Peeler Crab on the West Coast

I considered buying a couple of packets of frozen peeler crab as mentioned in a recent magazine (as I wouldn't know a peeler crab on the beach if it came and bit me!).

I often read about how they are the #1 bait, etc, but was then told that they are useless over here (Donegal) and that they are only any good off the East coast.

Can anyone advise?

Hi Arthur

Absolulte rubbish! Peelers work particularly well in any estuary or similar area where there is a big resident crab population, so I would imagine they would work especially well in places like Lough Swilly. The problem is that no bait shops outside of Dublin and the South East stock them as it is a lot of hard work to collect them unless you have lots of traps set. They are used primarily as bass and flatfish baits but you can use them on wrasse and ray just as well in fact no fish will turn its nose up at crab!

Maybe it is time to update the crab page on the website (under baits)...

FWIW...

Hi Arthur,

Are you asking about the Bait box velvet swimmer crabs?

Donagh

Hi Arthur,

Are you asking about the Bait box velvet swimmer crabs?

Donagh

Can't remember which it was - have you advice on the above? I'm keen to try new approaches.

Theres couple of threads on these on this forum with no positive reponse and their very expensive. I have seen positive comments else where that they may be useful as a beach bait for bass when the weather gets warmer. I understand velvet swimmers peel on mass over a 2 week period and bass can go lala for them at this time.

Donagh

Give these velvet peelers a miss , your better off sticking to the real thing.
When does this two week period you speak of occur Donagh?

I have used the frozen velvet swimmers with some success.I tried a pack about 2 months ago at Fenit.I got 8 baits from a pack of 4 and caught 6 coalies and 1 bass.Delighted with this I bought another pack 2 weeks later,returned to fenit and blanked with the crab but caught with sandeel.Lastweekend my mate and I went to Minard,just outside Dingle,and brought some of these crab,mackeral and sandeel.The fish baits both outfished the velvet crab by a long way.While this may not be conclusive I don't see the point in paying 8 euro for 4 frozen velvets when the cheaper fish baits do the same job if not better.By the way,while on the subject of crabs,the small green hardback crabs(about 1 inch across) normally found in rockpools are deadly for wrasse when fished under a float.

I was just repeating what I saw on different forums that I've looked at but no longer have the web addresses.

The book "Hooked on Bass" has a nice piece on Crab baits. According to it Bass in certain areas will go almost exclusively for velvet swimmers and in other areas they may be only on a par with normal peeler. They peel in the later half of the summer and different groups of crabs peel altogether on mass. They also recommend them frozen as they quickly die out of water unless you have an air pump and say their good even at crispy stage.

Their selling here for 6:50 so 8 euros seems like robbery. I'm taking Jakes advise and trying out mussels which are supposed to be a reasonable substitute for peeler.

Donagh