Sand Crabs?

[Fredfillis]

When I was just a young feller fishing the Yorke Peninsula in SA, seems it was very common for fisho's to have a crab net dangling over the edge of the jetty hoping for a few blue crab (as we called them) while going about soaking some baits.

I don't see that in Melbourne at all. While I haven't been "everywhere", I've covered quite a few land based spots over the last 12 months and I don't recall every seeing anyone with a crab net. Is there any worthwhile population of sand / blue crabs in PPB or WP?

[BIG GAV]

Yeah I get em all the time eating my gummy baits I cut em in half n plop m on a hook gummies love em

[Fishbrainer]

Plenty of sand crabs around, if you luckily you will get a few big ones but there mostly small and not much meat and even worse on a full moon.

[Fredfillis]

Cheers gents. Maybe I'll give them a go then. Don't eat them myself but the Mrs wouldn't mind a few now and again.

[Scraglor]

Ive seen people hauling them in by the thousands down at lorne pier. Remember the bag limit is 30

[crumpet_avenger]

I usually take a hoop net out with me and get sand crabs most trips. I fish for them in westernport. I find that they are bigger and more aggressive in the cooler months of the year. May/june are when the bigger crabs are around.

[sarsi]

I don't think there are many sand crabs in Port Phillip Bay but I personally caught plenty of them from Barwon Heads all the way to Apollo Bay.

[wallaby30]

I have had great success for them at cows pier , agree with crumpet in regards to bigger crabs in the cooler weather . Gd luck and hope u get a feed for ur missus soon .

[Fredfillis]

Thanks all. Are sand crabs the same thing as blue crabs? The crabs in crumpet_avenger (nice moniker) pic don't look like the crab I had in mind.

Never mind, I just solved my own question. I had read somewhere that blue swimmer crabs were also called sand crabs. Apparently that is true in Queensland (of course!) but not anywhere else.

http://www.fishingworld.com.au/news/fis ... mmer-crabs