Crabs/Freezing/Chemicals

**danix** · 23-03-2007, 21:24

When a crab is peeling it releases certain chemicals that obviously attract the fish.
What happens to those chemicals when u freeze a peeler?...are they destroyed?

**billfish** · 23-03-2007, 23:55

Originally Posted by danix

When a crab is peeling it releases certain chemicals that obviously attract the fish.
What happens to those chemicals when u freeze a peeler?...are they destroyed?

they r'nt destroyed m8t they just r'nt as strong. alot of lads i know just wrap in clingfilm & put in2 freezer & it takes a while 4 them 2 freeze, i wrap mine after washing them & pit them between 2 steel plates that i keep in there all the time,
it acts like a fast freeze so it stops them crystalizing. if they r cryselized in side when u defrost a crab they turn out watery & go like mush.
also keep them like u would food, the first stock u get keep seperate from the next lot u freeze & so on so u start fishing with the crabs u got first then the next batch so u know u have the freshest of bait when u need it & they will still
hold alot of scent

**philtherod** · 24-03-2007, 10:10

It is the female crab that gives off pheromones when she is ready to shed her shell to attract a male, who will then help the female to "undress"...bit like us really! As soon as she has got her male, she stops the perfume, as she only wants one, two would fight and possibly damage her in her delicate soft state. It is only in the soft state that the female can mate, they use the missionary position!!!
The pheromones aren't there if the female is a softie, if not yet peeled, then they are, and shouldn't be damaged. But remember, you are talking miniscule (Sub-milligram) quantities. The smell of the bait elastic (the thin stuff is a type of lycra) will drown these delicate scents.

philtherod

**Flathead** · 24-03-2007, 18:04

The peeling cycle is controlled by hormones and modified by environmental conditions. The various stages could be summarised as follows:

1. Premoult (Peeler) stage:
A new soft exoskeleton forms underneath the old outer shell, and the calcium is resorbed into the blood from the old skeleton.

2. Ecdysis:
The old exoskeleton splits open and the crab withdraws and begins to rapidly absorb water.

3. Postmoult (Soft-back) stage:
The crab hides away until the new skeleton hardens. In large crab species, feeding stops for several days.

4. Intermoult:
This is the intervening stage. However, it should be noted that changes are constantly in progress, the carapace becomes rigid first, before the legs, and tissue growth continues internally.

**billfish** · 26-03-2007, 13:06

Originally Posted by philtherod

It is the female crab that gives off pheromones when she is ready to shed her shell to attract a male, who will then help the female to "undress"...bit like us really! As soon as she has got her male, she stops the perfume, as she only wants one, two would fight and possibly damage her in her delicate soft state. It is only in the soft state that the female can mate, they use the missionary position!!!
The pheromones aren't there if the female is a softie, if not yet peeled, then they are, and shouldn't be damaged. But remember, you are talking miniscule (Sub-milligram) quantities. The smell of the bait elastic (the thin stuff is a type of lycra) will drown these delicate scents.

philtherod

i have read in a few places that it is actually the hen that hunts the cocks.
when they use crab traps 2 trap peelers they put big cock crabs in the traps &
the hens come 2 the cocks