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The BEST CRAB TRAPS For Dungeness Crab (Top Reviews For 2020)

best crab trap for dungeness crab

Catch More Crab With The Best Crab Trap For Dungeness

I’m not sure there’s anything I love more than loading up the back of the boat with an arsenal of crab traps and heading out into the bay to crab for dungeness.  After letting the crab traps soak for what seems like an eternity, you finally get a chance to pull them up.  And with some luck, you’ll be in the crab!

(Top Pick) Promar TR-530 Heavy Duty Crab Pot

The Promar TR 530 Heavy Duty Crab Pot is our top choice because not only was this crab pot specifically designed for dungeness crab, but it does a killer job at it. This crab trap is strong as an ox and is heavy enough to stay at the bottom without additional weight added to it. This crab trap is designed to be used and abused.  And you can be confident knowing that it’ll be ready to go the next time you take it off the shelf.

  • Built to last
  • 30″ x 10″
  • 3 Tunnel Entrances /2 juvenile escape doors
  • Internal Bait box
  • Easy Top Access

Introduction

What’s frustrating though, is when you spend all those hours out on the water pulling up crab trap after crab trap, only to find perhaps a handful of keepers.

The reality is, there’s more than just luck you can use when it comes to crabbing for dungeness crab.

First, you want to know how to use the tides in your favor.  You also want to know what the best bait is for crab.  But in addition to those things,  there’s still one more thing you can do to better your odds at feasting on delicious dungeness crab later that day.

The number one thing you can do is make sure you using the best crab trap for dungeness crab.  Not all crab traps are made equally.  And not all crab traps are designed to be used for dungeness.

By using a crab trap that’s designed for dungeness crab, you’ll ensure that the crab not only enter the trap, but more importantly, will stay there.

The Best Crab Traps For Dungeness (Quick List)

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Dungeness Crab Trap Reviews

1. (Top Pick) Promar TR-530 Heavy Duty Crab Pot

The Promar  TR 530 Heavy Duty Dungeness Crab Pot is the crab pot I dream about.  One day, I intend to trade my entire fleet of crab traps with this Promar crab trap. This makes it, without a doubt, my top pick as the best crab trap for dungeness.  

If you’ve ever spent time out on the bay and watched the commercial crab boats come in, then you’ll have seen how well these round crab traps can stack on top of each other, and how durable these traps are.  There’s a reason the commercial guys are using traps like these to catch dungeness crab

The Promar TR 530 Heavy Duty crab trap is the Cadillac of crab traps.  If you’re serious about crabbing for dungeness and don’t want to take time to mess around, then this is the best dungeness crab trap for you.

This trap is so incredibly durable, our grand kids will be using it out on the bay well after we’ve retired from crabbing. This crab trap is made out of heavy duty blue steel.  The steel frame is coated with vinyl which makes for easy handling when both dry and wet.  This crab pot is built to last for those long soaks in the salt.

The Promar TR 530 Heavy Duty crab trap has three tunnel entrances to help those monster dungeness and red rock crab find their way inside, and never find their way out.  While at the same time there are also two smaller round escape doors that the juvenile crab can escape through. It also comes equipped with the rot cord system which allows trapped crabs to escape in the event the crab pot becomes irretrievable.

On top of the trap is easy access to the internal bait box (that’s included) as well as access to all the crab trapped inside. With this feature you can keep the crab contained and take your time to accurately measure and separate the males from the females.

This is a very heavy duty stackable dungeness crab trap that measures a nice wide 30″ and a total of 10″ tall. While it’s not for the feeble Dungee slayer, its 15 pount weight will prevent it from being easily moved by changing ocean currents.

2. FJ Neil 225-CT Snap Trap Crab Trap

The FJ Neil 225-CT Crab Trap is the best compact crab trap for dungeness  This small compact crab trap is only 10” x 17” x 10” in size. This makes it the perfect choice for people crabbing from kayaks or other small boats.

When not in use, this trap collapses nice and flat, which makes it great for easy storage and transport.

The trap has two doors which lie flat on the surface when the trap is sitting on the ocean floor.  The bait is secured in the middle of the trap. Once the crabs enter the trap, they are free to come and go, much like a crab ring, until you begin to pull up on the trap with the rope.  When you pull up on the rope, the two doors swing up and trap the crabs inside.

The FJ Neil trap comes completely assembled and ready to go.  Again, this is a very small crab trap. So if you’re wanting to stack a lot of crab traps in a boat, this is a great option.

3. Danielson Pacific FTC Crab Trap

The Danielson Pacific crab trap is one of the most popular crab traps for dungeness in the Pacific Northwest, which is where I happen to do almost all of my crabbing. In addition, this crab trap also happens to be my personal favorite for catching dungeness crab.

When people think about crabbing for dungeness in the waters of the Pacific Northwest, the Danielson Pacific FTC Crab Trap is the first crab trap that comes to mind.  Not only is this the best crab trap for dungeness, but some of its other features also help elevate it to being the best.  It’s stackable and collapsible.  This makes it ideal for transport and storage when not in use.

Constructed out of vinyl coated steel wire, this trap will last a very long time if cared for properly. The Danielson crab trap is not small either. At 24” x 24” wide and 13” tall, there’s enough room inside of it to hold plenty of keeper dungeness crab before you have to pull it up and empty it.

This dungeness crab trap has 4 sides to it and on each side is a one way swinging door that the dungeness crab can enter but not escape through. In addition to the entrance doors, there are also 2 small round escape rings that smaller juvenile crab are able to exit through.

As laws in states are beginning to change, you can be confident that this one complies. This trap has two fall away rot cord rings that actually disables the trap in the event that you’re unable to retrieve it.

Conclusion

Have you found the right crab trap for dungeness? I’m confident that any one of these nets I mentioned will work for you.  Don’t underestimate the importance of choosing a crab trap that’s designed specifically for dungeness. As I mentioned earlier, not all traps are made equally.

But if you want the best crab trap, then you need to take a close look at the Promar crab trap.

(Top Pick) Promar TR-530 Heavy Duty Crab Pot

And always remember, that no matter which dungeness crab trap you choose, if you take good care of it, it will last you for a very long time.  Salt water is incredibly powerful, so always thoroughly rinse off your crabbing gear with fresh water

Do you have a crabbing trip planned?  Or have some great crabbing tips for dungeness, like time to crab, best bait to use or even kind of rope to use? Leave a comment below and share it with the rest of us.  I’m always open to new hearing new crabbing tips!

Good luck!

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dungeness crab being held in a mans hand

Written by Don

When I'm not bass fishing or looking for steelhead in my home state of Oregon I can be found working on house projects dreaming of my next fishing adventure.

I started this website to share just some of the things I've learned along my fishing journey, and the many things I'm still learning. Enjoy!

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