Make sure any weed is always left showing on the top, and not underneath a rock because it quickly turns into a smelly gooey mess, which prevents anything from seeking shelter. I’m happy to forage along the shoreline making sure that any rocks turned over are replaced in the original position. The general view is that traps belong to the person who set them but the crabs belong to anyone, however, I wouldn’t advise that you rob another man’s traps. I know of some anglers who turn up just after high water where their traps are and wait for the tide to ebb just in case anyone else gets there first. Some anglers might have several hundred traps and they are jealously guarded against thieves. They are hard work to set up, but, once installed, they can produce a regular supply of crabs throughout the summer and in some regions even in the winter. By placing traps in this type of environment the crabs are almost obliged to seek refuge in them because there is nowhere else to go. The best place to do this is in sheltered harbours or muddy estuaries where there is not too much natural cover for the crabs to hide. Alternatively, you can actively trap crabs by placing sections of drainpipe or old car tyres along the shoreline. You can either scour a rocky shoreline by turning over boulders and weed and searching rocky crevices. There are two main ways to collect crabs. It is far better to find a crab actually in the pre-moulting stage before the hard shell is discarded, in this condition it is a ‘peeler’ and is a lot more effective as bait, because it is full of natural body juices and not inflated by excess sea water.Ī crab in the advanced stage of peeling and, inset, a soft back leg is revealed However, at this stage the crab is full of water, which it uses to pump itself up before the new shell hardens. If you find a crab in this soft stage it is a ‘softie’ and can be used for bait. This new shell takes time to harden, so to stay out of the way of predators it hides. Instead a soft shell forms under the old hard carapace and when the crab outgrows the old shell it discards it to reveal the new soft shell underneath. Crabs are crustaceans, their soft body being protected by a hard outer shell, which unfortunately, for the crab, doesn’t grow. There are moves to limit the collection of commons in the same area. There are a few other species that are also of interest to anglers, such as the edible and the increasingly common velvet swimming crab, both of which make an excellent bait if they can be obtained and kept alive in cool oxygenated seawater.Įdible crabs are subject to size limits, which vary from area to area and in the north-east region it is illegal to use them for bait. All crabs have ten legs, including the claws, and of all species the one that interests most anglers is the common shore crab (Carcinus maenas). The scientific way to measure a crab is across the back of the shell (carapace) from between the eyes to where the rear legs join. Wrasse are fond of crab baits and will even take a float-fished hardback. In other parts of the country the powerful scent given off by a crab will take smoothhounds, bass and rays. It’s a good bait for dabs if mounted on a small hook try a few peeled legs mounted as if they were worms on a small Aberdeen. Along my local North East coast peelers are seen as the top bait for cod and coalfish most of the year and for flounders and eels during the summer, particularly for fishing estuaries and rivers.Ī juicy crab will also tempt whiting, pouting and plaice. They are certainly not a license to catch fish and there are times when worms are a better hook bait. Peeler crabs are a must for most match anglers…for everyone else they are an enigma, being misunderstood and rarely used.
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