General information

Crabbing is great fun,just about anybody can do it,and it makes a great day out for the family.There are a few different methods used to catch crabs,and there are two main types of crabs caught in S.A waters.The two types of crabs you are likely to catch from our gulfs and inshore waters are the Blue swimmer crab and the Sand crab.The Blue swimmer is the most highly prized because it is larger,is more wide spread through our water,has more meat in it,and most people will tell you they taste better than the Sand crab.However on saying that i find nothing wrong with the taste of freshly cooked Sand crabs and at sometimes of the year,especially from our metro-northern jetties they are plentiful.Crabs can be caught through the warmer months of the year,generally the only time they really tapper off is from May through to August any other time is worth a try.

Blue swimmer crabs

There are two ways to catch Blue swimmers.The first method i will explain is whats known as "Rakeing or Dabbing".This done on some of our northern beaches mostly in our upper gulf regions when the tide is at its lowest.Siutable footwear is a must,an old pair of sandshoes will do,wade out to the knee deep water and using your rake (see picture below) start scratching around the weed beds,looking for disturbed sand or a slightly blue colour just under the sand,this would indicate a crab just under the surface of the sand.As soon as you touch the crab it will jump out the sand,this is when you hook him up in your rake and toss him in your bucket or most people tie tub with a length of rope around there waist.Another way catching them,and a less labour intensive way is by using "dropnets".This can be done from boats or jetties.The nets are normally between 650 and 850cm round,either with one hoop or two with baits tied to the middle or bottom off the nets.The nets are thrown in the water and retrieved every 10 minutes or so,this is usually enough time for crabs to smell the bait and climb into the net.If you leave them in to long the crabs have a chance to steal the bait,also Rays have habit of sitting on your net and munch away at your bait.Size (see picture below) and bag limits apply and females with eggs must be returned to the water (see picture below).Females lack the true blue colour of the males and have a broader body flap underneath.I find the best baits are small fish heads wired together,but anything can be used including chicken pieces and meat.

Crab rake

Male Blue swimmer crab