The 1970s was a boom era for King Crab fishing in Alaska. Each season thousands of crab pots were built, repaired and converted.
During harsh storms, crab fishermen and local workers retreated to a building's 'loft' to cut line, drill bait jugs and build crab pot doors.
While doing this work they often told stories of survival-- chopping ice off boats to keep afloat and high winds that made fishing nearly impossible. The 'loft' talk brought the townspeople and the fishermen together.
The modern day 'loft' is still a refuge from the storm where family, friends and neighbors sit around beach fires and tell stories--minus the work:)
The pots used for local crab fishing do not take the abuse of the sturdy ones used for commercial fishing in Alaska. The Alaskan fishermen use machinery to haul up 7 foot square pots stuffed with up to 100 King crabs with a total weight of 700 pounds!
Today's pots weigh 15 pounds and and can be pulled from the bottom by hand. The smaller pots do share some features with the big ones including a bridle system. The rope on the small pots is 5/16" instead of 3/4".The doors are easier to open. But the result is the same--all the crab you can eat in just a few hours.
Whether fishing in the deep cold waters of the Bering Sea or off the shores of Puget Sound, it's still a thrill to set an empty pot on the ocean floor, pull it up into the boat and reap the rewards.
