Crab Pots as a ledge marker?

[Chaz Hickcox]

I fish the brackish waters of the intracoastal in Virginia Beach a lot, and during the heat of the summer have some issues with finding the deeper ledges that hold fish.  I was in a tournament recently and found some fairly clear water and that was when I began to fish a c-rig on a rocky point.  Now the rip rap was the only reason I went to that spot, but now that I think about it the edge of the pile was covered in crab pots where I wanted to fish.  After thinking more I always notice crab pots lining the main channel in the intracoastal.  Do crabbers focus on ledges like we do?  If so has anyone experimented with fishing around the pots with c-rigs?  If so again, was it productive?  It's seems to make sense.  I will mention that the rocky ledge was the only darn place I could find fish while out there.  Thanks to Big-O and his Eeliminator. 

[kickin bass14]

It is illegal to place crab pots in designated channels(atleast in the Bay and in rivers) so crab fisherman try to put their pots as close to channel (hence deep water) as possible if thats where they think the crab are.  So, the "edge" that crab pots create can show where a drop off/ledge but usually that is just the edge of the designated channel.  The best thing to do would be look at your depthfinder and find a substantial ledge.  A navionics chip is even better.

[Chaz Hickcox]

Yeah but does the bait in the pots attract fish?  I realize they can't be in the channel, but I also see them elsewhere too, like in Back Bay.

[aarogb]

It is illegal to place crab pots in designated channels(atleast in the Bay and in rivers) so crab fisherman try to put their pots as close to channel (hence deep water) as possible if thats where they think the crab are. So, the "edge" that crab pots create can show where a drop off/ledge but usually that is just the edge of the designated channel. The best thing to do would be look at your depthfinder and find a substantial ledge. A navionics chip is even better.

What this guy said.  They are all over the Intracostal waterway at Topsail Island (my local beach).

[aarogb]

Yeah but does the bait in the pots attract fish? I realize they can't be in the channel, but I also see them elsewhere too, like in Back Bay.

Yes the bait in the pots will eventually attract fish, but the crabs usually get there first.

[backwater4]

The pots can be a starting point. They will normally place them very near a drop or other form of stucture. Plus, if the pots are near an edge the fish will use them a structure, just like boat moorings, rock piles, etc.

[Fishing Rhino]

I can't say for sure about the crab pots, but I assume they are similar to lobsters, for which I commercially fished for over twenty years.

The bottom that held lobsters, also held fish, and for the same reasons, structure, cover, and forage.

There were times that lobsters would be found in higher concentrations at various depths along ledges and reefs, sometimes in the shallower, sometimes deeper, and other times in between.

I'm surmising that the crabbers in your area are after the blue crab.  We also have those around here, but they are mainly found in the rivers and bays, rarely in the ocean.

There is no pot fishery for blue crabs in this area.  Mostly, they are caught with a piece of fish tied to a line.  Toss it out from shore, let it sit for a while, then drag it in slowly.  It seems once they grab a dinner, they are reluctant to let it go.  Some fish with a mesh contraption, baited in the middle with a fish head, or trash fish.  That is set out from the shore, and occasionally pulled in.  It sort of folds up around whatever has crawled onto it.

Mostly, they are caught in sandy or muddy bottom that has eel grass, and along the banks of marshes.

The crabs we catch in lobster gear around here from the coast to offshore are the Jonah or Rock crabs.

If your quarry is in the area of the crab pots, they at the very least provide a reference for positioning, not unlike marker buoys.

[Micro]

I fish brackish water in VA. too. 

I don't think the crab pot marker is indicative of much with respect to ledges or deep water.  In Virginia, I think crab traps have to be 100 yards apart.  A fisherman needs a heck of a lot of traps to make money.  And there are a lot of commerical crabbers in VA.  I think a crabber is trying to cover a lot of area.  Only a few are going to get the choice spots. 

I would never rely on a pot marker to tell me anything, except that there is a snag hazzard below the float.