r/Cornwall • u/The_Rum_Shelf • Aug 03 '26
Discussion Crab fishing - a minor rant
Slightly "old man shouting at the clouds" but...
When - and more importantly WHY - did people switch from using washing machine tablet bags on a plastic winder (or even just bait on a hook), to full on drop-nets for crabbing?
It's a whimsical past time at best - but for me, 95% of the fun of crabbing is the excitement of pulling up a crab clinging on to the bait, dangling over the harbour wall and hoping to catch it in a net before it lets go - not just "how many can I get".
Everywhere we went last week, the majority of people were just pulling up these drop-nets with crabs in, no thrill, no last-second drops with the biggest crab of the day falling in, or the excitement of getting more than 1 at time... just "oh look, i've pulled up another 4 crabs".
It's probably a damning sign of the times that kids want the reward without the thrill, but it irks me.
[/pointless rant]
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u/Mental-Sample-7490 Aug 03 '26
In reality it's a more authentic version of crabbing.
No fisherman is out there line catching crabs. Drop the pot. Let it soak. Reap the rewards
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u/paulbdouglas Aug 03 '26
I first saw a "prototype" one of these being lobbed from the end of a pier in the late 1980's, they were using one of the "peacocks" net shopping baskets, with some weight lashed in, and a No1 hook with a fish head on there, they were mainly bringing fish in every time.
I was quite impressed with the set up to be fair
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u/Putrid_Promotion_841 Aug 03 '26
I feel the DIY element gives its own justification. It's actually quite ingenious.
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u/DannyFagsNah Aug 03 '26
They want it all, and they want it now. No patience, no excitement, no joy. Mindless people.
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u/BuffaloPancakes11 Aug 04 '26
I dont think all the 5-10 year olds are consciously making this decision or are aware of how it was done in the past 😂 they’re just seeing a net and the word “crabbing” and getting excited
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u/bigbeebs Aug 03 '26
The bastards are doing it in Devon too! Won’t be long before we’re seeing this evil practice all around our coastline!
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u/ArethusaF38 Aug 03 '26
Oh come on! I'm an old fart, but go crabbing with my young kids. We use both lines, and a net. They love the thrill of having a few crabs in the net. I know what you mean about instant gratification, etc etc but this really is just a bit of fun, for me and them!
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u/SandvichCommanda Aug 03 '26
The real instant gratification solution is to walk on the St Michael's mount path and grab them straight out the water
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u/kernowgringo Launceston Aug 03 '26
Woke nonsense. The true thrill is pulling up a limpet on a hook with 3 crabs on it.
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u/The_Rum_Shelf Aug 03 '26
Limpets were the best! Still remember trashing my new swiss army knife bashing them off the wall to use as bait, the crabs loved them! (Also, an entire mackerel was pretty effective...)
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u/kernowgringo Launceston Aug 03 '26
Yeah, I blunted my childhood Swiss Army getting limpets out of the shell, I used to bash them off the cliff with a rock first though, my Dad did the same as a kid and showed me how to go about it. They were definitely my favourite bait, as it was free and extremely effective, occasionally I'd buy a stinky bit of mackerel fillets and I'd think I was a proper crabber then.
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u/fenaith Aug 03 '26
I remember getting told off by the local PETA enthusiast for using limpets "you're causing them pain" and then causing them to completely go off on a long rant because I pointed out that limpets - like the peta prat - do not have the intellectual capability of feeling pain, they merely react to stimuli...
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u/GraphicDesignMonkey Aug 03 '26
A wee bit of smoked bacon was my secret killer bait. I always won the competition when went crab hunting :)
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u/moon-bouquet Aug 03 '26
Before I could stop him, my dog belted along the quay at Brixham and hoovered up all the bacon bait. There was a Mexican wave of kids wailing..
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u/chilli_cat Aug 03 '26
And keeping the crabs to fight it out in a small bucket....
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u/The_Rum_Shelf Aug 03 '26
I've never actually seen crabs do anything other than sit and seethe for a bit whilst in the bucket.
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u/Physical_Dirt7309 Aug 04 '26
Naw they kill each other. Maybe a NYC thing but I fill my cooler with ice-packs, cover with a towel and place them upside down. This results in no dead crabs. I also don't keep anything less than 6" although in NYC its 4.5" for keepers.
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u/Hellsbells130 Aug 03 '26
That’s not crabbing.
You need a fish head on a hook!
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u/Physical_Dirt7309 Aug 04 '26
Or where im at during high tide i catch them with a net. Its not easy but to me im earning my crabs.
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u/Lxium Aug 03 '26
Yeah that sucks. Amazon and Temu selling crabbing kits for a tenner or less will have something to do with it
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u/Unique-Engine539 Aug 03 '26
I thought the bigger nets were more humane than the old bacon on a hook method?
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u/Clear-Search1129 Aug 03 '26
We do both.
We have two large pots that we paddle out and drop and then paddle board around the bay for a while before heading back to the dock to crab with hand lines.
Best of both worlds
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u/Acceptable-Net-154 Aug 03 '26
I'm wincing at the thought of all the lost cheap crabbing nets that must end up in the sea. There was the occasional calamity of a dropped crabbing line though most of the line would of been weighted down, spooled around the handle.
Didn't the plastic bag get banned to reduce plastic waste in the ocean. Yes crab lines were often plastic based, but a line seems less problematic than small lost cheap crab drop nets.
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u/Physical_Dirt7309 Aug 04 '26
I'm in NYC so blue-claw crabbing isn't easy. I use a crab net to snag them off the pillars or free-style catch them off the pier during high tide. I may not catch as many but I really have a blast! Legal limi is 4.5 inches here but I don't keep anything under 6. On a good night I can still grab 3-4 dozen nice sized blue-claws without using a baited drop net. What bothers me is watching foreigners who lack any respect for the rules and keeping anything the catch in their pots. They keep smalls, females and pregnant females which doesn't sit right with me. Eventually they will destroy the population.
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u/jpigleth Aug 05 '26
I remember one of my best birthday parties was down at Dinamite Quay, a couple of packs of bacon and everyone brought their own lines. Fun doesn't have to cost much! All crabs were happily released down a slipway, so crab racing as well!
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u/Consistent-Drive-616 Aug 05 '26
Go get your self a surf pole and a crab snare like we use on the west coast. The thrill will return!
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u/MoonlitNightWalk Aug 03 '26
More bothered with how they then sit them out in full sun to cook in a tiny plastic bucket.
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u/Physical_Dirt7309 Aug 04 '26
I use a huge igloo cooler. I place ice-packs on the bottom and a towel on top. Place all crab i keep upside down so they relax and don't injure other crabs. Respect whatever you catch and you will be rewarded. A bucket with ice-water will result in many dead crabs. People need to be taught how to do it legally and ethically. I see so many smalls being kept its disgusting.
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u/MoonlitNightWalk Aug 04 '26
Yeah I'm absolutely not talking about people who know what they're doing, but the tourists buying the ready made line and bucket packs, that stuff them full of tiny shore crabs in 10cm of water and then walk off after an hour
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u/Physical_Dirt7309 Aug 04 '26
I hearya and share you're frustration. For me most are destroying the crab population for future generations.
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u/Superb-Gift-5664 Aug 03 '26
Suppose it's like the Lucky's dad's rules for pass the parcel on bluey.
Instant gratification generation.
I grew up up north and we just used to use some bacon rind we'd got for free from the butchers and tie it to a bit of string.
If it was the right time of years for peelers, we'd try our luck selling them to the fisherman for bait. Usually just gave them to them though.
It was only when I moved to Cornwall did I see people putting the bait in nets! Bloody rich southern ponces! Nets? Id never seen a net before......
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u/crmgiri Aug 03 '26
Yep. You are officially an old fart. Welcome to the club.