frozen crab

[olly30]

hi all, just been to my local tackle shop (mainly freshwater) just to see if they sell any frozen sea baits. sell the usual mackerel, sandeel, black lug etc. was surprised to hear they sold frozen swimmer crab, has anyone used this before, i've used normal frozen peelers before, but not these. want to realy know if there as good as i've heard. any input would be appreciated, thanx

[MainBassMan]

Stick with peelers mate - NO comparison!!!

[macky]

there guff

 

although some people rate them

[olly30]

cheers, sounds like i'm better off saving my cash, it was only because i just don't have the time to collect my own. also, when i go home to anglesey the peeler season is so short there, bugger !

[spanner]

I tried them recently and did take fish on them, much better than better than no crab at all.

[Jaffa]

Glad you said that spanner as I just bought a trial pack from the local chinese supermarket yesterday.... , that, a kilo of indian mackeral, baby octopus, cuttlefish and two kinds of squid. Im just not safe near their freezers

[olly30]

jaffa, could you let me know how you get on with the crabs, want to see if anyone else thinks they're any good

[Andy MacBog]

I think that the swimmers are OK too!

 

I usually fish two rods and experiment a bit with baits and while I agree with MainBassMan that your bog-standard peeler is best, the swimmers do up your catch rate beyond just lug alone. Fishing crab and lug on a pennel the coddies always seem to go for the swimmer crab end (the smaller fish anyway - hard to tell exactly which bit of bait their larger mouthed brethren were after).

 

I have always found sea fish funny as to how they are so fussy. Its amazing the difference a crab bait can make compared to say mackerel. The sea can appear empty when fishing mackerel but then put a crab on and it appears to be full of fish. Why are they so fussy ... surely a big lump of makerel is as good as anyhting when you are in a shoal and competing for food!?

 

Andy

[phil dean]

i always assumed that it was alot to do with smell, certain chemical released by the crabs may travel further and therebye have more chance of pulling in fish.

[Andy MacBog]

Yes!

 

I quite agree Phil but when you have what appears to be a big shoal in your gulley surely one fish must stumble across the mackerel, even by chance, and gulp it down. But it does not seem to work that way .... they'll gobble down your crab bait and leave the mackerel one ... (although I do think that the smaller cod like mackereal).

 

Its handy though ... two rods is obviously a bit much when you have a shoal moving around in your patch!

 

Maybe its just a case of preference? I'd rather have a jammy sandwich over mashed turnip any day!

 

In zoological foraging theory it is assumed that organisms have some idea of the calorific value of foods (and they do appear to, odd as it may seem) but even this does not give us an answer as there could not be too much difference between the two baits .... and why turn your nose up at any calorific intake at all? A second to snatch a mackerel bait off the sea bed is still going to give you calorific credit!

 

Any ideas .... or am I off on one?

 

Andy

 

Andy

 

[ 20. January 2005, 01:29 PM: Message edited by: Andy MacBog ]