Yeah you're right they're crustaceans mate...what am I thinking...
Originally Posted by Is Don Is GOOD
Yeah you're right they're crustaceans mate...what am I thinking...
Some very helpuful info there fellas. With Chrissy around the corner it may come in very handy.
The only problem I have now, is learning how to tie one up. Any info anyone??
Richie
what is the in possession limit 10/person,per day or 10/person period,how many are you intending to hold in your aerated tank. cheers
Well I would personally only consider holding some if we got 10 between the two of us. We'd cook up two big ones using Roz's chili crab recipe and have 8 kicking round.
The idea with chrissy coming up as well is we have some visitors coming up from brissy and if i can get some crabs a few days before they get here and keep them alive for the big barby night instead of serving them up pre cooked crabs. As well as the freshness issue with us its more like all our friends are into the cooking side of things and love having a beer with us in the kitchen while it's all happening.
To drag a couple of live muddies out of the tank in the garage and start cooking them while downing coronas sounds like a good day to me!
Merry christmas
Mark and Teri
hey richieboy, tieing them up is reasonably easy, but very difficult to explain in words, without actually being there, A guy I know uses really strong but short rubber bands, seem to work ok, just loops them around the nipper right where the "hinge" is, then around the flipper, easy to do.
Thanx Noelm. Might just give that a go. Either vthat or experiment a little I reckon. Cheers.
Rich
"How to tie up a Muddie" would be a great one to do animated and put on Hints and Tips along with how to throw a cast net and animated Knots.
Hey, what about an animated one with "How to put a video clip on our threads"
Merry christmas from Woodsy.
Hey Richie
Some very helpuful info there fellas. With Chrissy around the corner it may come in very handy.
The only problem I have now, is learning how to tie one up. Any info anyone??
Richie
Check this out:
www.nt.gov.au/dpifm/Fisheries/Content/File/FN14.pdf
Last edited by Tony_N; 12-09-2007 at 09:28 AM.
Richieboy,
Tying them up is easy, you just hold them down with your foot on their back, wrap some twine under their "chin", above their nippers, then fold their nippers against their body and bring the twine down around their nippers and up over the top, turn the crab upside down and bring the twine around the outside their swimmers and tie.
Note: as insane as it may seem, but it is easier to hold the crab down with a bare foot rather than one with a shoe on, so watch you toes!!
tie them tight keep them moist (quick dip in salt water every three or four days ) and most of all cool (not cold u idiot) and they will go about two weeks, they dont mind a feed when tied fish skin seems to work ok (mac or tuna) oysters are a top bait.
BigE
i have grown up keeping muddies for periods up to a week mate.
what i was taught by my old man, and his old man is as simple as this and in 30 years i have never had a problem.
first you need some heshen (spelling sorry) sacks (potatoe sacks), then you need a heap of mangrove leaves, branches and all. We always use a particular type, i think becuase they have plenty of leaves.
When we go out to check the pots we have the sacks and the mangrove leaves ready to go. When you get a crab, throw some leaves (about 2 good bunches into the sack, then the crab, then another good 2 or 3 bunches of leaves. Then throw in your next crab, followed by another 2 or 3 good bunches of leaves, then throw in another crab and more leaves. Tie the top of the sack of tight and bobs your uncle.
Every day make sure you give them 10 or so minutes in the water twice a day to "give them a drink". Keep them stored somewhere cool and dry.
Make sure you only let one crab out at a time when you are ready to cook them, otherwise you will have a fun time trying to catch the little fellas.
I agree with SR. We keep crabs for a week or so. When they are pulled out of the pots tie them straight away. Then put them in a large bucket or an esky is what we use, with enough water to cover the bottom. Put a couple of mangrove leaves in the bucket/esky and when you get home place them in the esky in a cool room i.e. Laundry. From what I have been told the grove leaves keep them calm. We usually do this leading up to chrissie and we never take more than is necessary during the year. By doing this they stay in pretty good nick. I would also change the water every two days or so. Personally I wouldn't eat them if they have been stored like this for more than a week but you probably could. We have kept up to 10 crabs this way. I only keep 3 crabs per esky, as they stress each other out. As I have said we only do this at chrissie as its a lot of work for a few crabs, Hope this helps
Cheers Benny
In the short term, a layer of mangrove leaves in the boat and the muddies will sit on top of that especially in a tinny. If they are not tied up they move around and will happilly sit on top of your feet while travelling around as they do not like the vibration of the engine at the transom end and really love the body temperature of your feet. I ran charters in Arnhem land for quite a few years and they would sit around your feet untied and quite happy. Just dont upset 'em! Thats OK for a day trip.
Longer than that and they should have some mangrove leaves to sit on and old hession potatoe sacks and be covered after sacks are dunked and refreshed with saltwater. Thats easy. They dont get agro with each other when survival is at the critical stage unless penned in the same area, untied, as one earlier poster mentioned.
For a week, get two crates such as milk or bread crates with small gaps and use zip ties to hinge one side and rope the other side. The crabs will need to be tied and they will not eat. They in fact lose weight but as long as they are not too stressed they will not drop too much meat content. When you are ready to cook them put them in the fridge or freezer to quieten them down which will prevent claw loss which equates to loss of fluid and subsequent meat content and contamination with water.
If you have too many crabs, kill them in the freezer or fridge, remove the carapace, cut and gills and freeze green. They come up OK cooking normally. although fresh is always best.
When boiling muddies,try and place them in the water upside down and when you remove them put them upside down to cool off. This sends all the gut and juices to the top of the carapace which is easily removed leaving you with clean meat.
If you have too many crabs, email me and I will help you out!
Huckfish
How to tie em....
Trial and Error lol try to keep the error to a minimum though.
Nah seriously I dont bother tying them because i never catch enough to put in a tank! But if i did I would use pliers and jam their claws shut and then tie some rope round it.
i caught one last year that was just undersized and the poor bugger was tied up.....i think some ass hole had him on a lead hoping he would grow some more....he was pretty happy when i let him go........the string even had some gooseneck baracles on it so he had been bound for a while.
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