Quote:
Originally Posted by keakar
well the majority of what we catch is cookie cutter 24" reds and they only seam to want 25-30 count shrimp and im tired of buying $6 lbs shrimp for bait so im looking for mullet source in my area or making the crabs work.
we fish lake ponchartrain and there are MASSIVE schools of glass minnows forming solid clouds at times from the surface to the bottom yet when I catch croakers or minnows the fish let them die on the hook untouched so for whatever reason they aren't feeding on minnows (go figure lol) but these minnows or small croakers must be what are cleaning the crabs shells out as fast as they hit the bottom but even in golden meadow when I tried crab I found the meat was gone way too quickly.
also what do you do with the claws? are they good bait by themselves? I have just been smashing them and tossing them in the area for chum
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As Gerald said, you can cut a bigger crab into quarters.
We've caught plenty of bull reds on claws, but the main body as whole, halves, or quarters is more effective when the little fish don't chew it up.
Claws are hard to get on the hook. We use a screwdriver to poke holes in the shell before trying to put a hook through it. It's easier if the holes don't line up perfectly. We usually save the claws until we run out of the bodies. Later in the day if we think we won't run out of crab bodies, we crush the claws and throw then in as chum.
If I know what bait fish are biting on, I bite the bullet and pay. Finding a cheaper substitute bait to one that is working has always led to slower fishing. I pay the money and I'm happy to be putting the kids on fish.