cart
- Thread starter desertdog
- Start date
codcatcher3000
Well-known member
just so u know u cant use it in some places bud, south of the tyne is ok...i think. u best check b4 buying or making some .
dabcatcher
Well-known member
i always thought it was illegal to take a crab with eggs from the sea. surely doing this on mass is decimating the eating crab stocks.
dabcatcher
Well-known member
before anyone kicks off at me, i,m not getting at anyone for using this as ive used it myself in the past and know its now widely used right along the northeast coast.
i was just curious as to the legalities and future impact of using it.
i know that when it first came to light a few years ago it was all hush, hush and under the shelf stuff.
i was just curious as to the legalities and future impact of using it.
i know that when it first came to light a few years ago it was all hush, hush and under the shelf stuff.
jimmy
Well-known member
I don't really know anything except what I have been told, if there is a bye law in any part of the country, it means that no edible crab may be taken from that area and used as bait. But how could they possibly police / enforce this when tackle shops and fishermen are selling it as bait, how can anyone prove where the crab came from, food for thought lol
canny good read that mate.
so would I be right in thinking lads that you could just buy it from a fishmonger and freeze it yourself?
wonmorehoy
Well-known member
It was my understanding that it's legal to sell it, but that it might be illegal to use it, depending on where you are. It couldn't be used in the northern part of the local waters, ie north of the Tyne, where it was illegal to use any part of an edible crab for bait. (EDIT - see below. It looks like I might be wrong on this)
The Environment agency checked me and my bucket when I was coming off the rocks one day in the summer when I'd been looking for peeler. He was hanging about in his car watching the rocks and he was there for a good couple of hours, looking for undersize crab and lobster collectors.
I've not been checked when I've been fishing but I've heard of the Environment Agency turning up on the beach and checking fish sizes and tackle, so the risk of using it might be small, but it's there.
EDIT. I've just done a google and come across this byelaw that covers the use of edible crabs- you can use 'cooked offal'
http://www.nifca.gov.uk/byelaws/
9. Prohibition on Use of Edible Crab (Cancer pagurus) for Bait
(1) No person shall use any edible crab (Cancer pagurus) for bait and Section 17(2) of the Sea Fisheries (Shellfish) Act 1967, which affords a defence to a person charged with an offence under Section 17(1) of that Act, shall not apply within the district.
(2) Nothing in this byelaw shall prohibit the use of cooked crab offal as bait.
The Environment agency checked me and my bucket when I was coming off the rocks one day in the summer when I'd been looking for peeler. He was hanging about in his car watching the rocks and he was there for a good couple of hours, looking for undersize crab and lobster collectors.
I've not been checked when I've been fishing but I've heard of the Environment Agency turning up on the beach and checking fish sizes and tackle, so the risk of using it might be small, but it's there.
EDIT. I've just done a google and come across this byelaw that covers the use of edible crabs- you can use 'cooked offal'
http://www.nifca.gov.uk/byelaws/
9. Prohibition on Use of Edible Crab (Cancer pagurus) for Bait
(1) No person shall use any edible crab (Cancer pagurus) for bait and Section 17(2) of the Sea Fisheries (Shellfish) Act 1967, which affords a defence to a person charged with an offence under Section 17(1) of that Act, shall not apply within the district.
(2) Nothing in this byelaw shall prohibit the use of cooked crab offal as bait.
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I have to agree
Tried it 3 or 4 times and i find it to be far to much hassle
Was advised by the person it was bought from to take it down frozen in block form and chop off the size i wanted and bind it straight to hook with elastic, total disaster, melted as soon as it touched your hand and fk me its messy stuff
So took it home put it in the fingers of surgical glove,zip tied and refroze them. This was slightly easier to use but still a bit of a nightmare you cant pierce them with your hook as it makes to big of a hole and doesnt last 2 minutes so you have to bind them to the side of your hook and pop little holes in with filleting knife.
I got a couple of sized codling with it but i had other baits on the hook as well, i wasnt confident enough in the stuff to use it on its own
Mind you when you see the mess the stuff makes you can well imagine it would leave a cracking scent trail.
I am sure it works great for some people but for me its just more hassle than its worth, it spoilt a couple of fishing trips i was getting so agitated trying to get the bait to look right with the cart
Another bait i think is overrated is bluey, i bought a mountain of the stuff from the chinese supermarket in newcastle
It works no doubt about it but its no more effective than makky and a lot harder to work with, i have finally got through my freezer full of it and will defiantly be going back to makky
Boro5707
Well-known member
To the opening question, is a bait best used in a cocktail as it washes out quite quick, but the scent trail is there and does catch on its own also. Best used wrapped in cling film and then pierced with a grip lead and then whipped on with cotton, Cling film comes back, with the bait cotton on the hook. Best time to use it is now, after the greens have stopped peeling.
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OuTkast76
Well-known member
It's Illegal to use cart north of the tyne :/
so even if a wrapped a decent size piece around my weight and used it like a chum trail a would be braking the law
OuTkast76
Well-known member
I think so mate, Its not as if anyone will stop you and ask and how could they prove what it was anyways if they did
Just throw it in the water haha
