What are Crab Snares?

To most crabbers on the West Coast, a crab snare is some foreign device many of us haven’t heard of before. Simply put, a crab snare is a small cage with baits surrounded by small loops. The trap lures crabs with the smell of the bait, and after 10 minutes or so, the fisherman reels in the trap with his or her fishing rod. As the trap is reeled in, the snare loops will close around any claws an unfortunate crab might have between them. If you’re fast enough and keep enough pressure on the line, the crab will not have time to think or try to scurry away.

Reel

With every strong pole comes an even stronger reel. The weight of your snare and bait alone is about one pound, so we need something that won’t fail and allow us to cast our crab snare far out into the water.

I recommend at least a size 6000 reel; anything larger would be ideal. A good way to go is an 8000 size reel; it’ll go great with your 10’ fishing pole. The larger the size the easier it will be on your wrists to reel in those heavy crab snares.

Reel

With every strong pole comes an even stronger reel. The weight of your snare and bait alone is about one pound, so we need something that won’t fail and allow us to cast our crab snare far out into the water.

I recommend at least a size 6000 reel, anything larger would be ideal. A good way to go is an 8000 size reel; it’ll go great with your 10’ fishing pole. The larger the size the easier it will be on your wrists to reel in those heavy crab snares.

There’s plenty of choices on Amazon and other online retailers such as Cabellas and Bass Pro Shop. A size 8000 reel may be a bit more expensive, but not as expensive and stressful as your fishing pole snapping and losing your precious crab snare. For several years I used a 6000 size reel and had no problems, other than some sore wrists at the end of the day.