crab baits

[magelite]

believe it or not i have never used crab ever angling can anyone recommend what i should use and is frozen crab any good.

[IDPearl]

Depending on where you buy the crab from, the quality will vary. I have had frozen crab that has been frozen down as soon as the shell started to pop and it was excellent. Then again, I bought some frozen crab in Wales and it stank when it was defrosted.

Some will say fresh will outfish frozen, but sometimes, the fish will eat anything!

You can get crab and bring them on to peel, by raising the water temp and changing the water daily to get rid of decayed food. It's a bit of work though and I've not actually tried it yet because of the work involved!

[blowin]

Hi Maglite . Hope I'm not telling you what you already know - As you'll gather from IdPearl's response you'd normally be talking Peelers or Softback . These are any type of crab which is about to or has just shed its shell around mating season . Excellent bait for many species . Normally need sherring elastic to keep them on .
I've never used hardbacks but believe they are OK for a limited No of species - can't remember which . I'm sure someone will tell you .
Good luck
nick

[dillon_the_rabbit]

Hi Maglite.

Following on from Blowin's post, hardbacks are nearly exclusively used for wrasse. They can be dynamite for the bigger fish. Having said that, in the South East of the UK, ie kent, a lot of guys use hermit crab (with the 'borrowed' shell removed) for smoothies with huge success. I have heard some people say that a hermit crab is a good alternative for a peeler, as the smaller fish will leave them well alone, and being a live crab, other crabs will tend to leave it alone.

I cant say I have ever tried this though, I've only ever caught smoothies on them.

Good luck what ever you decide to use.

Cheers

Matt