Mud crabs

[quigley595]

Folks...
is there a simple way to tell if a crab is full or not?
I would hate to catch and kill a muddie for nothing.

cheers
Mike

[lippa]

colour is the first indication, but in saying that some green crabs can be full.
grab the crab by the swimmers and prees either under the points that you mesure for size it will be rock hard if full, or drummy and soft if empty.
you can also press on the segments on the underside of the body, same deal hard= full if they move consideraby its empty.
ya get to no after a while whats what. and can tell just by looking.

cheers

lippa

[Rodman]

mate

When you get a mud crab turn it upside down and look at it towards the rear and if you can see a maltese cross then the crab is normally full

Rodman

[tunaticer]

Sometimes if the malteze cross is very dark it can also be a sign that this particular crab will be quite strong tasting too. I have caught a few with the malteze crosses that havent been overly full too.

Go as lippa says and pinch under the carapace at the widest part of the shell, if it is not rock solid feeling its not full.
Jack.

[quigley595]

thanks for your replies folks...

the reason for my question was that I got a legal sized male the other day, claws were a bit small, and it was the only one I got.

I thought... naah.... let him live another day. I just wanted a more accurate way to judge things.

At least I felt good about letting him go.

cheers all
Mike

[Lovey80]

When I was about 14 a pro crabber told me about the cross. He had a massive big keeper cage that he kept the not full ones in until he fattened them up.

Cheers Chris

[sandbankmagnet]

Another sign I reckon is the wear on the claw. They eat with one and fight with the other. If they've got one with the "teeth" worn down on one claw, it should be pretty full.

[Scott nthQld]

the best way is what lippa said, just either side of the last spine, give the carapace a bit of a squeeze. If its hard, in the pot, if its not, chuck em back, its just not worth the effort of breaking open and cracking every shell if its only going to yeild a little meat. Also I've found on full crabs, if you give thier carapace a tap with something and it sounds hollow, there another good sign its empty, though that way is not always reliable.

[dnej]

This is a good article, I collected from somewhere.Hope the link works
David

http://www.nt.gov.au/dpifm/Fisheries/Content/File/FN28.pdf

[quigley595]

great replies folks...
thanks a million!

Mike

[cuzzamundi]

Absolutely, have learnt some things from this post1 thanks heaps.

cuzza

[Joshstarrr]

Hey guys just wanna know pots you use for crabbing?
Any pics would be great aswell.

Dillies, cages, etc?

Whats best for muddies and best for sandys?

[Timmy94]

Dillies for Sandies and Cages if u can get them for muddies, they take up more room but are heaps more robust and the crabs dont get their claws caught in the mesh like they do the mesh pots.

[Joshstarrr]

Dillies for Sandies and Cages if u can get them for muddies, they take up more room but are heaps more robust and the crabs dont get their claws caught in the mesh like they do the mesh pots.

Can you use dillies for muddies?

[Timmy94]

Well you could but they aint anygood. They will tangle themselves and break the nets. If you want a good cheap allround pot go to ##### or Bcf and buy 4collapsible ones and some rope and floats (probly $50-$60).