I know that catching and using sand crabs for bait has been the subject of many previous posts, but if I could gather a consensus of your experienced opinions, it would be very helpful.

1. Could you please provide some info on the tools used to catch them? Links to websites or other diagrams illustrating home-made or store-bought tools would be great. I've heard everything from kiddie shovels to custom-made nets with chicken wire.

2. Size. I think the consensus is that dime-sized crabs and/or softshell crabs are the optimal bait, correct?

3. And, for hooking them, starting from the tail/back end with the eye of the hook towards the head of the crab, then feeding the hook through the back so that it will go through the water tail-first. Is this correct? Most of the time when I rig them this way, they either die right away or go flying off the hook when I cast. Ideas?

4. Carolina rig? It would seem logical but want to confirm.

If any of you could hit on these four points, it would go a long way to enhance my understanding on the subject. Thanks!

** tight lines make all my troubles go away **

As for finding them, First I just look for the little v's made in the sand. If that does not work, look for structure i.e. rocks or pier pilings. Also look for the channels in the sand or anything irregular in the shape of the sand. Last but not least, check different depths. Sometimes they are in 1-2 feet of water(thick). Whatever you do keep moving until you find them, that is usually where the fish are too.

As for digging them up, I use my hands and find plenty. I keep a crappy old fanny pack with me which works great for storage. Once I locate them I dig in with fingers spread open and "rake" around until one slips into my hand. I usually will only catch a dozen at a time, and go back for more when I need them.

As for hooking, I hook on one of the "rear quarter panels"of the shell only. This gives more action and they live longer. I heard that they will bleed to death if you hook them in a vital part, that might be the reason yours are dieing so fast. With this hooking method you need to make sure your crab does not dig in to the sand so give it a tug every ten seconds or so and you will feel the crab dislodging from the sand.

So you must use really small hooks then, if you're only hooking them on part of their shell? I usually use a size 6 baitholder hook, but maybe I need something smaller than that?

** tight lines make all my troubles go away **

I just dig them up by hand. Yes, dime-sized softshells work the best too. I dont worry much about how they are hooked, but I use a very small size 8 hook so it is mostly hidden. Carolina rigged works well...you can even use them on a hi/lo as well. They make great bait for corbina, perch, and all inshore species!

Oh Yea!

My buddy at work who is just as big a Surf Fishing Idiot as myself told me Monday that Harbor Beach in Oceanside is just LOADED with nice sized crabs!

I haven't been out since early March but you can bet that this Holiday Weekend I'll be stalking the Corbs now that the crabs are here!

I've never freted how I hook em. Hell, the largest Grey Ghost I've ever caught (28") back in 1983, I was so damn drunk I'm surprized they even stayed on the hook when I casted. Acually it was a missed cast. Backlash big time and the rig landed in water no more than about 6" deep. Was fumbling around with the rat's nest in the reel when...WHAMO!!

I literally had to walk about 50 yards up the beach to get that toad beached! I like a size 6 baitholder hook when using crabs. When I'm grubing for Bardies I go with a size 8. Can't wait for the weekend.

Tight Lines!!

Aztecwin

Thanks for the feedback, guys. Surf fishing and alcohol? Sounds like a recipe for sunstroke ;-) I'll be sippin' Coronas under the shade, after I catch 500 corbina this weekend, haha! Will post my results for Thursday night's adventure, I got some frozen mussels (don't have time to get fresh ones) that I'll try to use too.

Still curious about the "sand crap net/scoop" that I heard about but which nobody seems to use. I'll stick with my hands for the time being.

** tight lines make all my troubles go away **

For the traps, I do not think you want to carry one of those big things around. They are cumbersome,expensive and a bit over kill. I have heard of guys using a sturdy bait tank net. They are small (6 inch) made of solid construction. If you use a cheapie it will bend and break.

As for hooking, yes a small hook is good but I do not hide it. I just run it through the shell once and it swings around freely. The barb of the hook prevents it from falling off.

How do you keep the mussels on? Thread?

With the mussels there is a tough part I call the lip. The lip goes around the inside edge of the shell all the way around. You can put the hook through the lip a couple times, so that the lip lays out straight as it goes through the water. Often the lip alone is enough to catch fish, but for added presentation, you can also hook the fleshy red/orange part of the muscle onto the hook.

The fleshy part won't stay on the hook as well, and in fact the fish will often bite it off and leave you with just the lip.

Thread would get too complicated for me, and I'd get so frustrated I'd go back to using plastic grubs ;-)

I also got some cool Mustad Short-Shank, Wide Gap baitholder hooks. They're freshwater hooks, but the guy at the tackle shop said that they work well for using sand crabs and mussel b/c the short shank makes the hook less visible than your standard baitholder hook. Worth a try.

** tight lines make all my troubles go away **

I normally start looking for sand crabs around structure. I use my hands, and you can feel them digging down to the bottom of your palm. I normally use the biggest sand crab I can find, as long as they are not over one inch. I fished for a whole week at San Clemente this past summer and caught a total four corbina using the biggest soft-shelled sand crab that I could find. Towards the butt of the sand crab, there are two little flaps. You slide the hook through the middle of them and pull it all the way through the shell. I normally use a carolina rig with a ¼ ounce egg sinker and a four pound leader. Just givin' my 2 cents.

Tight lines!

OCDeryck

I use one very similar to this floating baitwell net (Item: ID-012733) from Cabelas:

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/product/standard-item.jhtml?id=0018066012733a&navAction=push&navCount=1&indexId=&podId=0018066&catalogCode=ID&parentId=&parentType=&rid=

BillH