Octopus Traps

I reached out to the Scientist that conducted the survey and got his final paper.  Sounds like lair pots are my best option and are cheapest to make.  He also sent instructions on how to construct the pots.  I have attached the PDF in case others are interested.  I will be making 2 lair pots that i can test out on the outback.  Hoping to get soak times of 24 hours to 7 days.  Looking forward to testing this out.  I doubt i will catch much but it will be a fun test for the next year.

ZachDennis Octopus Hunter... coming to animal planet hopefully soon. Can’t wait to hear about the results.

I purchased the wood to make one today and will post pictures once it is created.   Best time in the survey was spring and late fall.  So i hope to test it out soon.  Will definitly be bringing it to whatever type of ORC event is put together this year.

This is what I imagine you would do (see attached file), I would drill bigger hole 1/2 to 1" close to the opening, and also drill along the bottom edge too.

This is what I imagine you would do (see attached file), I would drill bigger hole 1/2 to 1" close to the opening, and also drill along the bottom edge too.

This is essentially what several of the designs i have seen.  Yesterday i reached out to a biologist working for the University of Alaska sent me the attached.  It has 1/2 inch slots on all sides so it can properly drain.  I am thinking of doing a 12x12x24 with a 6x6 opening.  See attached.  I bought the wood and hope to get in constructed shortly.  I learned from the studies i pulled that the best time is in the Spring in Fall.  Researches had a significant high catch rate in October/November  There is a longhsot i may try them out while fishing on Monday as it is entering Spring.

Alaska spring and fall might be significantly different timeframe than Oregon spring/fall,  just a thought.  Go for it,  what's the worst that can happen,  a skunk, lol

Haha I expect to be skunked with this one. It’s more out of curiosity and a why not try kind of idea.

You'll want to carry a burlap or other mesh bag big enough to hold said critter until dispatched. As you found out last year, they are some sticky slippery critters.  Using a burlap bag over your arm/hand, you can grab the Kraken without it being able to grab you back.

I can vouch for this from personal experience. A big one will come after you if you grab them & don't contain &/or dispatch them quickly.

I did some looking around & came up with this: http://neptunemarineproducts.com/traps-fin-fish/

Octopus – The escape artist of the ocean. Capable of escaping most pot designs, octopus are difficult to catch…..unless they enter a pot with Neptune Triggers. In the Alaska cod pot fishery, octopus is a common bycatch in pots rigged with Neptune Triggers. The ones that are commonly caught are the larger ones that are too big to escape through the pot’s netting.

Around the world, octopus are fished using what Capt. Neptune likes to refer to as ‘habitat’ pots. Fishermen will fish thousands of these pots hoping that octopus will have taken up residence. Clay pots are often used to create this ‘temporary home’ for Mr. Octopus. All in all, not a very efficient pot due to the lack of any retention devices. Enter Capt. Neptune and his variety of trigger applications. Instead of relying on the older style habitat pots, Neptune came up with an idea that will help retain octopus in a variety of pot designs. Using Neptune’s long or short finger units that are closer spaced than the regular finger units in the cod pot fishery, the Capt. cut the tips of the fingers into sharp points. These sharp points will not bother the octopus from entering the pot. Trying to escape through these pointed fingers is another story. Octopus are sensitive critters and will probably be unwilling to try to escape due the pain coming from the trigger’ pointed fingers. How many fishermen are using this method to catch octopus? At this time, the answer is none. The Capt. thinks it offers the promise of changing the way fishermen target octopus with pots. Just waiting for the right fishermen to give it a try! Below are some pictures of triggers with the pointed fingers mounted on a wire mesh pot covered with landscape fabric to create the dark enclosure that octopus like. These triggers could easily be used on wood slat octopus pots as well.

I asked Capt. Neptune for recommendations for trap & trigger designs for limited deck space & sent them the link to this discussion. It will be interesting to see how they respond.

Hey PNW. Thank you very much. This is great information. I am hoping they respond. I am definitly going to try targeting them this year.

Here is the one from this summer.

The one I pulled up was on top of my crab trap. I grabbed it by a couple of it's arms as it wrapped a couple other arms under & up the other side of my yak & started tugging to get loose. I clamped down tighter so it couldn't slide through my hands. As soon as I did that, it looked me in the eye & started climbing up my arms toward me. I didn't like the way the scenario was developing so I loosened my grip. As soon as I did, it slipped back into the depths. I'd guess it was about the size of the one Zach got.

I saw this thread and it caught my attention.  Do you guys think that the wide mouth jugs that the Costco brand washing machine pods come in would be about the right size?  Some weights and drain holes might make it work out.  I'm really curious to try this now, but don't want to put any money into it......because I'm cheap.

It may work for juveniles but i dont think it would be large enough for the larger ones.  Test it out though.  Make sure to drop it over sand as these traps will not work in rocky areas.

Hey PNW. Thank you very much. This is great information. I am hoping they respond. I am definitly going to try targeting them this year.

Zach - Did you make a trap?

Hey PNW. Thank you very much. This is great information. I am hoping they respond. I am definitly going to try targeting them this year.

Zach - Did you make a trap?

Yes I did and they did respond.  The sent me triggers for the traps and some glow in the dark attractants.  They sent me enough triggers to create a few test ones.  It is pretty rudimentry.  I will post pictures when i get a phone.  Mine was stolen last week.