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The Seattle Times
Sunday, August 17,
2003 - Page updated at 12:00 A.M.
Outdoors
Notebook: Gadget
lets crabbers cast from shore with fishing rod
By Mark
Yuasa
Seattle Times staff reporter
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Steve DeMars of Aberdeen, with a nice
catch of crabs at Hoodsport in Hood Canal.
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Dungeness crab are one
of the best-tasting sea creatures in Puget Sound and Hood Canal, but usually the
productive spots are only accessible by boat.
Now that has changed
with an invention called the CrabHawk, which allows a shore-bound angler to
crab while fishing at the same time.
"Using a
medium-action rod with a sensitive tip and spinning-reel combo with braided
50-pound or heavier test fishing line, you cast and drop the CrabHawk out to
where the big ones lay," said Steve DeMars Jr. of Aberdeen, who owns the
family-run business with his father Steve Sr. of Lincoln City, Ore.
DeMars Jr. said he
recommends using the heavier braided fishing line so a full CrabHawk won't
break your line off from the pole.
The CrabHawk has two
stainless-steel, rectangular-winged frames. The wings are attached in the
center to a stainless-steel bait post with two springs that keep the mesh
open after it settles on the bottom right-side up.
"Once a crab
starts eating on the bait you can actually see the pole twitching,"
DeMars Jr. said. "The crabber then reels in the line and pulls the net
wings up, trapping the crabs and keeping constant pressure so the net doesn't
open before it gets to the surface."
DeMars Jr. said the
CrabHawk can be cast out as far as 125 feet from shore. Being able to cast so
far means that anglers can use it from shore or from boats.
"I've gotten a
lot of people hooked on the invention," DeMars Jr. said. "At first
they'll look at me kind of strange, but once they see it work they want to
know how to get their hands on one."
Since last August,
DeMars Jr. said he has sold about 4,500 CrabHawks, which retail in stores for
$19.95 to $26. They are available at most G.I. Joe's stores or through
Cabelas Catalog. You can also order by mail to: CrabHawk, P.O. Box 1010, Gleneden Beach, Ore., 97388. Cost by mail is
$24.95, and includes shipping and handling. Their Web site is www.crabhawk.com.
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