Scuba Chris
Well-known member
These Are Accidental By-Catches From Shoreline Surf Casting!
I've only recently been videoing my fishing activities. I've had this happen successfully maybe 7 or 8 times by now while surf casting from shore. These are extremely powerful crustaceans and not to be taken likely. There can be local regulations on them depending where you live so please familiarize yourself with your local laws. Locally where i live you can't keep them under 6in (carapace width) & you can only keep males. Females need to be released with or without eggs.
In Asia these are important food sources. I've visited floating harbor pen farms in Singapore to man made lagoons in the Philippines (known locally as aliamanu) that are netted off for only raising Sole Mud crabs. I'm really not into fishing for them so when i do catch one I regard them as an accidental by-catch. When i do hook one i now recognize what it is and apply constant "medium" pressure so the hook doesn't tear off the crab or through it. Had this happen a lot, it's like dragging in a weight that seems to get stuck on the bottom a lot.
My friends that do target them use baited ring traps that are checked constantly to large rectangular traps set over-night. I tend to use small whole live crabs as my main bait, like Blue Pinchers to Mangrove so these cannibalistic feeders will take their own kind as food.
I've only recently been videoing my fishing activities. I've had this happen successfully maybe 7 or 8 times by now while surf casting from shore. These are extremely powerful crustaceans and not to be taken likely. There can be local regulations on them depending where you live so please familiarize yourself with your local laws. Locally where i live you can't keep them under 6in (carapace width) & you can only keep males. Females need to be released with or without eggs.
In Asia these are important food sources. I've visited floating harbor pen farms in Singapore to man made lagoons in the Philippines (known locally as aliamanu) that are netted off for only raising Sole Mud crabs. I'm really not into fishing for them so when i do catch one I regard them as an accidental by-catch. When i do hook one i now recognize what it is and apply constant "medium" pressure so the hook doesn't tear off the crab or through it. Had this happen a lot, it's like dragging in a weight that seems to get stuck on the bottom a lot.
My friends that do target them use baited ring traps that are checked constantly to large rectangular traps set over-night. I tend to use small whole live crabs as my main bait, like Blue Pinchers to Mangrove so these cannibalistic feeders will take their own kind as food.
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