These are Old Soldiers, or Stone Crab traps. As much as people love to eat Stone Crab claws, not too many have seen all of the work that goes in to catching them. Up North I think they call them "Pots", not a word we use down here, or not that I've ever heard ... altho' it's basically the same thing. I was on the dock the other day, and seeing all of these brought back so many memories...
These are New Soldiers, each one built by hand.. Put together with slats of wood, with staple guns, piece by piece, ropes tied on each, concrete poured inside, with your tags that you pay for attached to each one..I could make a heck of a crab trap once upon a time....
The black things are the "funnels" or how the Stone Crabs get into the traps...
These lids are all open, so that when you close it the longer part is inside the trap...making it easier for the crab to just crawl right in to get to the "goodies" (bait) you've left inside, they like cat food and pigs feet, anything basically smelly and nasty once it's old. But then (hopefully!) they can't get out!
Here are two boats, coming and going, the one on the left has just dumped his traps, the one you can just barely see on the left is on the way out....loaded down. You can hear them coming and going all day long at the beginning of lobster season, then for Stone Crabs, you just add your crab traps and take them along. This sound always makes me miss fishing, altho' I don't miss all the tedium, or the hard work...altho' I couldn't do TOO much heavy lifting of course.
A few little Mom and Pop boats on the the docks....
Me with some bounty....
Don't they look good?
Key West Fresh! Can't beat it!
XO
Smiles,
Toni
XO
Smiles,
Toni
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