Peeler Crab ??????????????

Member Joined: Jan 17, 2007 Posts: 36 Location: essex

some advice on peelers please
are they easy to catch/find yourself
when buying them are they frozen or fresh or both

Posted: Sat Feb 10, 2007 6:12 pm

Best to ask Blakdog about this mate.......
You can visit the club news section forum and see a post in there about bait.
you can download a free booklet all about the different baits.
It's in pdf format, which means you will need Adobe Reader to be able to view it.
Adobe Reader is free to download at the following link.....
http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html

But as I said, pm blakdog, he'll telll you all about them......

Guest

booboo,

As far as finding peelers are concerned, they are not hard at all to find. You don't seem to catch them as such in baited traps simply because they don't tend to feed very much when they are going through the peeling process, which is hormone driven. Peeling is the crabs way of growing - it's shell is it's skeleton and therefore when its body mass gets to a certain size it no longer fits its skeleton and grows a new soft shell inderneath the hard one. When it is properly developed the crab takes in an abnormal amount of water and swells its inner body which in turn "pops" the outer shell open and the crab climbs out of the back. To make the new shell hard the crab cuts off the blood supply to the new shell and after 24 - 48 hours the new shell begins to go hard.

The best time to look for them (in the east where I live) is between May and August, although you can extend each end of the season by a month if its warm. Softies and crispies, recently peeled crabs, are easy to find simply by looking for very "fresh" looking specimens and touch. Peelers require a certain tequnique. If you hold the crab so it can't nip you you take a firm hold of the last segment of any leg (I usually use the back one with the flattened end segment) and twist firmly until the segment comes off. If there is nothing or a white looking peice of muscle hanging, the crab is not a peeler. If it is a peeler you will see a soft end segment when you remove the hard shell - once you find one it will be obvious.

When looking for peelers remember that they need shelter from the sun and dampness - under rocks, in pools and amongst seaweed are all good places to look......but remember to leave things as you found them and to return unwanted hardbacks safely - they are next weeks peelers.

You can buy peelers fresh or frozen but frozen are probably better for the novice as they are already peeled and simply need to be defrosted before use. Fresh peelers generally have to be "brought on"....that is put in a fridge and kept cool in a little water until they are ready to use....that being just as the crab starts to swell and cracks the back of its shell. Often if you keep your peelers in the fridge for a few days and then take them out, put them in a full tub of sea water and let them warm up you will find that they will all be ready to use within a couple of hours.

If you are going to have a go you need to remember a few golden rules: -
Crabs need constant water to breath, when on dry land they absorb oxygen from moisture trapped in their gills - if their gills dry out they suffocate. If you store them in a fridge make sure there is a little water in the bottom of the tub (about 1cm).

However you are going to keep them, check them frequently - to peel crabs need to be at least 75% immersed in water or the process doesn't work. Failed peelers generally die very quickly and soon kill off the whole bucket-load.

Many anglers freeze peelers that pop too early - to do this you need to ensure that you take off all of the hard shell and both the old and the new gills, which are situated on either side of the crab. If you leave any in the crab will be attacked by a freezer bacteria which will turn your frozen bait into a useless skinfull of black mush.

Sorry, probably left you with a whole load more questions but it is a bit of subject! Theres a link below to a very good site on the subject....with loads of pictures. All I can suggest is that you have a go and personal message me if you have any other queries. Not sure where you are, but if you are anywhere near me in Essex I could arrange a meet on the mud later in the year if you wanted some practical help.

http://web.ukonline.co.uk/aquarium/diary/pages/baitarena/peelercrab.html

As an aside most people won't know the reason why Edible Crabs grow much bigger than the common shore crab - the simple reason is peeling limitations. Edibles have no limits on the number of peels they can execute so can continue growing in size right through their life - shore crabs are limited to around 13 - 15 peels in their lifetime. Once they get a certain size thats it!

Hope this helps.

Guest

Blakdog

Thanks for that post - very enlightening.
I know your offer was aimed at the original question but I'd defintiely be intersted in meeting later in the year to look for peelers.I'm itching to try for a decent bass this year and want to try with peelers.

Cheers

Stuartdv

Guest

No problems - I've always found that peeler picks up the schoolies and doesn't really get the bigger ones so i prefer big Rag baits or calamari. Gonna try some frozen sandeel this yaer as well. Peeler generally does get something though - we'll hook up when the sun comes out again.

Guest

Cheers- look forward to it
nght night all

Guest

blakdog wrote:

No problems - I've always found that peeler picks up the schoolies and doesn't really get the bigger ones

Most of my big bass this year were either caught on peeler, softies or jelly crabs., and im talking I had loads between 5lb and 8lb.

Member Joined: Jan 17, 2007 Posts: 36 Location: essex

cheers mate
makes interesting reading
certainly be up for meeting in the summer
i am in braintree

Guest

rocket wrote:

blakdog wrote:

No problems - I've always found that peeler picks up the schoolies and doesn't really get the bigger ones

Most of my big bass this year were either caught on peeler, softies or jelly crabs., and im talking I had loads between 5lb and 8lb.

Lucky you, most of us consider one Bass that size a good season! The problem round here (in an Estuary) with peeler has always been the Eels - they love peeler....put a big peeler bait on a big hook and you generally spend the day missing school Bass and Eel bites....which gets a bit frustrating 8O

I consider myself exceptionally lucky to have managed two double figure Bass in thirty years of fishing hard for them. The one off the shore came to King Rag and the one off the boat came to whole Calamari. If you are catching big stuff on peelers etc then go for it.....whatever works for you.

Booboo - a meet in the summer is on, don't forget your wellies :lol:

Guest

blakdog wrote:

rocket wrote:

blakdog wrote:

No problems - I've always found that peeler picks up the schoolies and doesn't really get the bigger ones

Most of my big bass this year were either caught on peeler, softies or jelly crabs., and im talking I had loads between 5lb and 8lb.

Lucky you, most of us consider one Bass that size a good season! The problem round here (in an Estuary) with peeler has always been the Eels - they love peeler....put a big peeler bait on a big hook and you generally spend the day missing school Bass and Eel bites....which gets a bit frustrating 8O

I consider myself exceptionally lucky to have managed two double figure Bass in thirty years of fishing hard for them. The one off the shore came to King Rag and the one off the boat came to whole Calamari. If you are catching big stuff on peelers etc then go for it.....whatever works for you.

Booboo - a meet in the summer is on, don't forget your wellies :lol:

April/May using crab on Southend Pier is dynamite if you know where to fish them, then normally May/June/July i fish crab in the Red or Shivery Towers, dont really have much luck anywhere else.
My Best day last year on Crab was in the Towers, and we probably had 70 fish between 4 and 9lb ,with me catching 30 of these fish andd my biggest being just under 9lb. But we did have better days on livebait :twisted:

Guest

Very nice too. Some friends of mine do well when weather permits the distance, on various wrecks on the Knock - generally they fish pirks and redgills, though the driver of the boat reckons its more to do with getting on the wreck than what bait you use with the resident shoals of Bass.

Fishing my local "ditch" is a different kettle of fish....the Bass don't stop in one place too long and range right accross the Estuary over the tide, generally pushing out before the water gets too low. When they are working the surface you can actually see them moving in and out of the River. If you want to target Bass of any size on my local saltings you need a bait that other fish will avoid, or that can withstand their unwanted attention while you wait for the Bass to move past and the Calamari fits the bill. Late in the season, on the big night tides, the King Ragworm can't be bettered - the Eels are thinning out and generally the hour either side of high tide will do the business.

I'm looking forward to the summer already :lol:

Guest

I fished the Colne alot last year and had lots of bass, but nothing bigger than 3lbs. There were bass caught as far as the Hythe in Colchester until a guy decided to gill net it. I caught bass at Rowhedge, near the pub, but you do have to give way to boats regularly. Ragworm was top bait, but I know of a double figure fish that was caught on peeler. I have been asked to keep the exact place a secret, but I'm sure that blakdog has fished there more than once. He may even know about it.

Guest

If its where I'm thinking of there have been a few come out on lures, although I've only seen small ones come out.......it's pretty obvious to anyone who's down by the river that the Bass are moving right up because of the gulls, and there is no doubt that there are a lot more about over recent years. I tend to have a pilgrimage early September with Trev and we have always managed one or two between us without fail.

Guest

I even managed a just sizable bass or two out of the Roman River. I was so close in that the leader knot was 5 or 6 feet out of the water.

Guest

Do you need a leader on a Roach Pole?
:lol: :lol: :lol: