A crab snare is a castable device which is used with a rod and reel to catch crab.

The crab snare is attached to the end of your main line to the leader line of your crab snare. You open up the lid of the crab snare, put your preferred bait in the middle and close the lid. You cast out into the body of water and wait about 5 minutes. When a crab finds the snare, it's legs are entangled or within one of the loops. When you reel up, the loops cinch down on the crabs legs acting like a sliding noose. By keeping constant tension from your reeling, the loops stay engaged on the crab's legs, snaring them up.

A crab snare is versatile where it allows you to crab in areas you typically are not able to access with a throwing net or traps unless you're on a boat/kayak. With a snare, you can cast from the shore, the jetty, the pier, docks, off the cliff and even off a boat.

Check out our YouTube which has Underwater Video of Durasnare in Action!

We recommend a 10-12ft surf rod medium heavy or extra heavy rating. You want a sturdy rod because you’re tossing a weighted snare with bait which can get quite heavy and has a lot of load on the rod. A frequently used rod for crabbing is the Daiwa Beef Stick, Ugly Stick, or Okuma Crab Special. These rods are about $65-$75 price range. I currently use Daiwa Beef Sticks. I previously used the Okuma Crab Snare Specials. I had to cut off 9” off the handle off the Okuma Crab Snare Special because it was too long at the handle and very uncomfortable to reel where I was hunched over. Went to Home Depot and got a 1” chair end cap to stick at the end of the handle. Now that I modified the length, it’s much more manageable. However the Okumas have been a pain because it’s not ideal for the rod tip experienced about 3 rod tip breaks, and a rod guide insert popped off since I’ve owned them. The Daiwa beef stick is budget friendly and much more sturdy and value. I already replaced all my Okuma rods for Daiwa Beefsticks.

For the reel, use a good quality reel medium to large sized reel. When I first started crabbing, I used cheap reels that ended up stripping the gears, breaking the foot of the reel, the handle or cracking the housing. When you are reeling in, you are reeling in the weight of the crab snare, the bait, possibly multiple crabs, and fighting the current. This puts a lot of strain on the gears which result in putting more torque on the handles, overworking the gears, and friction on the foot of the reel which may snap. We recommend PENN brand reels such as Battles, Pursuits or SSMs. We personally use 650-750SSMs because they are full metal housing and interior gears. We can reel up 4 crabs at a time with no problem and will never strip the gears or break the foot of the reel.

For the line, you should use a minimum of 30-40lb monofilament line or 60-80lb of braided line. I currently use 80lb of Beyond Braid line but it’s a bit overkill so I’d recommend 70lb at most so that gives you a bit more line capacity. You are throwing very heavy weights so be sure you have adequate line to support the tension, otherwise you will end up snapping your line upon casting or retrieval.

Click the link below to view where you can purchase your crabbing gear setup.

Purchase Crabbing Gear

Check out our YouTube Channel @Durasnare in the link below to learn more about gear recommendations.

Crab Snare Gear Set Up

Typically you would leave the snare for about 5 minutes after casting. If there is no crab on the snare after checking, you can leave it in place for another 5 minutes. Do not leave the snare for more than 10 minutes at a time for crabs will clean out your bait box. Reel up completely to check for bait status. Check for indicators such as bites on your bait or an empty snare may mean there was crab in the area and had cleaned you out. Other indicators may be bait looking exactly the way you casted and have no bite marks at all. If there are no bites or change in your bait, move locations.

Your first and second casts will determine the frequency and timing of checking to see if you have crabs on the snare. You can have crabs on your snare in less than one minute after casting sometimes.

Crab snaring is different from fishing where you typically do not see or feel "nibbles" or "biting" where the tip of your rod bounces when a crab is on.

You can check to see if a crab is on your snare by slowly reeling up your slack and bring your rod up slowly towards you chest. If you feel a heavy weight like an anchor at the end of your line, more than likely you have a crab on your snare. If you bring your rod towards your chest and the snare slides along the bottom freely, you likely don't have a crab or you have been cleaned out of bait.

Frozen squid has been the preferred bait choice for crab snares. Squid takes longer to break apart by crabs and attracts crab very well. Using fish like mackerel, sardines, salmon or anchovies will work but they will dissolve a lot faster underwater. Alternatively, you can also use chicken as the base as a cheaper alternative and it does not break apart like squid or fish. For example, you can use a slice of chicken on the bottom of the snare, then add a squid or slices of fish on top as the main attractant. Crabs are bottom feeders and will eat just about anything.

We have found that fresh frozen bait works best when catching crab. There is no need to add additional scents or leave bait out to rot when using squid or fish. If you are using chicken only, then adding additional attractants can be beneficial. You can also buy a bottle of clam juice and soak chicken in it overnight in the fridge.

Commonly Used Bait:

• Squid
• Sardine
• Mackerel
• Herring
• Clams
• Tuna bloodline
• Shad
• Salmon scraps
• Rock Fish
• Chicken