Crabology 101: All about crabs and bait

[J Barbosa]

That zombie crab is better known as a Dungeness crab. They are a west coast crab and not native to the east coast unless your in a supermarket.

And in case you are wondering...yes they are delicious

[baitstealer]

Thanks for the great info here. Was wondering about how crabs shed and if the new or the full moon is a better time for that. Any advice for getting them while they are soft shell? thanks

[clamchucker]

I used to rake them a long time ago. I found that they shed better on the full moon. Some do shed on the new moon as well. If you are looking for soft shells it is best to get them while they are tinbacks and just starting. I would try a few days before the full moon. They are easier and less fragile to handle this way. Then you put them in a saltwater tank and wait until they are fully soft.

[clamchucker]

Here are some other threads on fishing crabs. You might want to take a look at them.

http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/...m-irresistible
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/...abs-sand-fleas

[hookset]

Yes apparently it is a lost art. My uncle did that in the 70's. Got a lot of big fish at night in the summer. From what I remember it was a lot of work though. He had 2 separate salwater tanks he used to keep them in. The second it looked like a crab was going to shed he had to separate it into the shedder tank. Thanks for sharing clamchucker brought back some good memories.

[jigfreak]

Good read on calico and jonah crabs by Jay Mann of LBI at www.theSandpaper.net

From a scientific angle, I can see the LBI replenishment sands ravaging the surfline crab population. Jetty-based species, such as rock and Jonah crabs, had their worlds sanded under. But far more ecologically significant, the calico crabs (Ovalipes ocellatus), aka lady crabs, had the world cave in on them – beneath up to 10 feet of sand.

Calico crabs are one of the most common foodstuff for bass, based on countless stomach content studies. Might it be that stripers, which habitually venture into the surfline to load up on calicos, moved in for a customary meal but found a barren bottom, compliments of freshly dredged sand? Being crafty consumers, they would have quickly zipped seaward to go after bait balls and any deeper-water crustaceans.

If my crabby theory holds true, it could take some time for the bass-attracting nearshore crabs to return. But return they will. Crustaceans are kick-*** when it comes to repopulating after taking a numbers-knocking hit, especially when not being heavily harvested by humans. Calicos have no yum-yum, eat-’em-up value.

As repopulating evidence, there was a hubbub in Harvey Cedars when the initial replenishment seemingly killed off the much-adored sandcrab population. And they were, indeed, gone. I checked. And they stayed gone for maybe a year or two. But, apparently, not all of them perished since they came back with a vengeance, soon recovering to a point of eeriness. A couple summers back, the wet sand of Harvey Cedars came alive with katrillions of sandcrabs, so thick underfoot if felt like the sand itself was wiggling about.

Trivia: Did you know sandcrabs run backwards after you dig them up? Yep.

The sandcrab bounce-back reflects a population pendulum effect, which comes about after a highly-reproductive species is suddenly and drastically reduced. I’ll wager that calico crabs can perform just such a bountiful bounce-back, which might coax bass back to traditional, near-beach crab-fests.

As for jetty-based rock and Jonah crabs, their return is on rocky ground. While many plowed under jetties will return to some degree, recruits to repopulate those rocks, i.e. survivors from the replenishment, will be in short supply. Any long-term recovery for such jetty/rock-based species will likely come from free-floating crab larvae.

[jigfreak]

I remember some of you guys talking about crabs this summer. never did the raking thing, but I tried to pay attention on the beaches when I noticed a lot of them washed up. I did not see much of that this year. Any thoughts from you guys?

[finchaser]

Beach replenishment