Turning hardback crabs into peelers ?????

[pingu]

Hi all
with the smoothie & bass season not too far away now and peeler crab being the best bait, stocks round here start getting in short supply( I:e rocking horse droppings are easier to find some weeks), and I have yet to have any great success on frozen crab.

I know i have read that somewhere that if you get hardback crabs( kids enjoy crabbing at docks so easy to get them here ) that it is possible to get them to become peelers at home, but cant remember what i need to do

I do have a bait fridge( as long as shift some of the beer from it )

any advise gladly taken

cheers

dave

[Gremlin]

Don't know of anyone who regularly keeps hardbacks waiting for them to peel, although I knew one enterprising Welshman who had a set of tanks in his garage which enabled him to bring on brown crabs; but then they are fully aquatic and die if removed from water for any length of time.
It was also illegal to keep/take undersized brown crabs!

Best bet with green shore crabs is to take those going a bit grey or a tiny crack around the back of the carapace. Keep these slightly immersed in buckets or suitable containers (+weed, which you need to change every day and an inch or two of water). If kept at around 16 deg, they usually 'pop' within a day or two.

Don't forget that for smoothhounds, small hardbacks are pretty effective, although you limit your by-catch.

[Portland Pirate]

Hi Pingu.

I have seen this question raised so many times on so many forum's and the final outcome is always the same. You either have to go out there and try and find them yourself. A bit easier in the next 6 weeks than at any other time. Or you have to dig deep and pay for them. You can be rest assured that if the professional bait suppliers could bring peeler crabs on economically and sell them to me and thee, then they would have done so years ago.

As I am such a lazy git, it is down into my extremely long Scottish pockets to fork out the many shillings for the best bait in the country.

[nickthenovice]

Hi Gremlin, whats the best way of hooking hard backs? I 've never used them in this state but as I am out to target smoothies this year it would be very useful to know.

Also do Bull Huss take them readily?

[Portland Pirate]

Hi Nick.

I am not sure how other people use them but the way I have found them most effective is the following:

Rip the legs and top shell off. Cut in half then thread a strong shanked hook in through the first leg opening and out through the last. This is the best way I have found for Wrasse. I also use it when I use it in combo with peeler for Smuts, it sorts the big boys out. I have never had any success as a solo bait for smuts, so it may not be the best method for them.

[nickthenovice]

Thanks mate

[pingu]

cheers guys

will just try the hardbacks as is then and go for paying


dave

[welsh wizzard]

for anyone whos thinking of keeping crab this has to be the best site ive found.

http://www.whitbyseaanglers.co.uk/ke...eler-crabs.php

[Gremlin]

Hi Gremlin, whats the best way of hooking hard backs?

Shonzy and I have had smoothies on all the usual E Solent beach marks on hardbacks.

Use smaller crabs to get more takes; use 3"+ crabs to pick out the bigger ones. The advantage of using small hardbacks (besides cost!) is that the small bream will leave them alone, while they'll strip a juicy 75p peeler like pirhanas!

Pulling the top shells off hardbacks is not advised as breaks up the crab into bits. OK, maybe for dropiing into a rocky mark for wrasse, but useless for smuts.

Two or three thumbnail sized crabs threaded through the rear pair of leg sockets secures them pretty well. I tend to whip the legs/body around the shank like this ... (sorry about the graphics!)



The only other species I've had take hardbacks was a greedy tub gurnard!
For bull huss, stick to fish baits.

[nickthenovice]

Thanks very much for that, excellent info!