P18 - FISH & BOAT, February 2019 Crabbing Crabs - Love em’ or hate em’ By Josh Behrendorff are only allowed to be up on the space, attract unwanted pests such Scylla serrata or more com-front casting deck of my boat andas cockroaches and spiders and can- The best part of chasing crabs… Eating them. monly known as mud crabs are must always be contained on top of not be left outside in the elements as a special treat in my household, the tarp. The cheap poly tarp catches UV breaks down the ropes reason- a treat I have laid a blanket rule that all the mud and rotting bait along ably quickly. Good quality crab pots we will only target them while I get with 90% of the smelly mangrovecan handle a little more sun than the annual leave. The reason for this is water if the deckies are well trained. cheaper ones, however I am not too not for the good of the crab species 2. The sandflies keen on replacing my pots every sec- or allergens but more simply because I hate sandflies! I often wonder ond year so for this reason I bought a of the mess and pain associated with what purpose sandflies have in the small garden shed and custom made chasing a feed of muddies. food chain and why God put these a hanger to hold them up off the In preparation for this article I jot- irritable tiny creatures on our pris- ground and away from the house af- ted down a list of pros and cons of tine coastlines. Despite the amount ter they have been well washed. mud crabs and the cons out-weighed of contemplation I have for sandflies, 4. Repairing torn crab pots. the pro’s 10 to 1, most people would it doesn’t stop the welts they leave on In North Queensland, it is inevita- use a list like this to justify that the my skin for days and I have found ble that crab pots will get damaged mud crabs really aren’t worth the ef- the best remedy for this is proper by really big crabs, crocs or sharks fort, so this month I will go through preparation. I cover up as much as despite the quality of crab pot. how I combat some of the morepractical depending on the tempera-As always, the better quality pots pressing negatives of targeting mud ture along with heaps and heaps of have tougher mesh and a sturdier crabs, some of which are normally tropical strength Aeroguard. build so I always by the best I can not discussed for obvious reasons. Even this doesn’t guarantee that afford but even these need to be re- 6. Cleaning crabs the crabs are eaten can be a bone of 1. The mess in the boat the midgies won’t attack, so I will paired at times. A quick fix for re- I have never been a fan of clean- contention. After trying to eat inside Having a carpeted boat adds that not drop crab pots in the top of small tying crab pots is zippy ties, however ing a mud crab that has been boiled the house over baking trays or news- extra touch of comfort for over- creeks or deep inside mangroves, I this should only be used as a tem- whole, washing the guts and ‘goop’ paper, crab juices will always spray nighters in a boat, however carpet on work the tides and find suitable ar- porary solution as it seems to create from inside the crab requires you while cracking crabs claws. a boat attracts blood, slime, mud and eas on mud flats and target the crabs weak points where the zippy ties rub to inevitably wash the cooked crab The only solution in our house- bad smells just like a falling piece of when they are on the move. against the mesh. meat taking away the delicate fla- hold is to sit outside by the pool and buttered bread will always land but- Luckily I don’t have to rely on my A more permanent solution is avours of the mud crab. when we are finished just hose off tered side down. crabbing skills to pay the bills, and roll of brickies line and taking the We clean all our mud crabs while the patio. My boat lives in the garage, so I can wait for the right months and time to repair the holes correctly the they are green and steam in a veg- On my original pro’s and cons list a smelly, rank boat will make the tides to look for a feed of crabs. first time, it is time-consuming but etable steamer to retain as many of of mud crabs, I had 10 negative and house stink and is not an option. To 3. Storing crab pots when not in better in the long run. the true crab meat taste. Crabs still only the single positive which was overcome such an issue, crab pots, use 5. Smelly rotten bait have to be cleaned, and so I taught eating the crabs. The taste is phe- crabs, mangrove mud, crab bait, etc. Crab pots take up a lot of storage When I first moved to Townsville my beautiful wife how to clean the nomenal, and due to the difficulty 10 things I hate about crabsyears ago, I went crabbing with acrabs, and she has happily taken thatof pulling the meat from the shells bloke and the minute he opened the on as her job as a trade-off because I you are forced to savour and enjoy crab bait esky I began dry reaching, have to clean the boat. Happy days! every mouthful, the perfect holiday I hate the sand flies and the stinking bait, the early wake upsa smell like that stays in your hands 7. Eating crabs food and something worth looking for days and cannot be cleaned out Eating crabs isn’t a problem in our forward to. Until next time stay safe and the anticipating wait. I hate the way they mess the boatof an esky. While rotten bait stillhousehold, just the location of whereand tight lines. and to repair the pots each time, what a joke. The Jenny crabs,gets some crabs, the best crab baitsare fresh crab baits. Cleaning crabs, while they are green, ensures maximum they’re the worst, their bite and them flipping you off makesIF I don’t have freshly frozen fish undiluted crab meat. you want to curse. I hate the sight and smell of mud, the boat,frames of my own, the tackle store’s the floor, the kids yelling out “Dad, I’m bored!” I hate the wayfrozen mullet heads aren’t a bad after so much effort and time and mess, you’d do it all againcompromise. They are already indi- another time. The taste, the texture, Crabbing during holi-vidually frozen making loading the days couldn’t paint a better picture. pots a breeze and it also reduces the By Faith Behrendorff chances of smelly fish ‘goop’ leaking into the boat. Keeping crab pots separated from carpet is rule #2 in my boat, rule #1 is no mud on the carpet. Storing crab pots out of the way and protected from UV rays is essential for prolonged crab pot life.