No respectable commercial waterman uses a bait-box door. Period. It slows him down and there really isn't a need for one. The water pressure exerted on the bait while the crabpot sinks is sufficient to keep the bait from falling out. Plus, when the crabpot is checked, the old bait does fall out, saving valuable time (a waterman re-baits his pots every time he checks them.)

On the flip-side, most respectable recreational crabbers do use a bait-box door. This is because most recreational crabbers check their pots several times throughout the day and do not necessarily wish to re-bait their pots each and every time.

A bait-box door can be as simple as a plastic lid stapled to the bottom and held in place with bungee cord. My design is a little more elaborate.

Step 11.1

Figure 1.

• Cut a small piece of eelpot wire to fit over the bait-box opening. 10 x 6 meshes should be sufficient.

Step 11.2

• Using two crabpot staples as hinges, loosely attach the door to the pot (figure 2.)

Step 11.3

Figure 3a.

Figure 3b.

• Attach a piece of bungee cord to the bottom of the pot and thread it through one of the end-most meshes in the door. Attach the other end to the opposite side of the crabpot bottom (see figures 3a, 3b, and 3c.) The bungee cord should be stretched slightly, with the door closed, so that it holds it firmly shut. You can "flip" the door open to re-bait your pot, then "flip" it back shut.

FINISHED!

You now have a complete crabpot. Attach line and buoy, insert bait, and you're ready to catch some crabs!