What might be legal for the Texas redfish angler will not work for a Tar Heel angler. Division of Marine Fisheries and having spent some time on the internet trying to sort out all the laws and regulations having to do with blue crabs, it would be illegal in North Carolina to use small blue crab as bait. Size limit is measured from tip-to-tip of the carapaceĪfter talking to the N.C.50 crabs per day per person, not to exceed 100 crabs per vessel per day.6 3⁄4 -inch maximum size limit for females from Sept.You want this kind of bait to be alive because, just as with a live shrimp or minnow, the struggling bait emits vibrations that attract predatory fish.” Don’t run the hook too deeply into the crab’s body or you might kill the crab. Be sure that the hook extends out of the shell far enough to let the hook engage the fish’s mouth when you set the hook. When I asked him how he rigged the live crab as bait, he replied that, “I use a circle hook and, dependent on the size of the crab you’re using as bait, insert the point of the hook through the bottom of the horn of the crab’s shell and work the point of the hook out through the top of the shell of the horn (sharp tip of the carapace). It may be shallow and you have to literally sneak up quietly on the feeding fish and carefully cast your bait to them.” Shrimp, crabs and small baitfish find refuge in these natural grass beds and that’s where the redfish go when they’re hungry. “Grass beds are usually full of items that redfish and speckled trout feed on and these grassy areas are like fast food restaurants to redfish. The Texas angler further replied that he looked for feeding redfish in the grass beds that you frequently find in the shallow bays along the Gulf Coast. If this bait from a molting crab could be good, why shouldn’t a regular hard crab be equally good? ![]() There was something about the smell of this type of bait that drove fish crazy. I’d known for years that deadly bait for most kinds of predatory fish in our brackish waters was either using soft or peeler crab parts fished on the bottom. Redfish will simply knock themselves out to get to one of these small, live crabs.” “If I were to chose any bait for consistently taking redfish, it would always be by using a live, two- to four-inch blue crab for bait. I had always surmised that redfish anglers who were noted for taking these renowned sport fish were dedicated to using artificial lures. On a recent trip to the Gulf Coast of Texas, I was talking with a fisherman who was noted for his ability to catch large redfish (red drum) and asked him what this secret was. law requires of ALL fishermen, recreational or commercial. CAUGHT CRAB HANDED: This Enforcement Officer checks the size a blue crab that was taken by a commercial fisherman to be sure that it meets the legal requirements that the N.C.
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