Crab Pot Bait

[Wayne]

I would be interested to know what your favourite Crab Pot Bait is for both Muddies and Sandies. It used to be that mullet was always the best but nowdays it seems people are using any kind of bait from Pillies to Chooks. Also, it would be good to know what doesn't work. There was a theory that reef fish frames should be avoided. What do ya recon. Cheers.

[Slates]

G'day Wayne.
I heard red fish (reef fish) were the best!! ???
ha!
There goes that theory!
Personally, I've caught them using live bait (rod and reel), liver, dog bones and just about any fish carcass.

I don't do it very often, so I am no expert.
Interesting to see others comments.

Cheers, Slates

[jaybee]

My bro down bruns does well with the muddies in the river..he uses whatever is on the reef at the time..mackeral, snapper, cobia, head or frames you name it..or whatever he is catching in the river. When he was living up here we found squire frames excellent bait in the brisbane river and the bay for muddies n sandies... I have also heard that cans of fish with holes in the can also catch em..havent tried it tho...getting of the crabs tho..a few years ago up blackall my older brother sent me off to catch shrimp and yabbies to catch some yellow bellie..he loaded me up with a heap o fresh meat..i met an old aboriginal living on the side of the creek..right or wrong he wanted to swap the meat for a 20 ltr drum of live shrimp he had just caught..guess he was sick of eating fish :P his bait was a piece of sunlight soap...tied into the drum.

[krazyfisher]

FISH FRAMES any and all they do say not to used fish that are prediators but I use any frames

[Roman]

Can someone tell me what you guys mean by fish frames?

[Volvo]

;)Fish Frames is what ya got left over after you fillet your fish. And as for best Crabpot bait ::)Try your neighbours cat, failing that,Jewfish heads are by far the best, followed by Catfish(Saltwater).
Blue Swimmer?? cant see why all the above wouldnt work okay :)
Cheers

[adrian]

have tried fish frames ,catfood ,mullet and pillies all seemed to work fresh is better or frozen frames . have not much lately like most love to hear what everyone thinks

anzac

[dazza]

Was talking to a guy about this. He crabbed all weekend using catfish as bait, didn't get a crab. Stuck a jack head in one of his pots and bingo- it turned into a mudcrab.
cheers
dazza

[Luke]

Hi Wayne,
I've been told that they won't go near reefies heads because they are predators but I have a mate that uses them all the time and catches muddies and sandies so must be a wives tail. Another mate only uses chicken heads. I use fish frames and whole mullet but don't crab very often.
Cheers Luke

[craigie]

Hi guy's,

It seems like Crabbs will eat just about anything you put in front of them !!
I've tried most things and they all appear to to do the job.

I went out with A Pro Crabber down the Logan River a couple of years ago who caught plenty of Muddies on Chicken Heads.

On occasions I've gone over to Coles and purchased old mutton bones which work just fine. Tins of Cat food with holes punched through them have produced the goods, "Name" brands worked better then the home brands, with the best one being the 'Pilchards in Seafood Sauce'.

Overall my prefered bait is fresh mullet or Whiting frames, but in the end it works out to be what ever is available or cheap !!!

Bream frames are the worst bait I've used, not sure why ??
Maybe It's the time of year I try to use them, late winter/early spring.

Cheers
Craig.

[Muzzy]

small queen fish and trevs make crash hot bait also mack frames and most fish heads. I use left over frames or whole small queenies purpose caught for bait also fork tailed catfish make for good bait.

Get some chook pellets and soak em in tuna oil and after ya set the pot chuck two handfuls over the pot, they come from miles....

Muz

but here in darwin a tin of dog/cat food with holes will get a feed of crabs no worries...

[Islander44]

Hi folks

Down here in tassie I do a bit of 'crayringing'

Now I know thats for crayfish however we get a decent amount of red crabs in the rings (we call them Ferrari crabs cos they are red and they move real quick!)

We use fresh bait when we can and its usually wrasse, fish frames and heads..pref silver or shiny and oily, and we have tried squid with some success as well.

So, fresh, silver and oily!

[Fisherman02]

hey luke maybe th ecrabs want to get revenge on the reef fish so they pinch a couple of times b4 realizing they r trapped?

[aquarius]

Gidday Wayne.......My preferred crab pot bait is a cocktail consisting of chicken pieces,mullet and WA pilchards......try it ...hey it works for me.
cheers Brent :)

[fisho]

oily fish good - non oily fish not so good
shark remnants a no no for crabs - other predator frames/heads seem fine ;)

[krazyfisher]

I have caught a feed of crabs on shark they are crabs they eat anything.

[jaybee]

hey wayne here is one for you just spoke to my bro down bruns..they have been having a dismal season on the muddies...the last few days they have bought whole pigs heads from the butchers and they have produced the largest and most caught in 18 years ... :o

[Wayne]

Thanks for the feedback for all those that posted a reply. I've got a few extra ideas now. Even though it seems crabs will eat anything it seems there may be preferences for different localities. I know the pros like chooks a lot probably because they last longer but mullet ( especially fresh) seems to be always reliable. I have also noticed that if you leave a jenny in the pot (say after a first lift) that it #would sometimes attract a Buck in for the next lift.
Cheers
Wayne #

[Katrina]

;) There's a small, hairy yapping dog next door I'll let you have for nothing! I'm sure the crabs will like it, no one else does! :D ;D

[Fisherman02]

Ha ha ha I hear ya Katrina
no i'll give that a miss specially if your neighbour is Jackie Chan! Nah I have just started brreding worms anyone know anything so far I have got them put them in soil that i dug them from and put them in a bucket with holes in it and put some shredded up leaves on top anything i haven't done that I should have or any tips?
cheers jack

[Katrina]

;) Hey, the lady is chinese, so who knows, maybe she's related. Maybe she's just as dangerous, I haven't tussled with her as yet!! ;) ;) ;) Happy crabbing!

[tubes]

Roo meat is excellent done in a brine with a little Tuna oil added (unfortunately prawns love it too)...bit messy but the results are worthwhile.
Volvo's Reef fish frames work well also....and he gets plenty of them..the king of the reef in these parts...

[craigie]

I've also tried Roo and found it to work as good as Mullet. The neighbour gave me a stack Roo Tails to try out. He said the dog wouldn't eat them, maybe the Crabs would.

That reminds me, I think I still owe him a couple of Crabs for his generosity !!!

Cheers
Craigie.

[Gazza]

>:( >:(ANY BARSTEAD WHO STEALS OTHER PEOPLES POTS!!.....
RecFisho OR Pro >:( >:(

Failing that :-X..... ;D >:( ;D >:( ;D ,reckon chook frames are simply cheaper nowadays than 'Mullet' ,and lets a few more swim around ,also leaving a small Jenny(pick a good-looking one ;D) seems to help......not sure why this is so #::)

Regards
Gazza

[Wayne]

Yeah, I'm convnced crabs arn't stupid. They like the good stuff to eat, fresh chicken , fresh fish etc , a bit like us humans. This explains a few things.

I am certain that leaving a jennie in works. Just check the next time you take a buck out of the pot which had jennies in it. I regularly find a buck on top having a bonk.

They must figure it out somehow .. my time is up soon... I'm heading for the boiling water.... so I may as well get one last shot away while she can't get away !

Cheers
Wayne

[Craigo]

I can't say I have seen them at it, but I did see two of them smoking once when I pulled a pot up.

Just make sure the Jenny is not too old. Grandmothers aren't appealling even for crabs :)

Cheers

[Craig]

Hi guys,
I have crab for about 5 years every wekend i love it and i was reading over the other suggestions and like one guy i agree that mullet USED to be the best bait you could get but i used from mullet to dog bones to chicken bodyiesand even cat food but after it all i found that tailor is the best crab bait for my area and i think that is why there are so many differnt answers to the question i think every area is difernt.
good luck Craig
P.S i have heard that you never use fish with big eyes and it will sound funny but i have never done any good on fish with big eyes . http://www.ausfish.com.au/chat/images/smilies/cwm13.gif

[Volvo]

http://www.ausfish.com.au/chat/images/smilies/cwm11.gif :o Big Eyes, drop em in a little beer batter as an entree(for yourself mindya) and then lay ye fishhead in the crabpot.
Gives the ole crab a great false sense of security ey.

[Carlos]

ive pretty much found if its dead and it stinks chuck it in

[michael_mad_fisho]

cats!!!!!!!!! lol i hate em

[recfisher]

There has been numerous baits used that will catch crabs but undoubtly the best bait to use would be fresh whole big summer whiting. They also are plenty of fun to catch and there is always plenty of them around to catch.


Recfisher

[jaybee]

fresh whole big summer whiting tell you what recfisher..you catch the whiting and I will swap you for some fresh mullett..i couldnt sacrifice a whiting for crab :(

[Craig]

Well i herd that all fish with big eyes are no good somthing to do with scaring the crabs and personaly ive never done much good with fish with big eyes.ummm well as ya said mullet use to be the best but ive done better on tailor,dog bones and tuna latley.im not to sure about sandies we only realy get muddies and when i do catch sandies i normaley just walk along and pick them up.
Cheers and good luck Craig

[craigie]

Hi Craig,

You just walk along and pick Sandcrabs up ???
You must be from a remote area of this world , especially if whole legal size Summer Whiting are used for Crab Bait ??

Or are you just 'Baiting' us ??

Cheers
Craigie.

[gruntahunter]

Maybe he can walk on water.Hellalua. ;D

[Wayne]

In South Australia you can just go along with a rake and pick up Sandies (or as they call them .. Blue swimmers). They sell the rakes in the bait shops. There are also various secret places in Moreton Bay where you can simply go along and pick up Muddies (usually when they are mating with the Buck being on top).

Cheers
Wayne

[Craig]

well i dont know about full size summer whiting i couldent do it but when i go to bribe island i walk along the beach [western side] just on/after dark with a light and pick em up no bull
well cheers

[jaybee]

I can remember catching sandies in scoop nets at PT Halloran, but that was back when there was mangroves and no houses :-[ boy now i am showing my age ;D

[LYNDO]

Wanye

;DWhen available neighbour's roster/hen,chop head off ;) Drop into boiling pot (submerse fully) few seconds.
Pluck feathers :(
:Duse with entrials in tack, works for sandies/muddies.

Next would be fresh fish frames, followed by :oLeft over BBQ chook frames.

Cheers Lyndo

[gruntahunter]

Cmon Wayne you know there are no secrets in this site so spill the beans.
The buck on top, thats a different way of mating. ;D

[Lucky_Phill]

The best baits so far for me has been, Solicitors, then CEO's, plasterers, that mongrel that still owes me $500 from 1979 and the woolie woofa cat that keeps sleeping in my boat.

Hey , I've seen the pro's up at Golden Cockrel Chicken place loading up their Ute's with chicken heads and feet. If it's good enough for the pro's..................

[trollsroyce]

mackeral frames,chicken.if your pots are going to be in for a while tinned catfood, just punch a few holes in it

[sharky]

You cant go past chichen frames (skeleton left over after taking all the meat off), the are really cheap. I get them from my local butcher, 20 frames for $3. I put two frames in each muddy pot and one in a dilly, they have always produced the goods.

Cheers
Sharky

[mudrunner]

had some good catches the past few days using out of date t-bone steaks!! we gave the freezer a clean out and at the bottom were some ancient t-bones. they survived a house move and all. we werent game to eat em, but the sandies sure like em.....!

[WalFish]

We always use lumps of roo tail from the pet food stores. Can also find a bit of fresh road kill on the way to our usual crabbing spot that is usually happy to donate its tail. Have always done pretty well with the old roo.

Having read some of the other posts in this thread regarding chook frames, can't see why it wouldn't be a great bait also. We always chop up one of Mum's old roosters when at home for freshwater yabbie bait. Works by far the best of any baits we have used so far.

WalFish

[BLOOEY]

Tailor in the brissy seems to be the go at the moment. Had a variety of baits lately including Mack tuna, pillies, mullet, gar, spanish frames,and tailor (cleaned out the chest freezer)and all crabs have come to the pot with tailor. Ben

[Braddles]

Best - Fresh fish frams / heads / offcuts from Yeun's Asian grocer at market square - $3.00/kg - help yourself to best bits out of big containers...


Worst - cat fish - crabs didnt even touch it!

[oldboot]

I've had good results recently with pilchards..... but mu best so far is roast chicken.

when we have roast chicken, i carve the bird and stuff all the bones and left over skin & stuff inside... bind it up with string.... thenstick a piece of wire thru it....into a ziplock baggie & into the freezer.

Last one I used......I had it in the pot for 4 hours.....got some good crabs off it..... back into the baggie & back into the freezer.....and used it again next time.

When they come out of the water.....ther is a real good roasty smell.

cheers

[Chamelion]

All week people were not doing very well on muddies in baffle creek.. pretty much everyone dad spoke to was coming up empty handed.. Old mate use a couple of pilles and for 2 pots out for only a few hours each day (5 days) came out with 5 good sized bucks, twice as many big jennies and a handful of undersized randoms... All caught with 100m of flatrock.

[Donny Boy]

Go to some joint that sells pre-made Chicken Roast Rolls and that sort of thing....
In Brissy it's places like Pattons, Lenards, maybe even the local Butcher.......

Get the Chicken Frames...maybe $1 each if you're unlucky. ;)

They're magic..............and work real well in Burley too....
..........................................for the days the Crabs are off. ::)

[ThePinkPanther]

Save all those mongrel grinners you catch - they are second to none when it comes to crab bait!

[ThePinkPanther]

.................. forgot to mention, mate of mine also uses old chicken frames in a small mesh bag and swears by them!

[mudrunner]

the t-bones ive been using for the crab pots (earlier post) have rotted away and have been replaced by raw, frozen chicken drumsticks from the local butcher...at $3 per kg they make a cheap bait, and are working well...

[A_DIFF_PERSPECTIVE]

So what are the worst crab pot bait choices?

[Blackened]

So what are the worst crab pot bait choices?

G'day

Salmon frames.... and reef fish frames

Dave

[sandbankmagnet]

I agree that chook frames are good and I score mine from Lenards for 20cents each. Old mate there always tries to sell me a crate of 30 for $6. I tell him I don't have the room for all of those and generally get ten for $2. I do believe however that they are not the best if crabbing for an extended period as they really start to smell rank after half a day and I believe this has an impact on catch rate.

[fishheadstew]

I can't say I have seen them at it, but I did see two of them smoking once when I pulled a pot up.
my drink came out of my nose... roflmao. ;D