How to prepare a crab for the table

Despite the fact that most people just love eating crab many people don't really know the first place to start when cleaning one! The process can be made as simple or as complex as you like and many people I know simply boil the crab and break it apart to eat it. Others use a machete to cut the crab in half and remove all the innards before cooking as they believe it makes the crabs even tastier.

This short video will show you one of the best ways to clean a crab and with careful attention you can easily learn this method!

Best bait for crabs

Best bait for crabs

I know a few really serious crab anglers who guard their secret crab bait or concoction with their life. I have even heard of serious fights between crab anglers over which crab bait is better than the other and it all seems a bit silly really.

To understand what makes a top quality crab bait you need to understand the feeding habits of crabs and, in particular, what actually makes up their main diet. I have recently written a post titled what do crabs eat, which might be a good place to start. For those that want to skip ahead without reading the main points are that crabs feed mainly on plant matter and alive or fresh dead animal matter. That doesn't mean you should start adding dead wood to your crab nets just yet though! Contrary to popular belief crabs are not more attracted to rotting fish because of the smell and fresh bait is always a better choice. Adding tuna oil will help to attract the crab to the area.

Top crab baits include

• Fresh fish (whole or carcus)
• Fresh chicken pieces (these can also be spiced up with tuna oil)
• Tin of tuna with some holes punched in the top (this is not quite as effective, but is very convenient and not as messy)

Other strange crab baits

I tend to stick with the more traditional baits, but some crab anglers swear by these strange and unusual baits.

• Dog food tin with holes punched into the can
• Unscented soap (not recommended)
• Dry dog food rings

What do crabs eat

I love catching crabs and enjoy eating them even more, but when other crab anglers get wind of your success they always want to know what bait you are using in your crab pot. I get asked about crab eating habits fairly often so I thought it might be worth writing a little post about what crabs actually eat.

What do crabs eat
There are many different types of crabs including the spider crab, hermit crab, mud crab, blue crab, horseshoe crab, fiddler crab and sand crab, just to name a few. Even though there are hundreds of different species all the research suggests that they have a very similar diet.

It might surprise people that about half of a crabs diet is plant matter, but that doesn't mean you should start putting rotting wood into your crab pots just yet. The other half of a crabs diet consists of any animal matter that it can scavenge. This is made up primarily of fish matter, shellfish, snails, worms, fungi and bacteria. Contrary to popular belief crabs are more partial to fresh fish than rotten fish. The later being popular with crab anglers due to the belief that crabs can find rotting animal materials because of the smell.

Other Crab Facts

• The crab's teeth are in their stomachs.
• Crabs live for about 3 years on average.
• A crab can voluntarily detach its claw when in danger and its claw it will grow back.