Mmm, some may do, but there is an article in sea angler about users getting fined.Sea Fisheries Byelaws give a takeable size, but they turn a blind eye to anglers taking them as bait, it's only the commercial interest that is regulated by size limits as far as I'm aware.
Thanks for clearing that up.Mmm, some may do, but there is an article in sea angler about users getting fined.
Additionally, (not in response to you btw rob) why would you want to use edibles as bait - it will just be a falacy that they are a 'much better' bait. We have a go at the commercials all the time - this is one instance where i'd say do the commercials a favour, leave them their edibles and stick with the plentiful inedible shore crabs. Rare doesnt mean good bait - infact it generally means the opposite as far as fish are concerned, so lets not have any irresponsible hype.
That is interesting, i had no idea you measured lobsters like that. I thought it was head to tail like most other things. Learn something new every day...Might be useful -
http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o178/HAYLINGANGLER/crabs.jpg
Edible (brown crabs) - 14cm
Spiders - 12cm F 13cm M
Velvets - 6.5cm
(Other byelaws may be in operation).
Ada
Aye, I was using edibles as a description of the species. Menai is a (nearly) local spot as a North West based angler and so the crab exploitation along side the Dee trawling fiasco is 'on my radar'. Ive not researched extensively, but I believe that the green shore crab has only very recently become commercially exploited in the UK, and I really really hope it doesnt catch on as a trend - taking out huge numbers of crabs from the marine environment has the potential to have a huge impact on species higher up the food chain - from larval crab plankton to the crab we know - they are an important food source. Anyhow thats me just rabbiting on - i'm sure we all hope that we can always get hold of crab for bait.Shore or green crabs are edible - there are several fisheries for them around the uk; north wales and the helford in cornwall spring to mind. The crabs are shipped live to the continent. They do say the french and spaniards will eat most things.
In his book "hooked on bass" Mike Ladle rates highly the use of edible crabs for bass bait. I'm not however condoning their use as bait. They are a commercially important species as are; to a lesser extent velvet swimming crabs and lesser again green shore crabs. The rediculus prices charged for shore crab peelers means their value to anglers far out weighs their value as a food species.
I have read that there are places in the UK that local byelaws forbid the use of edible crabs for bait - regardless of size. I think, but am not sure it was somewhere on the east coast.
SS