First the fiehing report so I don’t get blasted. My son and I fished a couple of hours around Yellowhouse yesterday at the end of the incoming tide and didn’t get a hit even at spots that have produced for us before.
Now for the RANT. We set out 4 crab pots outside Bushy Park ramp in the Cooper and even set them on the opposite side of the river from the commercial guys. When we went to pull the traps this morning all 4 were missing, we checked the traps yesterday before coming back to shore and they were fine. In the last year we have lost 10 traps in the same area, this is getting expensive, I believe it is the commercial crabbers because if it was just someone stealing crabs they would probably just steal the crabs and drop the traps back but the commercial guy would cut the floats off and put his float on and drop the trap somewhere else, these are the commercial traps I have been buying and using.
I am not saying all commercial crabbers are bad but my youngest son went out with a commercial crabber and the crabber pulled another crabbers pot because it was to close to his and put the float inside the pot and dropped it back in this is bad for the crabber but also creates ghost pots that kill crabs and fish. I realize this is a business but does it have to be so nasty and cut throat.
Sorry.for the rant.
Gene
Have you reported this to DNR? I know they’re pretty busy right now with it being summertime, but they do respond and rely on tips from us to make arrests. My dad had someone poaching on his land a few years ago, and they did a stakeout for a few mornings until they busted the guys. They were hunting ducks and geese over a corn pile they had on the edge of a pond.
I hate thieves and cheats.
Semper Fi
18’ Sterling
115 Yamaha
Big Ugly Homemade Blue Push Pole
Buy one of those game cameras. It will be worth it to catch them.
2012 DLV 198 Carolina Skiff
Humingbird 998 Side scan and GPS
GPS trolling motor
My Cherokee indian name is asuvsgi nahna adadudi or Fishes on Credit
Losing pots can not only be frustrating…but expensive as well. A fully rigged pot costs fifty bucks or more. I know because my daddy is a commercial crabber. He loses pots all the time…and many of them are not due to wind and tides carrying them or "rolling " them up. As you said…there are some "not so nice "people out there . .my daddy has been hit by them many times in the past. He would rather them empty his pots…which is bad enough…than to cut or steal them. He has lost a t least 10 in the last couple weeks…a bog exspense…and many many in the past. That certainly puts a hole in the profit margin …not only in the loss of crab revenue…but having to buy more equipment. I think I would strongly discourage your son or someone in my family from hanging out with someone who did something as low as the person he went out with. Not only a bad example…bit would hate to see anyone caught in the cross fire of a confrontation that might occur if seen doing this. Seems to me this wouldn’t have been the first time he did this based on his behavior. He should have reported that to the DNR so that that person could be watched too. There were a couple guys from this site who were crabbing up that way couple years ago and quit because of the pot loss and thievery. Unfortunately… Recreational anglers will also take pots…same deal…pull pot…cut rope and put their own line and buoy on… A thief is a thief…and I hate a thief. Definately report it to DNR. They would want to know. I’m sorry you lost your pots. That stinks.
miss’n fish’n
212 SEAHUNT CC
Sea Squirt 16
Thats a simple steakout situation… put out a few bricks with floats over them, right the words busted (or whatever) on the bricks, shine a light or beep at them when the pull them up.
Thanks for the replys, I did call DNR this morning about10 am and spoke to a nice lady who said she would have an enforcement officer call me back, I am still waiting on the call. My son hasn’t gone back out with that crabber since the incident and the rumor is that the crabber is no longer in the business but his father is.
Gene
When I lived in Melbourne , Fl , some of the commerical guys wouldplace a few hooks in the trap line. I am not saying to do this but I am sure it would stop them from stealing / robbing your traps .
I crabbed in the 60s in the Port Royal area along with my Dad . My Dad always threated to shoot people robbing him . I happy that he never caught anyone .
I DONT HAVE A BOAT
BUT LOVE TO FISH> HINT
quote:
Originally posted by penfishnLosing pots can not only be frustrating…but expensive as well. A fully rigged pot costs fifty bucks or more. I know because my daddy is a commercial crabber. He loses pots all the time…and many of them are not due to wind and tides carrying them or "rolling " them up. As you said…there are some "not so nice "people out there . .my daddy has been hit by them many times in the past. He would rather them empty his pots…which is bad enough…than to cut or steal them. He has lost a t least 10 in the last couple weeks…a bog exspense…and many many in the past. That certainly puts a hole in the profit margin …not only in the loss of crab revenue…but having to buy more equipment. I think I would strongly discourage your son or someone in my family from hanging out with someone who did something as low as the person he went out with. Not only a bad example…bit would hate to see anyone caught in the cross fire of a confrontation that might occur if seen doing this. Seems to me this wouldn’t have been the first time he did this based on his behavior. He should have reported that to the DNR so that that person could be watched too. There were a couple guys from this site who were crabbing up that way couple years ago and quit because of the pot loss and thievery. Unfortunately… Recreational anglers will also take pots…same deal…pull pot…cut rope and put their own line and buoy on… A thief is a thief…and I hate a thief. Definately report it to DNR. They would want to know. I’m sorry you lost your pots. That stinks.
miss’n fish’n
212 SEAHUNT CC
Sea Squirt 16
I used to be for feeding thieves to sharks. After watching my friend suffer from a stingray hit, I’ve changed my mind. For every thing a th
Good Luck! The Cooper and Wando are a war zone for scumbag crabbers. do not put recreational pots anywhere that these scumbags can see them. There are about 20 crabbers working the Cooper, and they are not catching squat this year. A couple of these punks call themselves the “Cooper River Mafia” and have been stealing and cutting out other crabbers for the past few years. Calling DNR is a complete waste of time! My crabber called Officer Gilmore about 25 times and NOTHING was ever done. DNR will not bother to police these guys and it is going to lead to someone getting killed. I have not seen it this bad ever…and it is getting worse.
.
NMFS = No More Fishing Season
“Back home we got a taxidermy man. He gonna have a heart attack when he see what I brung him”
Let me add my two cents. If I see commercial pots anywhere near where I plan to put my traps I move on. I’ve had good luck going up into small creeks that are out of the way where your floats can’t be seen from the main chanel. I also seldomly leave them overnight because you are just inviting trouble. If you keep trying different places you’ll eventually find a few where you can get enough for a meal without leaving your traps longer than a day. The best way to find these places is to bring your traps fishing, dump them before you start fishing to make room in the boat, and come back to get them on the way back to the ramp. Sure you’ll look like Jed Clampett leaving the ramp and coming back in, but who cares.
quote:
Originally posted by sellsfishGood Luck! The Cooper and Wando are a war zone for scumbag crabbers. do not put recreational pots anywhere that these scumbags can see them. There are about 20 crabbers working the Cooper, and they are not catching squat this year. A couple of these punks call themselves the “Cooper River Mafia” and have been stealing and cutting out other crabbers for the past few years. Calling DNR is a complete waste of time! My crabber called Officer Gilmore about 25 times and NOTHING was ever done. DNR will not bother to police these guys and it is going to lead to someone getting killed. I have not seen it this bad ever…and it is getting worse.
.
NMFS = No More Fishing Season
“Back home we got a taxidermy man. He gonna have a heart attack when he see what I brung him”
Amen! You are spot on and its really surprising to me they don’t jump on those guys.
I understand DNR is busy but I called a few weeks back about a gill net I found that had been ran across a creek. I later found the guy dragging some odd looking coffin looking thing through the marsh. Basically I had the guy cornered and DNR really let me down. A good friend of mine who is actually a DNR officer gave me a few personal cell phones for officers that deal with this specific area and I still got the runaround! I go the complete run around and I found it very sad this guy had this net stretched across the creek that had been very productive for me and my clients in the past.
I like the idea of the bricks, I did set the traps on the opposite side of the river, I did drop the traps when I went out fishing and checked them when we were finished fishing and they were doing well we also rebaited and dropped everything back, the game camera sounds good, I am still waiting for the call from DNR but I won’t worry about it this week because I am in Anchorage AK and will be BUTT and Ling fishing on Monday July 1st, and the wife informed me today she wants me to catch some Salmon for her to send home so it looks like I will have my hands full catching for the wife.
quote:
Originally posted by Chasing Tailquote:
Originally posted by sellsfishGood Luck! The Cooper and Wando are a war zone for scumbag crabbers. do not put recreational pots anywhere that these scumbags can see them. There are about 20 crabbers working the Cooper, and they are not catching squat this year. A couple of these punks call themselves the “Cooper River Mafia” and have been stealing and cutting out other crabbers for the past few years. Calling DNR is a complete waste of time! My crabber called Officer Gilmore about 25 times and NOTHING was ever done. DNR will not bother to police these guys and it is going to lead to someone getting killed. I have not seen it this bad ever…and it is getting worse.
.
NMFS = No More Fishing Season
“Back home we got a taxidermy man. He gonna have a heart attack when he see what I brung him”
Amen! You are spot on and its really surprising to me they don’t jump on those guys.
I understand DNR is busy but I called a few weeks back about a gill net I found that had been ran across a creek. I later found the guy dragging some odd looking coffin looking thing through the marsh. Basically I had the guy cornered and DNR really let me down. A good friend of mine who is actually a DNR officer gave me a few personal cell phones for officers that deal with this specific area and I still got the runaround! I go the complete run around and I found it very sad this guy had this net stretched across the creek that had been very productive for me and my clients in the past.
Just curious, did you confront the guy with the net? Take a pict
I understand your anger and frustration in losing your pots. Recreational fishermen and people can have two pots. The buoys have…or are supposed to have your name and number on them…and if it is done properly theres no way someone can mistake it for their own…
I just dont want people to think that all crabbers are the scum of the earth. My daddy crabs and has crabbed for years… as does his brother. They would never steal form someone else…and dont mess with peoples pots. Believe me…they place their pots well out of the way of boat traffic…who wants to lose a 60.00 pot to a boat or big tide…and if you ever see one in a channel…the tide has taken it there. Daddy pts a lot of his up in the smaller creeks and drains…which someone mentioned…and sadly to say…you may want to keep this in mind…pots of the beaten path…or creek…are often easy prey to theft and being stolen. Peeler season last few years has been esp. hard. Dishonest crabbers from other places come and hit their pots pretty bad…and theres not a lot to do about it.they throw their pots right on top of his…so he moves his. When you hear of some catching 7-800 peelers a day…and others catching a hundred or less…and pull pot after empty pots and pots go missing…you cant help but wonder and know. Its disheartening when you work so hard for so little. And anyone who has ever done this knows its a exspensive and tough job. I work with my daddy whenn I can and know form experience. Like I said…Daddy loses pots all the time…and when you dont see a mangled or cut rope with a bouy floating in the marsh nearby…you can kind of figure it wasnt a accidental cut off by a boat. If you do have to cut a rope…please try to snag the pot and put it up on a nearby bank where the owner might find it on low tide and as stono said…it doesnt become a “ghost pot”/ sorry again about your loss. I too hope that one day poachers and thieves will have the fire put under their butts.
miss’n fish’n
212 SEAHUNT CC
Sea Squi
I had a nice pot stolen in Horlbeck Creek last year. Yellow buoy with my name and address just like the DNR directions say. I even had a little note on it that said “I’m not from Ohio” on it. Didn’t last one day. I didn’t know if crabbers have leased areas like the oyster grounds and maybe I was on their lease or not.
19’ Fiberskiff, 150 Bluewater Mercury. 14’ Gamefisher, 5hp Mercury.
so why does everyone think it is just the crabbers who do this?? yeah…I know there are a lot of crabbers out there…and like in anything there are dishonest and downright mean ones… but there are mean and dishonest "regular " folks too… whos to know if it might not be a nearby homeowner or another boater out wanting one for his own…or not wanting it in that creek. thats my question. Daddys pots would be very easy to identify if we saw them…he builds his own and has a certain way he does them…but even then unless we saw someone with one in his hand we’d have no way of checking. we have found cut off ones before by looking at the fish finder and seeing a object on the bottom…he keeps a little graffling hook to try to snag them when this happens. usually if we find a rope cut off at the bottom where it ties on…dead give away that it wasnt hit by a prop unless it was a submarine :)…but most itmes theres no rope to be seen or found. the ohio comment was funny 
miss’n fish’n
212 SEAHUNT CC
Sea Squirt 16
It’s like anything else. A few bad eggs with give any group of people a bad name. And believe me, we all know your daddy isn’t that type Mrs penny!
I know how you feel there are a lot a lot of commercial guys who think they own the dang water they are in. I was commercial up to about a month ago my pots kept getting cut stolen . Or they’d just run all my pots before I got to them. Can’t make any money that way
Scout
PALMERS SEAFOOD
The integrity of a man can be measured in what he does when no one is looking.
Your pots are safe with me.
“I am constantly amazed at the stupidity of the general public.”
~my dad
Equipment:
190cc Sea Pro w/130 Johnson
1- 18 year old ( has decided being with parents isn’t cool)
1 - 15 year old (still does not mind hanging with the 'rents)
1 - wife (The Warden)
ECFC
I am one of those 2 word YANKEES, DAM YANKEES but I have been in Charleston since 1985. I understand that not all crabbers are bad, and don’t want to imply that all are bad and I will find who is doing it or at least I would like to think I will and if I do DNR will get the fist option of what to do with them. PENFISH I would love to spend a day on the water with your DAD your writings and pictures and some of the things you two get into just sound like good clean (muddy) fun I love fishing crabbing shrimping and all such things. I think the LOW COUNTRY is the best place to liveand enjoy life if saltwater is in your veins.
Gene