Sandys still about, plus nice surprise

[Moonlighter]

Dropped the pots yesterday mid afternoon wide of Peel Is. Checked them after 1.5 hrs soaking for 10 nice sand crabs, thought that was promising so decided to leave them in overnight.

Went back early this morning full of hope for pots full of crabs, but keepers were a bit scarce, after lifting 7 pots only had 6 keepers. Lots of unders and jennies.

Last pot seemed very heavy, and when it came up out of 8m we saw why - a massive muddy, albeit with only one claw, was in there. With him were the remains of 3 decent sandys that he had obviously taken exception to and pulverised! (Note to Mr and Mrs Muddy: Junior does not play well with others!)

So no complaints, 16 sandys and Arnold Schwartzeneiger the mud crab.

Had to be back early to join friends at 8am for breakfast at the Glen Hotel. They do a great hot and cold buffet breakfast there, as we discovered. Great food, good value, friendly service.

On the way home saw the fisho truck that always sets up on Logan Rd near the Glen. He had these specials on his board:

muddies 2 for $50 and sandies 3 for $15!

So my little catch, by his prices, worth over $100. Spent $40 on fuel so not bad value crabbing. Not counting the entertainment value!

Cheers

ML

[Scalem]

Good result ML, I keep forgetting to put the pots in when I get out for a fish, well done. Even if you paid premium price for fresh bait like mullet, you are still way ahead. The fish mongers can be hit and miss for me I am afraid, i reckon out of 5 visits to pick up a sandy for lunch, maybe 1 or 2 out of five is perfect. Judging the sand crab I look for A: freshness B: saltiness ( can often be bland and not salty enough) according to my taste buds B: Fullness C: juiciness / Overcooked sometimes the meat is dry. Connoisseur of crab I don't pretend to be, but getting your own and cooking them EXACTLY to your tastes far outweighs the costs of getting your own I reckon. Hang the expense!

Scalem

[netmaker]

reckon one criteria overlooked scalem - NOT FROZENNESS. i refuse to buy crab from any roadside van for this reason alone. last time i bought a muddie i asked if it had been frozen and was told no. last $ a roadside van got from me.

good results grant and well worth the effort (as you worked out)

[Moonlighter]

Thanks Boys.

Used diver whiting skeletons from the ones we caught a month ago, so bait cost was nil.

The entertainment came from us dancing around the deck when crabs escaped from the pots (or maybe we missed the bucket.....), and my mate trying to bring the boat alongside the floats into 15 knots of northerly chop, while #1 son tried to reach out and grab it, and me dodging angry sandys that were intent on biting me before i bite them (which will be happening very shortly!)

I can also confirm that any deep V plate boat does Not go well or predictably in reverse in such conditions;D

[Moonlighter]

Forgot to mention, when we were waiting for the pots to soak on Sat pm, had a quick throw of the plastics. Picked up a very nice gold pot cod on an ecogear 3" bugant sp that i picked up in Japan last trip.

[Tangles]

Great stuff ML, Sandies and Arnie, quite a few stray muddies after the recent rains,