Velvet Crabs

Guys - Lidl are selling frozen packs of whole velvet crab (half dozen) for £4! I find them pretty hot for wrasse and just thought I would pass on the info. They're frozen for human consumption so there are no worries that they will not have been stored properly.

Thanks Jamie,
does anyone know are these any good for other species?

Blackie

If they are the ones I'm thinking of...we used to call them Velvet Swimmers, because the back legs have paddles on.

Finding them as peelers is not easy, they are as good as normal shore crab....some say better, but I find the harder the bait is to get the more respect it gets as a bait, I think Mussel proves that theory wrong :)

Tom.

That could be a very useful comment on the mussels!

But how do you get a few of them to stay on the hook, even a couple of minutes would be nice.

I have read that they can be semi dried out, but in Feb this just seems like a good recipe for spending from now 'till Easter in the doghouse!!

Any pointers on how to get the best from mussels?

Blackie

300 ft of Shirring elastic usually does it, lol

Some people drop the mussels in boiling water for a half minute or so before shelling, this toughens up the outside a bit. Somtimes a drop or two of mackerel oil is added after shelling to replace anything the boiling took out.

You can use shirring elastic, the trick I find is to wrap up the way at an angle then down at right angles to the upward wrap so that the threads criss-cross, giving a lot more protection to the mussels than a straight round and round.

I was doing this today and it worked just fine (apart from the fact I caught sod all). I use the same wrapping technique for razor and other long sloppy baits.

You can also get a fine mesh (I got some with some bait I ordered) that you can wrap soft baits in - no idea what it's called.

And another tip I heard recently that might be worth a try was from somebody who fished sturgeon in Canada. Seems they use a big ball of salmon roe as a bait. To keep it together they wrap it up in panyhose.

I wouldn't recommend going to your local tackle shop though and asking for a pack of frozen mussel and a pair of tights, though. Risk of serious ridicule: high. :lol:

Yes, I was trying to stay out of the doghouse, coming home with tights along with my fishing tackle is hardly an improvement on drying out shellfish!

Thanks for the info

Blackie

"Another cracking tip for staying out of the doghouse is not to come out with comments like ""So, Valentine's Day falls on the 14th this year then? Oh..."" :lol: :lol: :lol:"