How to Crab

Recreational crabbing is a fun a rewarding sport. It's something you can enjoy by yourself or with

others. It's also great for kids and adults of all ages. Not only is it fun to be outdoors crabbing

but you also get to go home and put food on the dinner table. With the right tools and techniques

you can catch crabs easy and effortlessly while enjoying your time on the water. I've been crabbing

ever since I was a young boy and I have learned many tips through the years to help catch more

crabs. I want to show you how to crab so you too can bring home a nice catch.

So Captain Pete, show me how to crab. Well there are various methods to catch crabs. I will be

discussing two ways to catch blue crabs. You can catch blue crabs from a pier or from a boat. The

best methods are to use hand lines, crab traps, and trotlines. In this article I will discuss using

hand lines and crab traps. Hand lines and crab traps can be used from a pier or from a boat. A

trotline can only be used by boat.

How to Crab Using Hand Lines

If you are crabbing from a pier or boat using handlines, you'll need a ball of string (kite string

works or something similar), bait (raw chicken necks), a net with a long handle, a bushel basket or

bucket to keep the crabs in, crab tongs, and a measuring device for the crabs to make sure they are

the legal size limit. These are enough supplies to get you started. Hand lines are nothing more than

a long string with a chicken neck tied to the end of it.

Make sure the string is long enough to get in the water from the pier or boat. You want the bait to

reach the bottom (or close to it) without much slack. Once you got your string cut to the length you

need, tie a chicken neck to the end of one side. When you're ready to start crabbing, lower the bait

in the water. When it gets to the bottom, tie the top part of the string to the pier or boat and

wait a few minutes. Then start pulling up the string SLOWLY. If there is a crab on the bait you will

feel it moving slightly. Keep pulling up the string SLOWLY until the crab is just under the surface,

then put the net under the crab and scoop it up and into your bucket. You can use multiple hand

lines at a time to catch more crabs.

How to Crab Using Crab Traps

Crabbing with crab traps is one of the best methods to catch blue crabs, especially if you are

crabbing from a boat. Make sure to check with your local laws to see how many traps you can use as a

recreational crabber. Bait your traps with chicken necks attached to the center of the bottom grate

using a snood or a spring. Make sure the length of your string is long enough to get the crab trap

to the bottom. This is important because the trap will not open unless it hits bottom. If you are

crabbing from a pier, tie the top part of the string to the pier. Leave some slack (an extra foot or

2 after the trap hits bottom) so the trap doors stay open. If you are crabbing from a boat, tie a

buoy to the top part of the string (buoys are sold at tackle shops, or you can use an empty 2 liter

bottle sealed shut with the cap). Once you have the correct length, lower the trap into the water

and let the buoy float on top. Again, remember to have enough slack in the line so the doors open

after it hits bottom.

Leave the trap in the water for a few minutes than QUICKLY pull up the line all the way until the

trap comes out of the water. If there is a crab in there, shake or pull the crab out with your

tongs, place the crab into your basket then drop the trap back in the water. Traps are different

from hand lines. You have to pull them up quick to shut the doors and keep the crab inside. You can

use multiple crab traps as long as they are within the amount allowed by law. If you are crabbing

from a boat, drop the traps in a line about 2 boat lengths apart then go back and pick them up one

by one.

For more information including tips that will help fill your baskets with crabs, check out

www.CrabTips.com. This site is filled with tips and techniques to help you catch more crabs.

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The Fishing Rod

Basically a fishing rod is a stick. To be more precise it's a flexible shaft, usually fitted with

runners or guides to carry the fishing line, and has a place to mount a reel. Fishing rods offer all

sorts of advantages over handlines. Using a rod allows you to cast further and to reach out beyond

bank-side obstructions like bushes and rocks, a rod will also keep your line away from the side of a

boat or away from jetty pylons etc.
A Rod makes very useful bite indicators and shock absorbers when hooking, reeling and landing fish.

Although the rod must suit the type of fishing you are doing, with so many different rods available

on the market it can be a hard task choosing which rod best suits your needs. What rod you need

depends on where you fish and what types of fish you are fishing for. You may need several rods and

reel combination's to get the most out of your fishing. When choosing a rod there are several things

you need to take into consideration.

Rod configuration - There are three specific locations a reel can be mounted on a rod. Low mounts

are for side cast reels, medium mounts are for threadlines and high mounts are for revolving drum

type reels. The three mounting locations will provide a more energy efficient casting position.

Taper - The taper of a rod is the narrowing of thickness from the thick butt through to the thin

tip. Most rods are built of hollow shafts called blanks. They can be made from fiberglass and

graphite or a mixture of both. Rods are very light depending on what it is made from and although

they are very strong and flexible they can break so you do need to be careful when your rod is under

extreme pressure. Slow tapered rods are generally used in floating fish. Medium taper rods are very

good for baiting fish. Fast taper rods are used when casting a distance.

Hands - There is either One Handed rods or double handed rods. Most light threadlines and

baitcasters are single handed rods, where you only use one hand when casting. These rods are mostly

used in estuary and freshwater fishing. Larger threadlines and medium size revolving drum reels are

double handed rods, where you use two hands in the casting process. Double handed rods usually allow

more power when casting and more leverage when fighting a tough fish. These make prefect sea fishing

rods.

Keep these things in mind for the next time you are look to up date you rod or perhaps you are

looking to take up fishing as a new hobby. There is no better way than to spend the day out on the

ocean, on the beach of by the river just fishing.

Bobby Gillies keen fishermen and host of [http://www.bigfishbobby.com] specializing in Surf and Sea

Fishing Rods [http://www.bigfishbobby.com].

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How to Catch Any Fish - Goliath Grouper

Description

Goliath Grouper, as the name suggests, are a very large species of Grouper. They are so large that

they require specialized techniques and therefore get their own section on this site. Goliaths can

achieve weights of over 800 lb although specimens that large are almost impossible to catch. These

behemoths do not have a lot of stamina and fights are often fairly brief on the super heavy tackle

they require, but the first power run they take to the bottom will strain the arms of even the

strongest anglers. If you can fish these guys with 90 lb of drag in standup gear without a chair or

harness you should probably call ESPN about the World's Strongest Man contest.



The largest Goliath Grouper I hooked broke the boat off the anchor, towed us around, and snapped an

impossibly thick rod. We didn't have another rod that heavy so we had to resort to handlining after

that. They will engulf almost any reef fish you hook in certain parts of Florida, including

Snappers, Permit, rays, sharks, etc. In some parts of Florida their primary food source is stealing

fish that have been hooked by fishermen.

Goliaths are protected in the United States and must be released. Good luck finding many of them in

places they aren't protected.

Tackle

This is one of the most specialized fisheries there is in terms of tackle. You need a large reel

capable of 90 lb of drag and loaded with 400 lb+ monofilament if you want to consistently land the

big ones. You can land some with lesser tackle but you will break a lot off and that is not good for

you or the fish. Luckily you don't need a lot of line because you either win or lose the battle with

the first 25 or so yards of line. This is one of the few fish where monofilament is preferable to

braid because the stretch is the only "drag" you use. Whatever rod you use will eventually snap

after a few large fish with that amount of drag. I highly recommend you find one of the few guides

who really specializes in this type of fishing and use their gear. That being said, I was able to

land a 175 lber on heavy spinning gear (100 lb braid on a Daiwa Saltiga Dogfight reel) when we were

fortunate enough to hook it far from a reef. It's always better to be lucky than good.

Smaller Goliaths hang around docks and pilings and can be landed on lighter tackle. However, I still

recommend a minimum of 100 lb test. Too many fish get hooked on overly light gear and then have to

swim around with hooks in their mouths.

Large circle hooks are the way to go to avoid gut hooking and facilitate release.

Techniques

Large Goliath Grouper are almost exclusively caught on live or dead bait. The key to successful

Goliath Grouper fishing is anchoring close enough to the reef or wreck so that they will come out to

eat your bait, but far enough away that you have a chance of pulling them away before they get back

and break you off. One tip to help them find the bait is to bounce it off the bottom to create some

commotion. These fish have no predators and are not shy.

Lures

No lures that I know of are effective on large Goliath Grouper.

Baits

Various types of rays caught in the area you are fishing work well. They give off a lot of scent and

work even when dead. Any type of 1-15 lb live fish should work well but many are illegal to use for

bait in Florida.

Where to get the big ones

The only place I know of to really pursue these guys is South Florida. Because of the ban on keeping

them their numbers have increased significantly, and this is one of the few places you can find a

guide who specializes in them. If you have the tackle it would not be too difficult to target them

on your own as they are not shy. In most of the rest of their range that I know of they are pretty

fished out and not available in sufficient numbers to target successfully.

For more specific helpful information on how to catch many other species of fish, as well as

unbiased tackle recommendations and high quality fishing photos, go to

http://www.howtocatchanyfish.com.

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