CRAB

Green Shore Crab, Peelers, Soft backs.

We all know these crabs as bait robbing crustaceans but in their moulting phase they become one of the best baits around for Bass and Cod and most other fish.

The shore crab is found all around the coast, in muddy estuaries, off beaches, under rocks even in brackish waters. When the crab needs to shed its shell it becomes very vulnerable so the crab will hide up until it has shed its shell and the new one has hardened.

Peelers are easy to tell first if you look at the back of carapace (the back of the crab) and its being to split or if you snap the end off the leg there will be a new one still attached inside. If it just snaps right off them put it back for another day

Soft backs are even easier to identify as they are soft and bendy

How to present Crab

• Hard back crabs can be used for Wrasse but we don’t get many of the off East Anglia.
• Soft backs can hooked through the soft shell or wiped to the hook bait elastic
• Peelers now these can be messy, first pull of the legs and claws and put them to one side. Next carefully peel off the back trying not to tear it. Then peel the underside removing all the shell, finally remove and discard the gills they are gray frilly things.
• Larger peelers can be wiped onto a pennel rig  smaller one wiped to a single 2/0 hook alone or as a cocktail with worm baits or even stuffed into a small squid then mounted and wiped onto a pennel rig.
• Now while waiting for that bite you can peel all those legs and claws they make great flatfish bait.

Hermit Crabs

These can be an effective bait for flatfish especially it areas where there are an abundance of hermit crabs  

Warning

Apart from the danger of being bit by the crab beware of glass when putting your hand into muddy crevices and other people’s traps.

Remember that it’s illegal to take undersize edible crabs so don’t use them as bait.