delaware crab pot weight inquiry

[ffdiz]

i am new to dover delaware... i am going to lay two crab pots out... i am curious as to how much weight to use to keep the pot from being moved from the strong delaware tides... any help would be greatly appreciated... also looking to find out how long my line should be... and is there any special features that i should know about regarding turtles... 

thanks in advance
Diz

[Mr. Ray III]

Not sure of the laws there but the irons I've seen on the Delaware Bay pots are huge.  I've seen 3/4'' and also 5/8'' with two bars running across the pot.  Commercial guys use 2-3 buoys cause the first one or two will get pulled under.  

[ffdiz]

mr rayIII, thanks, im planning on laying at the mouth of little creek in less than 20' of depth... what do you think?

Thanks
Diz

[Mr. Ray III]

I haven't been in that area much.  I used to crab pot in the Chesapeake, but my Delaware bay knowledge comes from working for TowBoat US and looking at the gear the guys over there use.  I don't know how much line they need to fish pots 20' deep. 

[ffdiz]

Mr. Ray III,

i do really appreciate your replies so much. i will research further before i place the pots. you probably saved me 2  brand new pots, floats and line.

i will post my findings as they are gathered.

[sailortom]

Hi,
I would err on the side of being too heavy.  I have put unweighted pots in little creek and had them travel a mile during the soak.  The current is strong but there is always junk in the water - clumps of reeds and stuff.  The weeds catch on the floats and pull the pots.

I have not had the chance to try again with weights.  Let me know how you do.
Good Luck
Tom

[discover]

I am in agreement with adding as much weight as possible and I would probably add 10 foot of extra rope on top of the depth you are putting them in. Like sailortom said, lots of reeds and stuff will get tangled in your rope and get hung up on your buoy's and that current is strong. I see the commercial guys use 2 buoys on the end so maybe follow what they do. The commercial guys seem to lay mostly in 10-15 foot depths from what I recall when I crabbed out there. 

Good luck.