The boat house and peeler crabs

[Davy]

2 completely different subjects but I\'m sure there is experts on here that can help with both!!!

1) When is the best time to fish the boat house at Whitley - High/low water, ebb/flood?

2) What is the season for collecting Peeler crabs?

many thanks

ps. Going to try the boat house this weekend and hopefully be able to post a catch report thats worthwhile!

[kingfisher]

best to fish the boat house is 2 hours up then 2 hours down on a moderat tide with a sea on norht eastly or south eastly weed can be a problem

[Seasonalsortofguy]

Best time for peelers is may through July but if you know when and where to look you can locate a few at any time of year evn up here in the north east - weather permitting.

[Ian_D]

I was talking to a bait digger at Blackpool the other week who seemed to know his stuff (he could certainly pump worms OK) and he said that a mate of his was a marine scientist and had given him some chemical that would put hard backs into the moult if added to the water.
The amount needed was very small, he said a few drops in 5 gallons of water or thereabouts.
He told me the name of the stuff, but I couldn\'t even pronounce it let alone remember it.
Has anybody else heard of this?

[tz500]

it wasnt called bulls**t was it .
that stuff would be liquid gold.

[Seasonalsortofguy]

LOL.

That would be a licence to print money. You could be a millionaire in no time. The demand for peelers is massive with many people willing to pay in excess of a pound per crab. There is a firm in the south claims to have it cracked but I have seen no evidence of that.

[zippie]

is it not that new stuff,FOOLS GOLD,!!!! LMFAO

[tony.codling]

put me down for two bottles :P
and i dont care how much it costs

[Tat]

I\'m sure I\'ve seen reports on this on another site.If I find it I\'ll post on it.

[Ian_D]

A few years ago some anglers were claiming that moulting could be induced in crabs by removing their eye-stalks. Not something I\'m entirely happy about personally, but that was what they claimed.

I\'ve just been having a look on the web and found quite a few references to a chemical called methyl farnesoate which occurs in insects and crustaceans, and some researchers are claiming that increasing the levels can bring forward moulting in crabs.
Interestingly enough the chemical is produced in crabs by an organ found at the base of the eye-stalks.
So maybe we shouldn\'t laugh too soon.

If there is a realistic possibility of inducing crabs to moult then you can bet that someone is working on it now. There\'s already at least one organisation farming crabs to market the peelers as a bait, and they\'d be on a winner if they could speed up the process.

[BriH]

There\'s already at least one organisation farming crabs to market the peelers as a bait, and they\'d be on a winner if they could speed up the process.

Yep and that organisation should be Mother Nature - mess on with a natural cycle like crab shedding thier backs and who knows were it takes us - all the hard back crab that are collected to induce in tanks have no chance - thus NEVER being able to produce next years crab and the next ETC ETC - the hens will never be fertilized (they can only do this when in a state of peeling) that is why you find them being held by cock crabs until they have shed thier shells - but if they are collected and this wonder chemical makes them peel - your looking at total wipe-out within only a few years

Still prefer to collect when naturally ready

Thats my view on it anyway

and i also think its a right load of BolloX that there is a liquid that induces crab to peel with a few drops - why not tip 100 bottles in the Tyne ,if its a \"few Drops per 5 Gallon \"

[zippie]

thta my mate brih,never one to sit on a fence!!!!

[tubbie2shoes]

to help with your first question Kingfisher has hit the nail on the head however, don\'t rule out getting as far out as you can on the rock edges on big springs after a rough sea when there is still colour in the water, there are numerous holes in amongst the kelp which hold fish. Don\'t over fish them though, if there is nothing in a hole after two chucks, move on. A good starting point is the \"Railway\" although its a bit of a hike and you can get cut off.