This summer my dad and I are going to Rockport on a fishing trip and I was going to try to catch crabs while we were down there and I need some help deciding what kind of trap to buy, what king of bait to use, etc. So can anyone tell me a good crab trap I could buy at a good price and what is the best bait for crabbing? Also any crabbing tips would be greatly appreciated.

there is a guy that sells pretty good traps that lives in friendswood (south of houston), here is one of his craigslist posts.

http://houston.craigslist.org/spo/2416622010.html

I bought some vinyl coated chicken wire from home depot and made my own last year. There are regs on TPWD about how they have to be built though. Have to have a degradable escape and some other stuff. Was a fun project, and they worked!

academy sells some pretty good traps for arround $40....I think, at least they did last summer in the galveston store.

You can start with a simple hoop traps. (AKA Dock Rings). Cheap at the local HEB's. With the cotten string netting, they wear out really fast.
http://stores.wholesalecentral.com/images/VX5SO6Q2WU2NHDADD8EOH6LN7_UKBL/crab_net_wc_t.JPG

I have been using the Star traps for years now. As long as I put them away proper, They will last many seasons. (Understand they only get used one week out of the year.)
http://www.charkbait.com/cs/images/boating/ProMar/TR-701.GIF

For bait, Chicken necks do well and they are durable.

agreed, academy traps are good, will last forever. hoop nets work well also, and that dollar a pound heb chicken works great, especially if you let it spoil in the sun for a day.

We use turkey necks, they are cheap, bigger than chicken necks, and seem to last alot longer, I have used the same turkey neck for 4 days before

i use chicken necks. you can get them at HEB. last time i caught 15 keepers in 1 week

Thanks guys. I'll try to stop at an academy tomarrow and get a trap and try to find some chicken necks around here.

aur walmart carries crab traps in Baytown

That sounds like fun but never done it or seen it. Can someone tell me how? We are going to Corpus this weekend and staying at the NAS campgrounds.

Go to Walmart and buy a 10 pound bag of chicken leg/thighs for under $6. Way cheaper than necks and meatier too. If you don't use them all for 'bait', then cook and eat the chicken

Thanks, I asked my husband and he said they used to catch them in Hawaii we will give it a try. I think my daughter would enjoy that.

Thanks for all the answers guys. Also I read that some other good baits for crabbing are fish, beef, organs, and cut eel. Anyone ever tried any of those and had any luck?

In south Louisiana we use beef melt - pancreas of the cow - 8-10 pound frozen blocks were only a few dollars and the crabs LOVE it.