Crab-bags compared (mini-review?)

[Mr. X]

I've used several good crab/shellfish/lobster/bounty bags and thought it might be worth sharing a few thoughts and ideas and seeing if others might also have some thoughts on this.

Here is what I'm thinking of covering:
1. Rob Allen Cray Mesh Bag

2. Lidl's diving net-bag.

3. Imersion shellfish bag.

4. A hypothetical 'bounty bag'

Feel free to add your comments & crab-bag reviews/ideas on this thread.

 

[foxfish]

I buy a new pair of diving boots from a locale dive shop every year & by chance they come in a really nice net bag, just the right size for a lobster or 6 scallops.

 

[Mr. X]

Rob Allen Cray Mesh Bag

My first crab bag was from Rob Allen. I liked this simple, sturdy bag but lost mine on the difficult walking out from a bay in Dorset (distracted by the 2 or 3 good fish I'd caught - which in hindsight should have been put in the bag rather than left on my stringer).

Description:

Very large, strong, coarse black mesh (polypropylene string/net?), with a loop of "Thai curry green" RA floatline string/rope as the closing loop & a piece if thick rubber (band rubber), maybe 2" long as a sliding closure. Totally consistent with the tough, simple, evolved design we have come to expect from RA/South Africa.

The turquoise net bags below are probably the latest version:

Strengths:
- inexpensive, good value
- big - big enough for a big haul of scallops/crab/fish.
- strong - industrial/commercial strength
- can fold & roll it into a small, compact "cylinder" to hang from the float w/o excessive drag
- perfect for a good haul of scallops
- easy to hide (dark, drab colours)
- lightweight, despite its robustness

Weaknesses:
- top does not remain open unaided
- crabs/lobsters - especially spider crabs, resist entry by entangling their legs in the mesh outside and/or side the bag - making it difficult to securely bag them (tip: turn spider crabs upside down and the tend to pull their legs in).
- easy to loose (dark, drab colours)
- hard to find (except in SA)

 

[Mr. X]

Lidl's dive bag

I've been using this fine-mesh bag for a couple of years or more now. It is surprisingly robust and effective, especially for crabs.

Description:

Once or twice a year the German-based supermarket, now common across Europe, sell basic diving & fishing gear - often at low prices. Their dive bag, usually offered in blue or hi-viz orange is a popular item. It has a much finer mesh than the RA bag and a "softer handle". It actually has large, plastic purse-style opening, with a simple thumb lock.

Strengths:

- Inexpensive
- Clasp opening remains open unaid yet closes securely
- Crabs do not as easily entwine themselves in the fine mesh
- good size when open, compact when rolled up (tip: attach a string loop to the bottom & use that to fold the bag in half, when in the water).
- lightweight

Weakness:

- simple thumb-lock is actually a nuisance, making the bag difficult to open one handed (e.g. if you have a crab in hand) and could usefully be removed and discarded.
- a little smaller than the RA bag
- less robust too
- less compact.
- only available for one or two weeks a year in most Lidls (although some other stores carry the same product, albeit at a higher price usually)

 

[Mr. X]

Imersion Shellfish bag

In truth, I have only just got this, so it has not yet seen action. I have high hopes for it though.

Description:

Medium mesh, black bag bug the top section is not mesh but nylon sheet. It has a purse-style clasp, like the Lidl's bag except made of coated metal bar. The clasp has a simple spring metal clip to lock it closed. It has an extra big/tough-looking triangular, nylon clip-in point sewn into the back - a handy/clever feature that I had not expected.

Strengths:

- Love the nylon top, presumably designed specifically to stop crabs entangling themselves.
- strong metal clasp
- strong, simple metal clip.
- large (much larger than I expected from the pictures), probably between the 2 above bags in size.
- the big/strong plastic clip-in point in the back mean that the bag can be suspended from your float while left open for loading (e.g. scallops).

Weaknesses:

- The metal clasp makes the bag surprisingly heavy - not good when you are used to practically weightless, fold up bags for long walk-ins.
- little metal lock clip is a bit too springy and I suspect it will go flying off at some point - no great loss it is unnecessary (when I close the bag, can be hung by the handles in a karabiner, holding it closed.

 

[Mr. X]

A couple of other design (these are from apnea.co.uk):
https://www.apnea.co.uk/index.php?cPath=1_34&osCsid=3192555a1b034d9d70d6d1d4ccdf0fbc

The latter is similar to the bag that came "free" with some inexpensive but quite good Speedo snorkeling fins I bought when starting out snorkeling again. The fin bag is quite large and the draw cord can be used as a shoulder strap once drawn tight.

 

[Mr. X]

I buy a new pair of diving boots from a locale dive shop every year & by chance they come in a really nice net bag, just the right size for a lobster or 6 scallops.

Quite small then. I was thinking of getting one of those little net soap(?) bags used in some washing machines (everyone seems reluctant to give them up) as a chum/bait bag to hang from my float - I guess I have to make do with speared fish (and maybe gut them in the water, a la ScottWilson - lucky we don't have shark problems in the UK).

 

[Mr. X]

Hypothetical Bounty Bag - a small, tough non-mesh bag?

I often find small items of bounty while diving. Interesting shells, rocks sometimes but usually fishing lures, lead weights and break-away rigs. Larger items sometimes go in the bag but too often the item has hooks and so is prone to snag before properly secured & often shaken free before landing; I've lost too many items this way.

I've been toying with the idea of taking a small non-mesh/non-net bag with me for such items, especially fishing lures & rigs with hooks. I was thinking of something like a small but very tough zip-lock bag. Maybe like those clear pencil cases that you sometimes see in art-shops/W. H. Smiths? Another possibility is the tough bags used to hold coffee beans - the super tough ones I have access to are a bit too big for my needs (do fish like the smell of coffee?).

 

[omega3]

Mine is home made from some sardine fishing net from a body recovery job of a sunken trawler a while back. Should last another 20 years if not forever. All the uses for the net I recovered...great stuff!