow is what carries the scent of the bait to the crab.
Crabs could not care less about tides. Tides are vertical movements of water. Current is the horizonntal movement that carries the scent. Ask any crab.[grin]

P.S. This topic is on the final exam.

[Dukerman]

Jerry,

Thanks for the advice. I have quite a bit of free time in the late afternoos during the week. Might give the line a try in a couple of weeks.

Nothing would be better then fresh crabs for dinner.

Tommy

[rdefrank]

Good questions.

We generally do best inside creeks w/ incoming tide and outside creeks on the outgoing. Figure the crabs forage in the shallows when tide's up and head deeper at low tide. Current flow is definitely key but surface terrain's just as important-- crabs favor steep dropoffs whether tides flowing or not.

Afternoons work well when water temps are below 72F. Once temps are up, sunlight is better behavior predictors. Bright, hot afternoons drive them deeper (safer, cooler). Overcast conditions sometimes gets them moving better during the day.

If trotlining (or handlining), sunlight & wind/chop are definitely not your friends-- unless the crabs are ravenous enough to hold on. Collapsable traps succeed in most any conditions. Ideal crabbing conditions will wrack up w/ the trotline; but for the bushel limited recreational crabber, 30 collapsables are an investment in consistent success.

Also, watch for mahogeny tides and other low dissolved oxygen conditions which drives crabs upstream and into shallows to escape asphyxia.

Hope this helps.

[hockeybuck]

Don't forget! You can only crab the main bay until 5:00 P.M. but the tributaries are good until sunset.

[Dukerman]

rdefrank:

Thanx for all the info, I have been thinking about some traps just so on the windy chop day I could still crab. Think I will try some afternoons when the temps are right.

About traps I have seen two types short side and taller sides any better then the other?

Hockeybuck:

Thanx

[done workin]

Duk, I have been using the "low profile" traps from foxy mate for years with NO complaints. I just got a few of the tall topless traps and they worked just as well on their innaugural trip this year. One word of caution: Foxy mate has fixed the door attachments on the topless ones but the low profiles that I bought several years ago did not have the doors rigged to prevent escape. You may have to adjust the hog rings on the bottom to prevent the door from shifting side to side to prevent big gaps on the corners. Afternoons/evenings can be great with traps but trotlines suffer until the sun gets down, plus late day boat traffic can chop the water up making trotlines a little harder.