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Handlining for Crabbing


twoblues

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Hi everyone,

I did a search and couldn't come up with much, so I hope someone can offer advice.

I am heading out in my kayak over Easter, and I'm looking for tips on how to catch crabs I have to get them on the line.

Any advice on what bait, line, hook etc I should use, or is it not that important. I'm probably going to Narrabeen Lake and maybe around Iron Cove or Lane Cove.

Thanks for any tips.

Twoblues.

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19 minutes ago, twoblues said:

Hi everyone,

I did a search and couldn't come up with much, so I hope someone can offer advice.

I am heading out in my kayak over Easter, and I'm looking for tips on how to catch crabs I have to get them on the line.

Any advice on what bait, line, hook etc I should use, or is it not that important. I'm probably going to Narrabeen Lake and maybe around Iron Cove or Lane Cove.

Thanks for any tips.

Twoblues.

Would be better off grabbing 2 crab nets for $10-15 each and flick plastics around in between checking the nets.

I have caught a few on rod before, but that was completely by chance.

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Use a fair sized hook, as you could pick up a tailor or good flattie on the baits, 4/0 or 5/0.

Around 15 pound line would handle those fish, unless a kingie or something bigger takes hold.

Big strips of a tough bait, such as mullet would do, or fish heads. Fish heads are harder for the little pickers to demolish, however, in some areas the heads attract such things as big rays or eagle rays. Hooking a large eagle ray in a kayak will have your heart pumping. :lol:

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Someone once told me they used to catch crabs my wrapping a mullet frame in a tangle of old fishing line. Kept the little pickers and bigger fish from taking the bait but crabs would get their spines caught in the line and you could bring them in easily without losing them. 

I've done some reading and I'm still not sure if that would be legal or not, but it sounds like it should work in principle. If anyone has a clearer answer on that I'd be interested to know. 

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Hi twoblues

I am based in South East Queensland, place we keep the Origin trophy, I crab line all the time mate, set up is easy, grab yourself a small mesh bag, something like an onion bag, needs to have fine mesh, buy yourself a brickies string line, colour not important, tie a 4/0 hook on the end of the line using a locked blood knot of 5 turns, bait the hook with a slab of any type of fish, I use mullet generally, drop the baited hook in the mesh bag along with a small snapper sinker, tie the top of the mesh bag off so it doesn't fall down over the hook, cast it out and your in business.

Crabs both sandies (blue swimmers) and muddies will get themselves caught up in the mesh trying to eat the bait, when you have one on, bring him in slowly and into the net, I have an old landing net that I have replaced the mesh with 25mm chicken wire fashioned into a scoop, works a treat and no tangles, just empty them straight into and ice slurry in the esky, they go to sleep real quick, and no need to tie them up.

I pick a nice gutter with a weed bottom on an early morning run in tide, sandies come in with the tide and like a snack on the run, I find midweek is best to avoid boat traffic, weekends will work but go early. 

I use 3 lines and regularly catch up to twenty legal bucks in the first 2 hours of the run in tide. Totally legal in Queensland, suggest you check the regulations in NSW.

I like to sit back with a cold beer on the weekend, fresh cooked home made bread and crab sandwiches and watch the replays of Queenslands decade + long golden run in the origin series, you just can't beat it.

Good luck with it hope you catch plenty.

MSB

 

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Hi

The tangled up line is probably not allowed in areas that you aren't allowed traps.

Brisbane water has no traps, so to catch crabs, you need to hand line.

 

A big bait on a big hook is the go. Leave the hand line beside you and start fishing. When a swimmer picks it up, it will usually walk away with your bait and the hand line will unwind. What you need to do then is to slowly pull it in. When you get it near to the surface get your landing net underneath it and scoop it in. If you try to lift it out of the water, it will let go and drop back in to the water. If it drops when you are pulling it up, let your bait go, and it will probably grab hold again. 

 

As @MSB says above, the tide switches seem to be the more productive times, but don't listen to him about Queensland, they've had nine lucky seasons ;-) although his sandwich idea sounds pretty good!

 

 

 

 

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When I was younger we used to crab around Iron Cove, Birkenhead Point, Drummoyne sailing club & Balmain baths. Plenty of blue swimmers around there. We would handline use the legs of old pantyhose & fresh mullet heads or frames. Tie the line to the top of the pantyhose & chuck it out. The blueys would get caught in the mesh & were easy to net. They did tear up a fair bit & we went through a few pairs, but it worked well.

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1 hour ago, Jewhunter said:

When I was younger we used to crab around Iron Cove, Birkenhead Point, Drummoyne sailing club & Balmain baths. Plenty of blue swimmers around there. We would handline use the legs of old pantyhose & fresh mullet heads or frames. Tie the line to the top of the pantyhose & chuck it out. The blueys would get caught in the mesh & were easy to net. They did tear up a fair bit & we went through a few pairs, but it worked well.

I can’t seem to find old pantyhose these days... 

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On ‎29‎/‎03‎/‎2018 at 6:38 PM, Jewhunter said:

Nah, me either. None of mine fit me anymore!!!

I think if you pull them up hard enough, they will stretch and fit. :lol::lol:

You could stick a mullet head in the feet, put them on then wade through the shallows and grab the crabs that are following you. :lol::lol::lol:

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20 minutes ago, Yowie said:

I think if you pull them up hard enough, they will stretch and fit. :lol::lol:

You could stick a mullet head in the feet, put them on then wade through the shallows and grab the crabs that are following you. :lol::lol::lol:

Even better if you use fish net stockings?

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Thanks everyone for the info.

Got very little at Narrabeen today, just small pickers. Didn't try for crabs, maybe in a few weeks up at Pittwater.

I have some crab traps, but they are a bit of mucking around in a kayak.

I like the idea of onion bags, but not sure if I trust a QLDer. :)  

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