Sand Crabs - barehanded - California Fishing

NulodPBall · 07-09-2007, 01:57 AM

Well, after spending July 4th with my niece and nephew I improved my sandcrabbing technique. You can always cheat and spend $50.00 on an official sandcrab sifter at the local tackle shop (if you make your own, make sure that the holes are large enough to pass the and through quickly, but just barely small enough to keep medium sized crabs from passing through), or you can accept the challenge and try to get them barehanded...it's actually easier than you think.

There was one kid with my nephew that was consistently getting more sandcrabs than the rest of us so I studied what he was doing that was different...he was just tossing the sand onto the surface, and then he'd see movement and then get the crab...fine I try this and it doesn't see to work all the time for me, so I study why:

1. Sand Crabs dig very quickly when there's alot of water around...so quickly that you don't notice them until they're gone.

2. If there's not enough water, the Sand Crabs won't move at all...if they're in sand, they'll just sit still...if they're on top of sand they'll try to dig, but they can't.

3. If you judge things just right, you can see the crab, and get it before it disappears...now I study how to set things up so I can catch more crabs...

Sand Observations:

1. If you're too high, and the sand is too coarse, the water disperses too quickly and the Sand Crabs dont' move enough for you to see them.

2. If the sand is too fine, then it's harder for the water to drain quickly, so the sandcrabs are moving fast enough to get away before you ever see them.

3. You can choose a zone (which can change constantly) so that there's enough water left for you to get sandcrabs consistently.

What do I do?

1. I pick Zone 3.
2. I quickly throw a handful or two of sand onto the surface.
3. I look in the resulting pile for any movement, and if I do see something, I quickly dip my hand or fingers UNDER where I saw the movement...it's okay to scoop with a hand, and then just sift through the sand with your other finger...the sandcrabs will want to hide in the cracks of your fingers so keep them tightly closed.

Using this method, I was able to get doubles and triples at times. The key is to selecting Zone 3 to dig in, and then being quick at scooping as soon as you see movement.

I figure this is cheaper and easier than buying, and carrying around a sandcrab strainer...you can throw a couple in your pocket or maybe a container with water and sand that you can put in your pocket for rebaiting, but you can instantly get more bait when you need it.

If you see sandcrabs with any orange underneath their rear legs, those, and the softshelled ones are probably the best bait. The orange indicates egg sacs if I remember correctly

I hope this helps people...I know more than one person at the beach has remarked that they haven't seem many sandcrabs, but they're there now...enjoy

cst · 07-09-2007, 11:28 AM

thats what i do too

although this year they were all super tiny.

Max Estep · 07-09-2007, 01:04 PM

haha....I've been using sandcrabs all of my life in mexico...there actually really easy to get there,there is hand fulls of them down in baja!

Nick Velvet · 07-09-2007, 06:00 PM

Good info Ray. I havent been tageting corbina so I havent been out in search for them. I will continue to use my home deep fryer basket I got from goodwill for .50

Beresford13861 · 07-09-2007, 07:10 PM

ive never purchased sand crabs myself, i like the chalenge in digging for them.... also gives me a reason to play in the sand

lovefish · 07-09-2007, 08:56 PM

there is always sandcrabs at the santa monica pier i dno y lol

cashe · 07-09-2007, 09:01 PM

the soft shelled ones are the best ones for eating. Fry them up and just pop them in your mouth like popcorn, mmmmgood. Fry them in butter, with garlic, onions, and a bay leaf.

BeachBear · 07-09-2007, 09:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cashe

the soft shelled ones are the best ones for eating. Fry them up and just pop them in your mouth like popcorn, mmmmgood. Fry them in butter, with garlic, onions, and a bay leaf.

LOL, that was good. You were joking right?

Ray thanks for sharing and it'll help many.

cashe · 07-09-2007, 09:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BeachBear

LOL, that was good. You were joking right?

Ray thanks for sharing and it'll help many.

Would I steer you wrong.

Nick Velvet · 07-09-2007, 11:34 PM

Taste like popcorn.

NulodPBall · 07-10-2007, 12:53 AM

LOL...someone else said that the crabs were tiny also, but I got more than one that was about an inch and a half long..females...