Crab Rigs

When chasing bream, wrasse, drummer, snapper and groper off the rocks, one of the baits that is not used as much as others is the humble crab. Rock anglers tend to use the red crab more than the brown or green crab.

In the estuaries you will easily find what I call spider or black rock crabs by turning over small rocks. In the estuaries you will also come across solider and other very small crabs. For the beach angler you should keep an eye out for the ghost crab that can be found in the sand.

What you will need to remember is that you need to check with your local Fisheries to see if you can use crabs as bait and what other rules and regulations relate to their use.

Most of the time when I am using crabs for bait they are dead. This stops them from crawling off into a hole and hiding from the fish. Off the rocks drummer, groper and bream can't seem to resist them and bream find them very tasty in the estuaries and bays.

Red crabs off the rocks seem to work the best for me when targeting drummer and groper. While the green and brown crabs will be taken by just about everything.

Technique 1

Crabs can be used whole or in pieces, depending on the bait size and the fish species that you are targeting. Crabs are a very hardy bait and when the bite happens it is usually a very aggressive one. Small crabs are mostly used whole, with the hook pushed through the body from the back of the crab.

Larger crabs can be cut in half, with the hook passing through the hole where one of the back legs was and then out through of the top of the shell near the front leg.

If you are fishing in the estuary, while using crabs, you could try using the running sinker down onto the top of the bait rig and cast it at the base of a set of mangroves. When fishing off the rocks you would be on the lookout for an area that has boulders or rock ledges to cast to.

Technique 2

Where do crabs live? In amongst the rocks of course! So, it makes sense to cast either an unweighted crab or slightly weight crab close to shore. Let the crab sink on a slack line, while at the same time keeping an eye out for any small movements in the line that is floating on the surface.

When you’re rigging up your bait, keep the crab alive. To do this you can place the hook through the side of the carapace, between the legs, and out through the centre of the underside of the shell.

If fishing off the ocean rocks, it is sometimes a good idea to suspend a lightly weighted crab under a bobby cork and let it wash around in the rocks.

Technique 3

Do you like a feed of blue swimmer crabs? I sure do! Have you ever thought of using them as a dead, cut bait in the estuaries for mulloway, flathead, cod, mangrove jack and any other fish species that don’t mind a feed of crabs?

Firstly, you need to humanely kill the crab. Once this has been done you can break off the top shell and the cut the body section in half. Much like you would when using red, brown or green crabs off the rocks.

It could be used while fishing with any of the following rigs: Running Sinker Rig, Hook and Running Sinker and the Paternoster Rig.

Combo Selection

Rods

Okuma Barbarian Spin Rods - BN-S-802NT - 8'0", 2-4kg Nibble Tip: Ideal for either out of the boat or off the shore in the estuary.

Okuma Barbarian Spin Rods - BN-S-902NT - 9'0", 2-6kg Nibble Tip: Ideal for either out of the boat or off the shore in the estuary, where you may need some extra length in the rod.

Okuma Barbarian Spin Rods - BN-S-1062NT - 10'6", 2-6kg Nibble Tip: Ideal for off the rocks when there is not a lot of ocean swell.

Okuma Barbarian Spin Rods - BN-S-1162NT - 11'6", 2-6kg Nibble Tip: Ideal for fishing off a breakwall or the rocks when you need that extra length to lift or wash the fish out.

Reels

Okuma Alaris Spin Reels – ALS-45 and ALS-55

Okuma JAW Spin Reels – JAW-45

Line

Platypus Platinum and Pulse Mono -10lb and 12lb for off the rocks and breakwalls.

Platypus Platinum and Pulse Mono – 8lb and 10lb for the estuaries.

Hard Armour FC Fluorocarbon Leader – 4, 6, 8 and 10lb as your leader material.