crabbing moreton bay

[Oceandonkey]

Hi guys,

decided i might finally give it a go and get some decent pots (4) and go chase some crabs.

Probably looking at going after sand crabs today but as a total noob in this department does anyone have any handy tips they can pass on ie

bait

where to not crab

how far apart for pots etc

im not leaving them over night. all pots dropped will be recovered 15-20 minutes after as im not a fan of having my hard earned dollars stolen.

i know we have caught sandies on rods between green and wello so that might be my first place to try.

oh also if anyone has any general areas that may produce the crab it would be greatly appreciated

cheers

OD

[Shrimpo]

15-20 Mins!, Leave em for a good 45minutes before checking. I usually leave them for 2-3hrs.

[Oceandonkey]

ahh ok, i was talking to a guy that goes crabbing regularly and he said he gives them about 20 minutes and comes up with the goods. he also follows the pro's around to see where they are crabbing ie high water low water so im guessing he hits them on the head every time.

ill vary it up and let you know how we go

[benno573]

mate any of the drop offs around mud island are awesome. look for about 8-9m of water (will need about 15 m of rope), best bait for sandies by far is tailor frames (buy them whole then use the fillets for fish bait ). soak time should be about 1.5-2hrs, i don't have too many dramas with theft out in the bay, just anchor in site of them and you should be fine. in between green and st helena is pretty good as well, st helena side drop off is good, about 7-8m deep. good luck!

[big al]

have been crabbing for years in the bay have found mullet frames by far the best for sandies &muddies; also if you can find where the pros pots are is the best (theres are there because so are the crabs) then tailor frames are also good ; gust dont put your pots to close to the pros pots;weusally leave them in for about 45min then check the pots if using dillies check them every 10min or there abouts as the turties eat the sandies out of dillies the west side of sthelena & green and between king &greenup along the dropoff along king island some times just out of manly either side of the channel markers can produce the goods good luck

[Oceandonkey]

well we went to E side of coochi and dropped them in about 2-3m of water. We got 2 little jennies and prmptly returned them. was such a relaxing day, i love the feeling you get as your bringing them up...is there isnt there.

going to try a spot this weekend that a friends reccommended.

is it true that you can only get muddies in months that have and R in them?

[benno573]

you can get them all year but they are much more active and usually fuller in the "r" months. don't expect too many out in the bay, mostly sandies and hairy backed wimming crabs out there. try going a bit deeper with your pots next time. i have most success in 5m+ of water.

[Shrimpo]

Muddies are in the creeks and Rivers.

[big al]

oceandonkey we always put our pots in 3-4m water and 6-8m to try and find out where the sandies are and after you catch a few move your pots a little bit happy crabbing big al