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Rigging peeler crabs

Printed From: The Fishing Website
Category: Saltwater Fishing
Forum Name: Soft Bait Fishing
Forum Description: Anything to do with this latest and greatest way of catching our favourite species
URL: https://www.fishing.net.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=29487
Printed Date: 29 Mar 2024 at 6:31pm


Topic: Rigging peeler crabs
Posted By: 41south
Subject: Rigging peeler crabs
Date Posted: 21 May 2008 at 10:24am
Hi there, new to the forum - and SP fishing.

I did a quick search but didn't find an answer to this question - what is the correct/best way (or everyones favourite) to rig the Gulp 2" peeler crabs?

Many thanks
Colin.



Replies:
Posted By: Finatic
Date Posted: 21 May 2008 at 10:38am
I just put a 6/0 circle hook through the middle

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What's the cheapest type of meat? Dear balls. They're under a buck.


Posted By: Badfish
Date Posted: 21 May 2008 at 11:52am
What he said. Some people use them on jig heads but I use them primarily on a sinker above hook set up and just drag them along when I drift the sands on my kayak. They do bloody well on gurnard but have had trevs, Kys, snapper etc, even a small shark once.


Posted By: Finatic
Date Posted: 21 May 2008 at 12:01pm
Yeah, sinker running down on top of hook for me too.

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What's the cheapest type of meat? Dear balls. They're under a buck.


Posted By: Amateur
Date Posted: 22 May 2008 at 1:09pm
I have had good results out West side with the 2" Peeler Crab. I fish using Synit Deepwater Rigs, that means I know which way up my worm hook is going to be sitting on the bottom. I push the hook in and back out of the bottom side of the crab so that when it is on the bottom, his bum is into the sea bed and his little claws are pointing skywards, like a crab in the defensive posture. Many fat snappers and gerbils have found their way into the bin with this set up. Haven't been able to reproduce the same results on the East side yet.

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No half measures!


Posted By: roddholder
Date Posted: 22 May 2008 at 10:21pm
i use a running egg shaped sinker with a triple surgons knot to form a small loop then a short flouro trace to a 2/0 kl hookhooked through the crab . this stops the crab from spinning as it is pulled along. can be cast out from an anchored boat and very slowly retrieved. deadly. give it a jerk every 5m or so to puff the sand up and the snapps will beat the gurnards every time.

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she was only a fishermans daughter, but she reeled at the sight of my rod!.


Posted By: 41south
Date Posted: 23 May 2008 at 9:45am
Thanks for all the replies guys Thumbs%20Up
Amateur, is the deepwater rig similar to the captains/elevator rig? Ive found the Synit web site, but there isn't any info on it that I can find (and I'm definitely a picture person Dead )

I caught a good size gurnard off the south end of Welly airport on the weekend using a standard jig head rig with a 5" Gulp squid sp. Then 10 minutes later had a nice fat Kawhai jump on the same rig. They are sure great sport on the light rig Big%20smile

Cheers
Colin.




Posted By: Amateur
Date Posted: 23 May 2008 at 10:34am
Hi 41south, there is a similarity with the captains rig but the Synit one has produced the results for me. Check out the thread this link takes you to. http://www.fishing.net.nz/asp_forums/forum_posts.asp?TID=23509 - http://www.fishing.net.nz/asp_forums/forum_posts.asp?TID=23509
As you will see, the folk on here use all sorts of different rigs and they all work, I started soft baiting with Synit rigs a year ago and have never gone away from them. I think the key is to get to the bottom where the snappers are and maintain some natural looking movement. If you PM Men In Black you will be tapped directly into the Synit main artery. Thumbs%20Up
I haven't found any other form of fishing that is as exciting as catching fish on a soft bait set up, especially snappers, for me that's were its at, but I haven't hooked a kingi yet! Just wait till you get a good string pulling snappy, you'll understand what I mean.


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No half measures!


Posted By: Far Quirk
Date Posted: 27 May 2008 at 8:46pm
I read somewhere that you should put the hook in so that the crab moves along sideways.  Sort of like below which is my shocking representation of a size 4 or 5 worm hook.  I've caught the odd fish with this set-up in the Sargeant's channel.  This would probably spin, sit upside down, etc, and if that worries you, the Synit rig would be better.  You can also get hooks with lead "keels" on them which would help overcome this problem. Smear the crab with Stimulate fish attractant every so often.  (learnt this from Betterthanwork).


Posted By: Amateur
Date Posted: 28 May 2008 at 9:36am
Exactly what I was trying to describe Far Quick, you're a smarter computer operater than I. Thumbs%20Up

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No half measures!


Posted By: Blue Asparagus
Date Posted: 28 May 2008 at 10:22am

my 1st play with softies was with these crabs, I used a 7/0 gammy and threaded it side ways so the crab looked like it was having a wander, did not use any sinkers as i was only in 4m of water, had the set up on my saltfly, dam if it was not alot of fun, a slow bottom and even mid water retrieve did the damage, and on the fly they cast well.



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Ultimate GAME Fishing Adventures. Northland



Posted By: herby
Date Posted: 28 May 2008 at 12:10pm
Anyone used the crabs for mahimahi or albies?


Posted By: Redfinger
Date Posted: 28 May 2008 at 1:11pm
Herby - what are you on?
Would be just the ticket for your Omaha gurnard - might try this saturday.


Posted By: herby
Date Posted: 28 May 2008 at 1:16pm
Theyre about the same size as the crabs that hang onto kelp paddies, so they might be a goer for the fish that hang around the paddies?
Heard albies often have crabs in their guts too.
I dunno.
Tiras and I jumped onto a few kelp paddies over summer to see what we could spear (nothing as it turned out) anyway I swam through a patch of kelp, put my head up to talk to tiras, only for him to laugh at me because I had a bunch of those crabs running over my head.Embarrassed


Posted By: Blue Asparagus
Date Posted: 28 May 2008 at 2:08pm
grabs on your head and face herb, recon your looking for love in all the wrong places lol.

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Ultimate GAME Fishing Adventures. Northland



Posted By: ThomasW
Date Posted: 28 May 2008 at 9:05pm

I rig mine with a 4/0 circle hook through the middle then above that a ball sinker which is allowed to run up/down the line. I cast it out behind the drifting boat and allow it to be dragged along while actively fishing a SP in-front of the boat.  I used it mainly on mad flats in shallow water. 

Was quite successful mid summer when the Snapper were around down here.  The only crab I had luck with was the gulp, tried a couple of other brands and only got nibbles. 



Posted By: DeKay
Date Posted: 28 May 2008 at 9:57pm
I like to dangle mine across any spearos in the area and hope that they bite!
Either that or just push any hook (circle, worm, jig head or other) through the crab and drop the thing over the side. Many a blue cod or carrot has devoured the crab lure to my gratification. I've tried rigging the crab on different angles but have not found much difference from the rigging styles. I have found that small jiggles work better than large ones with the crab baits.


Posted By: roddholder
Date Posted: 29 May 2008 at 10:27pm
the reason i use a small hook through the bum of the crab is so that it looks as if its backing away from the snapper. i have had good sucess on the sand up to about 20m but the 5-10 m area is best. the snapper today were full of tuatua yet they grabbed the grabs no sweat. had fish for tea again tonight, yumy!!!.

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she was only a fishermans daughter, but she reeled at the sight of my rod!.


Posted By: Fissure
Date Posted: 13 Jul 2008 at 10:25pm
One of my favourite SP'S I use for the Magnificent Gurnard. Hooked through the side on a 4/0 circle. Got x2 large ones today Welly south coast. These are two inch amber glow. Do they still sell the smaller ones? Perfect for Tarakihi on 1/0 circles i reckon.


Posted By: Far Quirk
Date Posted: 21 Jul 2008 at 8:44pm
Cut a 2" crab in half for the terakihi?


Posted By: DeKay
Date Posted: 21 Jul 2008 at 10:08pm
Anyone got a weedless rig for crabs? I find I get frustrated over foul and revert back to shads.


Posted By: Fissure
Date Posted: 21 Jul 2008 at 10:33pm
Originally posted by Far Quirk Far Quirk wrote:

Cut a 2" crab in half for the terakihi?
 
 
Yeah been doing that with some Gulp clams to same effect-good idea. The clams spiraling on the way up anyway, so chop chop. Smile .


Posted By: tga fisher
Date Posted: 24 Jul 2008 at 3:57pm
I'm fairly new to soft plastics also but have had some great wash fishing out around the Coromandel Islands (from Te Kouma boat ramp). Have tried the gulp peeler crabs in a modified ledger rig outside Tauranga harbor recently. Thought I would try for some gurnard on the sand and the rig worked a treat. 8 gurnard from a single crab!! The rig starts like a standard ledger but the sinker (small teardrop with swivel attachment) is tied up as short as you can below the branch to the bottom hook. I tie a loop for the bottom hook but then snip it so it's not a loop but a single strand and ends up about 20cm long. Tie on a 2/0 or 3/0 worm hook. I leave the top loop in tact and either put a soft plastic minnow/jerkbait on a worm hook or a bait on a circle hook.
 
The idea is the crab drags along the sand behind the sinker. The sinker bobs along kicking up a bit of sand to attract fish - gets snapper two but great on gurnard. I look at how the hook is hanging after all tied up and thread the crab on so it's dragging sideways and right side up. Good luck. Waiting for the right weather to try it again.


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Sorry - out of office - GONE FISHING



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