You would be better checking with local fisherman. I remember we used to attach a small anchor to the rope not a stone in the pot?

The correct answer to your question depends entirely on where in the country you reside and where you intend to fish for crab. Each coastal state and province has its own rules and regulations and you should consult with your area game and fish department before taking the word from someone not familiar with the actual regulations in force in your region of the continent. Most of the states I have crabbed in require pots left out overnight to have proper ID names or numbers clearly posted on the marking buoys so you can be checked out or notified when there may be a problem with your pots. As for leaving them overnight, that depends on the size of the pot and the location. In an Oregon setting, my son and I put out three pots and pulled them about every twenty minutes or so compared to seven pots put out and left overnight by four other guys. Not only did we have more legal crab, but we also had a couple larger ones than they. In addition, they lost one of their pots to the tide or to thieves. Check your phone book for the nearest state agency controlling and enforcing the fishing regs for your area and see what they tell you. You can be sure they will not mislead you. In here, I doubt that any less knowledgeable among us will know enough to give you the best advice you want and deserve.

I am lucky and need no weight where I sport crab. But please use cotton string on the escape hatches on your pots , so if you do loose one they do not keep trapping forever. The cotton string rots away.