First Time Crabbing in Hawkesbury

[NewCrabber]

Hey guys!

I've lived a pretty sheltered city lifestyle so far (never fished in my life!) but me and a small group of friends (about 6) decided to do something a little different while we're on break from uni.
We decided we'd try to catch some mud crabs for dinner.

I did a bunch of googling and decided the Hawkesbury River would be a decent location to try crabbing for the first time (also it's not too far of a drive from Sydney)

Since I am pretty new to this, I've got a couple of questions:

- How do I know a particular spot is good to drop a crab pot?
- Is there anything I should look out for when buying crab pots?
- Where exactly along the Hawkesbury River can I find nice muddy mangroves (after placing some crab pots, I'd like to try search for crabs on foot like these kids: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44aNi4UgYAo)

I should mention that we won't have a boat, so we'll be doing land-based catching.
Any tips and advice in general would also be greatly appreciated!

We're planning to head out this Sunday the 11th. If you guys are interested, I can keep you guys updated with a trip report (assuming we are successful).

Thanks!

[Guest Guest123456789]

I've not done a lot of crabbing so cant help too much except to dispel a myth that stinky old bait works best. This is NOT true, fresh fish frames or freshly caught fish like salmon works best. I think this myth was started and encouraged by crabbers who want to give people the bum steer.

You could always hire a tinny for the day or even a houseboat for the weekend - split 6 ways it should be cheap.

Good luck mate!

[NewCrabber]

Fair enough, thanks for the tip!

I was planning on getting some mullet the day before (I've read that's it's pretty good bait for mud crabs).