As a crabber on the East Coast, I’m a bit jealous of all of you on the West. You guys have access to some of the best crab pots on the market! On the East Coast, you need to build a trap to have any luck catching crabs.
Finding the best Dungeness Crab trap was a little difficult. There are plenty of traps made out of quality material that makes us on the East Coast look bad.
However, one trap stuck out to me. The Promar TR-530C2 (Link to Amazon.com) is both durable and efficient at catching Dungeness Crabs. With constant positive reviews and success stories, this is my pick for the best crab trap on the West Coast.
Why I Love This Trap
I’ll tell you why I love this trap with two words: Quality and Convenience.
Let me tell you, Promar made one hell of a crab trap. I’ve made a few crab traps in my day that last a few seasons, and that’s with materials only half as durable as what this trap is made out of. This thing will last you for years!
The trap has 3 openings equally spaced from one another across the crab trap, optimizing the chances of you catching a crab.
Collecting your crabs is also very easy. A door makes up half of the top of your crab trap, which swings open for you to retrieve your catch. You won’t have to dig your hands through the cage to grab your Dungeness and risk losing a finger like you would with other traps.
Another cool feature is that this trap weighs 20 pounds! You don’t need to think about weighing it down. You can relax in knowing that your trap is not going anywhere, even in rough Pacific waters.
The Best Deal You Can Find
The only thing that made me frown at this product was the price. Keep in mind that it changes, so it may be a different price whenever you’re reading this (Click here to check current the price on Amazon.com).
It may seem like the better deal to go with other traps a fraction of the price, but let me tell you that you have stumbled upon a gem of a crab trap. I’ve tried the cheap stuff, and they fall apart after the second crabbing trip.
This product is fairly priced for several reasons:
1. This trap is very well made. It will last for years to come.
Like I said before, we make our crab traps on the East Coast. I know what goes into a solid crab pot. I personally used PVC-coated chicken wire for my traps. It does a good job, but after a while, it will start to bend from the abuse from crab claws.
This trap, however, is made from durable PVC-coated steel wire mesh. Dungeness Crabs can barely put a dent in it! For this reason, your trap is going to last a very long time with proper, tender, love, and care.
2. The trap comes with 100 ft of lead line.
This line by itself will cost you a good $20.00. The fact that it and a buoy comes with your trap is a bargain. Lead line is vital to a crabbing trip. It’s specially designed to sink with your crab trap instead of floating on the surface. If it was to float, it runs the risk of being caught in a boat propeller.
In actuality, this trap would cost $80.00 without the extras. I find that funny because I found the trap being sold by itself for over $100.00. You won’t find a better deal for this trap than this Amazon.
3. With the current price of Dungeness Crabs, this trap pays for itself in no time!
Dungeness Crabs are expensive. Last I checked they go for $10.00 a pound. The average Dungeness Crab weighs 1.5 lbs. It doesn’t take a genius to know that this price adds up. In fact, you only need to catch a dozen crabs with this trap for it to pay for itself! Even that’s an overestimation.
This Trap is Legal… Everywhere!
I wouldn’t recommend this trap unless I knew it was completely legal to use up and down the West Coast. Well, I’m happy to say after plenty of research that the Promar TR-530C2 is legal to use in California, Oregon, and Washington State.
The trap is within the size limits of each state. It also includes two 4 1/2″ cull rings on opposite sides of the trap, the legal minimum size in each state.
It also comes with a single-loop cotton chord to secure the door. This is specially designed to erode away if you were to ever lose the trap, ensuring that the trap does not harm the environment by trapping crabs. This is a big regulation along the West Coast. Not having this feature would land you a heft fine.
Even the Buoy that comes with this kit is legal, and required! According to Washington State’s Crab Gear Rules, “All crab gear buoys must be half red and half white in color.”
This buoy is also great because it’s easy to write on with a permanent marker. It stays after a long day in the sun but will need to be reapplied every so often. This is important as these three states require that you leave your name and more information on each buoy. Check your state’s crabbing regulations below for more information.
You can check for yourself. Here is each state’s crab gear regulations:
The Only Downside…
The only thing I see wrong with this product is the harness. A few people I interviewed about this product complained that the harness is poorly made, which I can clearly see by looking at the product image!
Still, you’re buying this product for the pot and line- not the harness. I would fix this by removing the original clips, then tying four carabiners in their place.
Optionally, you can go as far as replacing the harness with 4 equally-lengthed pieces of paracord. Tie one carabiner to the end of each rope, then the other end to a single keychain ring.
It’s a bit of effort, but I would highly recommend making or purchasing a new harness for your crab pot. Otherwise, you would risk losing an expensive, high-quality crab pot. I wouldn’t trust my trap with that harness, especially when it’s full of heavy Dungeness Crabs.