Crab Bait

[mailreg]

I'm taking wife and kids along with god children crabbing tomorrow off hwy 27. Any suggestions? Are there any places in Hackberry I can get bait?
Thx

[Gerald]

I save my trout "heads" after cleaning them.....IMO this is the best crab bait.

Chicken leg quarters are a close second.

Here is the lines that I use.

.

[mailreg]

What is IMO? Is there some place I can get bait in Hackberry?

[mailreg]

OMG! My bad. I reread. Dang thats bad! Yeah I saved some of those but my freezer decided to to quit while I was on vacation. That was a great smell BTW.

[bjhooper82]

Originally Posted by mailreg

What is IMO? Is there some place I can get bait in Hackberry?

IMO= in my opinion

[Gerald]

Originally Posted by mailreg

What is IMO? Is there some place I can get bait in Hackberry?

In My Opinion.

I would stop at a grocery store to get some chicken.....before going down to Hackberry. There is a store in Hackberry about a mile south of Spicers landing on the west side of the hwy.

[Goooh]

Originally Posted by mailreg

OMG! My bad. I reread. Dang thats bad! Yeah I saved some of those but my freezer decided to to quit while I was on vacation. That was a great smell BTW.

Mine did the same thing, came home to a slurry of rotten deer, duck and fish - kept tripping the gfi. Started using it just for ice and it never tripped, put on gallon of bait shrimp in there and it did it again! I'm talking six months of frozen water, 1 week after throwing in some meat an it flipped!

[bigl3456]

Browns down in hackberry should have some bait just ask when you go inside store they have a freezer for crab bait! Good Luck

[Pat Babaz]

stop at cajun fast mart on Hwy. 27 in Carlyss and get a couple packs of beef melt. It works better than chicken In My Opinion. LOL, good luck.... I saw people catching good at hog island last week off the south dock about 11am.

[mailreg]

Thx guys!

[swamp snorkler]

I always use leg quarters...... most of the time it's $.79# and a 10lb will last you all day.

[Pull n Pray]

Crabs are not picky. Just go to walmart and get a $5 bag of chicken quarters. If they are biting they will eat anything you throw at them.

[cajun bill]

Originally Posted by Pull n Pray

Crabs are not picky. Just go to walmart and get a $5 bag of chicken quarters. If they are biting they will eat anything you throw at them.

X2

[grizzon30s]

Originally Posted by Gerald

I save my trout "heads" after cleaning them.....IMO this is the best crab bait.

Chicken leg quarters are a close second.

Here is the lines that I use.

.

Can u explain that rig you use? I've never used weights on my lines. Also, how do y'all feel about drop nets. I bought some big green ones from academy and the crabs don't seem to like to go into them at all.

[Gerald]

Originally Posted by grizzon30s

Can u explain that rig you use? I've never used weights on my lines. Also, how do y'all feel about drop nets. I bought some big green ones from academy and the crabs don't seem to like to go into them at all.

What I use [see picture in Post # 2]

If you tie a string directly to the bait, sometimes the crabs will cut the string while eating the bait. So I go to Walmart and buy a package of the Shower curtain hooks [~$1.5] and I sharpen the tip to make it easier to "stick" the bait on the metal hook.

The hook is tied to the string along with a 3 to 6 oz weight to make it easier to throw the bait out and get it to the bottom when there is a current. String length depends on water depth.....say about 10 to 15 feet, so it is long enough to throw out a little way to cover more area.

If you are Crabbing at a spot that gets alot of "fishing pressure", the crabs often will let go of the bait before you can net them. Get the net into the water, well below the surface....before you pull the line up. When the crab sees the net moving, they often let go and swim away.

The "tongs" are from Academy and cost about $ 5.

I don't use crab nets and think they are harder to use and don't catch crabs very well.

[fishhawk]

chicken or turkey necks are best! Get them at walmart in sulphur, or cajun fast mart in caryliss ( south of sulpher on 27) or browns in hackberry.Milt is nasty! Kids wont like it! 1 oz. weights are big enough, use fresh dead, carry hand sanatizer and you have to get theyre early! And remember...no parking on side of road!

[cajun bill]

"I don't use crab nets and think they are harder to use and don't catch crabs very well. "

Not if you use the right nets, the ones with two rings and high sides.

[muckster]

About a year ago, I bought a big green drop net from Academy. I'm assuming its the net you're talking about because the crabs won't go in it. I've caught crabs on the traditional drop nets on each side of the green net which did not catch a crab. After 2 trips, I've written it off as a loss. Met a guy at the Rock who had just bought 5 from academy and was not having any luck. Hated to tell him the truth, but he said he would give it a try. Not sure the reason, but I think they do something to distract the crabs.

[cajun bill]

Originally Posted by muckster

About a year ago, I bought a big green drop net from Academy. I'm assuming its the net you're talking about because the crabs won't go in it. I've caught crabs on the traditional drop nets on each side of the green net which did not catch a crab. After 2 trips, I've written it off as a loss. Met a guy at the Rock who had just bought 5 from academy and was not having any luck. Hated to tell him the truth, but he said he would give it a try. Not sure the reason, but I think they do something to distract the crabs.

Well, mine aren't green, they are black and I catch many crabs in them, but I can't imagine the color scaring the crabs off. Possibly cuz they keep seeing their buds, i.e. Leroy, Larry, Sam, etc. crawling over these iron hoops and never being seen again.

All I know is that with drop lines, while a crab will often let go before he can be dip netted, if he crawls in the drop net, he ain't getting out.

[muckster]

I've used drop nets my entire life with great success. This net does not catch. The rings are thicker and the bottom ring is about half the size of the top ring. Is your black net like this?