Hardback Crabs

[wellyfish]

never fished with hardbacks but have caught bass that have been full of them when gutted

[Greenheart]

I've only used em for wrasse. I just nick a small crab through the back of the shell with a large sharp hook. I've heard Veals Varivas piggyback hooks work well too. Just push the spike into the shell & hold in place with bait elastic.

[JuanPablo]

ok... i have some piggback hooks. so effectively then fishing the crab live.
thanks

[Lookfar]

Originally Posted by JuanPablo

sorry to restart a really old thread but has anyone actually fished with hardbacks?
im wondering how to present them? would you shell them like a peeler crab or not?!

Off the boat, we just run a good strong 3/0 or 4/0 in through the rear leg socket and out through the opposite socket. The crab will stay alive OK like that unless there are small whelk around and a decent hound will take even a huge shore crab. I also add a small flag of squid on the South Coast as some days down here the hounds are fixated on squid. A booby bead does no harm either, a few inch above the hook.

I also had a go with live hardbacks in the Bristol Channel, off the Ivystone near Porlock Wier. No sign of hounds but the crabs were stripped off the hooks in minutes so I'd guess the wrasse were having a go.

Steve

[Fisherdan]

i have been using hard backs for a while, havnt had a single bite on them. and also when i split the crab in half and put all the peices up the hook and bait elastic it all... when i reel it in all what comes out is the shell is there any way i can still use these without all the juice coming out??

[ray hunter]

Al at bells of Hythe had his biggest hound off of hill head from a small craft on a live small hardback crab. A 22lb fish I think!
The difficulty is from shore casting a hardback as the impact on the cast and hitting the water will kill the crab or smash it to pieces and the bait coming off.
Im going to try nicking the crab through the leg socket and putting a small crab into a dvice.
The idea being the impact wont kill the crab and will sit on the bottom live, as I suppose as there hardback crab is not leaking much sent into the tide and if it was dead would have little attractant to entice a smoothound.
As Smoothounds are small sharks and probably have the same sensor array as other larger sharks the electro impulse and at visual range the movement of a live crab would be the attractant as apposed to the strong scent trail from a dead peeler? This might help weed out the bigger specimens instead of wading through small pups?
Im probably wrong but Im going to try this theory this summer and experiment with hardbacks as they are cheap and very easy to come by and not to mention fun as well!

Cheers Mark

[Portland Pirate]

I have fished for Smuts using Hardback, Hermit's and peeler. I have found that combining peeler and Hardback is the best bait from the shore for Smuts. Hermit being the least favoured from the shore, but fantastic from the boat.

I use hardbacks on their own for BIG Wrasse around Portland. Having used hardbacks a lot I hope this information will help you.
The best Hardbacks are Velvet swimmers. They are the ones that look like they have flippers on their legs. (hopefully someone can provide a pic). I find the best way to use them is rip legs and back shell off them. Cut them in half, then using a 4/0 Cox & Rawle crab hook or an O' Shaunesey come in through the front leg socket and out the back one. Then add the other half if fishing for Wrasse or a half a peeler for Smuts. It certainly sorts the big boys out.

Hope this helps.

[NICK R]

I only use Hard backs .I have never seen a crab ready peeled ,nor i guess has a fish ,apart from the ones that we present tothem