how to catch mud crabs
Submitted by PJAY on Tue, 2010-09-21 13:57
okay guys can anyone point me in the right direction on how to catch and cook mud crabs....how do you tie them up without losing a finger or two???
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dodgy
Posts: 4577
Date Joined: 01/02/10
Drop you pots on an incoming
Drop you pots on an incoming tide. Keep moving the pots up with the water. Want to look for little drains or deeper arms of the creek. I use lamb necks for bait.
Throw the floats over a mangrove branch so that the tide desnt tangle them.
Check every half hour and move pots around after second pull if not starting to perform.
I don't worry about tying them. Just drop them into a esky full of ice. Slows them right down.
Does anyone know where the love of god goes, when the waves turn the minutes to hours?
PJAY
Posts: 1005
Date Joined: 12/05/09
thanks dodgy...........how
thanks dodgy...........how long is the cooking time in boiling water?
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Bodie
Posts: 3758
Date Joined: 05/11/07
yep get up the creeks on the
yep get up the creeks on the lowest tide you can. Then pot on the rising tide. Look for steep banks, possibly with big holes int he side. use lamb necks
As soon as you pull a pot in and its got a crab, drop him straight into a esky full of ice. Leave him there for 20 minutes or so, and then tie em up or just leave in the ice.
generally if your nets turned upside down a crab has tried to rip the meat out.
Indiana
Posts: 307
Date Joined: 15/12/09
Mangrove branch
Pjay if you dont have an esky full of ice slurry ,break of a piece of mangrove
branch and pop that in the esky , this also has a calming effect on them.
Try digging them out of there holes if you get the chance ......a lot of fun.
Drive the tinny into the bank where the hole is and stick your gaff in the hole and feel around .....if there's anybody home you will find them with the end of the gaff.
Use a shovel to widen the opening and drag him out with the gaff into a net .
" IF YOUR NOT GOING TO EAT IT ......PUT IT BACK WHERE YOU CAUGHT IT"
dtr
Posts: 55
Date Joined: 12/08/07
You mentioned cooking
You mentioned cooking PJAY.
10 minutes in boiling salt water (or add salt to water).
Once cooked stick them straight back in to an ice slurry so they stop cooking (they keep cooking in their shells otherwise).
Brucesta
Posts: 1721
Date Joined: 29/05/09
everyone has forgotten the
everyone has forgotten the important part after dropping the nets in, sit back and drink beer!!!
cooking time is size dependant but i run with 7 mins for average ones and 10 for the monsters, one at a time in the pot with lots of salt in the water, make sure after cooking you cool them down, prefferably in a ise slurry to stop the cook process.
Las Vegas - Rolling the dice and trying your luck. 1M+ Barra summer target. 100kg Black Marlin winter target
PJAY
Posts: 1005
Date Joined: 12/05/09
thanks
thanks Brucesta....appreciated
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PJAY
Posts: 1005
Date Joined: 12/05/09
thanks guys.........i think
thanks guys.........i think i'm gonna have some fun hehe.........someone mentioned using a wire loop or something similar........is that straight rod with an L shaped bend on the end?
The Kimberley....perfect one day and more perfect the next!!!
allrounder
Posts: 1853
Date Joined: 10/11/08
the best hook
is a hanging basket hook from bunnings.You can make your own with the galv rod you can find in the rubbish pile at building sites or if you know a bricky.You bend a hook in the end with about a 50 mm diameter so it can get around the claw and you are done.Buy some bushmans as well you will need it.
So tell me have you got your info from years on the water or hours on the internet?
hlokk
Posts: 4290
Date Joined: 04/04/08
Is the ice in the esky in a
Is the ice in the esky in a slurry, or just straight?
Bodie
Posts: 3758
Date Joined: 05/11/07
slurry best However I've not
slurry best
However I've not ever done this with fish?? can anyone confirm its actually better to have a salty slurry for fish?
hlokk
Posts: 4290
Date Joined: 04/04/08
I've never not done it with
I've never not done it with fish/squid (except on one or two peoples boat).
Lots of sources say its better to slurry. Was one catch care guide by some fisheries mob, but forget which one, which suggested iki, slurry, then on ice when cool to the backbone if you want the fish to keep for the longest. A few people would say they taste better properly slurried too. Certainly a hell of a lot easier to fillet.
Bodie
Posts: 3758
Date Joined: 05/11/07
mine go in ice about 2
mine go in ice about 2 minutes after bleeding but not too much in the slurry sense. Maybe i try it!
hlokk
Posts: 4290
Date Joined: 04/04/08
The point of a slurry is
The point of a slurry is that it conducts the heat away from the fish much quicker (and often more evenly). You can try at home by putting your hand in ice and in a slurry (after you wait for it to cool down). If you have a really long day and not so big fish they can freeze if left in the slurry (but it rarely happens).
NOHA
Posts: 914
Date Joined: 24/06/07
Salt water slurry
Is also -4°C so its colder and your ice wont melt as fast. By far the best way to treat a fish you want to keep.
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Jody
Posts: 1578
Date Joined: 19/04/07
Tying up
Theres lots of vids on YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6u8FhP5KAY
TWiZTED
mullows
Posts: 738
Date Joined: 25/12/08
PJay we use long aluminium
PJay we use long aluminium rod. Easy to bend to get round the bends in the holes and have an L shape at one end for the handle end and a J shape for the hook at the other the same way as the handle so you always know which way the hook end is facing. Clear as mud, thought so
Cheers
Mullows
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big john
Posts: 8749
Date Joined: 20/07/06
Game
You'll be game hooking muddies around this neck of the woods PJAY.:)
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Jigs available online in my web store!
allrounder
Posts: 1853
Date Joined: 10/11/08
i just looked at his profile
and im with you on this one John.Pjay buy some good pots before you head up and forget about the hooks unless you have balls of steel or a dirty big gun for the lizards
So tell me have you got your info from years on the water or hours on the internet?
PJAY
Posts: 1005
Date Joined: 12/05/09
i'm thinking baby steps here
i'm thinking baby steps here guys.........no barra or muddy is going to make me a lunchtime snack for a lizard...
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chookc
Posts: 442
Date Joined: 07/01/10
hope you can run faster than the crocks..
when waist deep in soft mud....
wazzbat
Posts: 977
Date Joined: 19/01/10
Dept Fisheries catch care
Dept Fisheries catch care guide recommends NOT to use salt in your slurry. It can actually end up giving your fish freezer burn because it makes the slurry colder! I suppose it depends on what mix of ice/water you have though???
I fish for the future - Cause I can't bloody catch anything!
hlokk
Posts: 4290
Date Joined: 04/04/08
Only freezer burn i've seen
Only freezer burn i've seen is when people have blocks of ice and just chuck a fish on top of it (which doesnt cool the fish very well :( ). Though, as mentioned the fish can freeze if you leave them in on a very long day (very rare). You only need minimal saltwater to just (or almost) cover the ice. No extra salt though (unless your in really hot areas, and are really concerned about getting it absolutely perfect). Saltwater ice will be too cold though (not that anyone would really use that)
WA fisheries catch care guide says two parts ice, one part seawater.
Another link with temperatures. Partially from the pro guide. The pros will (for the most part) do it the best way, so they can maximise how long the fish stays fresh for.