For those Surf Fishermen that lament about not finding sand crabs or its illegal to take live mussel and are not enthused about using plastic grubs, have you ever used little black crabs that you can find on low tide at bays esquiaries and harbors?

They really work. Stay on the hook real well and most inshore species will readily inhale them. Some of the largest Spotfin Croakers I've ever seen have been caught on them. Bardies really get after them as well as Sargo.

My method of gathering them is to simply find an area where sand meets rock in any shallow still water saltwater enviornment and turn over the rocks and grab them. We are talking about crabs that are about 1/8 to 1/4 " in diameter here. I will put them in a soda can with the top sheared off that I wear around my neck with a string. I usually will put some eel grass,kelp or some other type of marine vegetation in the can to keep them fresh. Don't put water in the can or you will drown them. Just sprinkle a little saltwater on them to keep em moist.

They are very plentiful and really work. Try them. You won't be disappointed if the fish are there!

Fear no Fish! :D

Aztecwin

Are these the little guys with one large claw and one small one, with some blue on them? Low tide at Doho, every rock has them by the hundreds- my octopus loved them. Of course I didn't take them from Doho, I got them from some guy on the internet.... most are very small, like you said, the bigger ones closer to maybe half inch size show much more of the blue color on the claws.

Bassnet,

Not exactly but I'm familiar with that species too and they are GREAT bait for surf and pier. Piling Perch as well as Rubberlip, Sargo, Zebra and Bardies love em!

When I was a young kid, I gathered those guys up at the Hedionda Lagoon in Carlsbad and took them to the end of the Oceanside Pier and would drop them between the pilings about 15' down using a #10 baithook and a small split shot. I walked away with buckets of Perch and all the ol' timers would just growl! Fun Days! :)

Aztecwin

On the days when nothing is biting at the pier those little crabs will catch some of the biggest pile perch you have ever seen. I usually use 6lb line because I've lose too many on 4lb. That's one of the best baits out there and one of the less known about.
Anthony

I'll have to try those if I see them since there are very few sandcrabs around. Those "red crabs" (looked like crawdads or baby lobsters) that used to be around also worked on the bardies from the surf.

>I'll have to try those if I see them since there are very few
>sandcrabs around. Those "red crabs" (looked like crawdads or
>baby lobsters) that used to be around also worked on the
>bardies from the surf.


Anthony,

What time of the year do you normally score on those Piling Perch? Early spring to early summer? Thanks.

Aztecwin

Sorry. Screwed up. The above post is for Sharkbait. x(

Aztecwin

Aztecwin,
For me it's best around March. I catch them in Long beach after I'm done at the Fred hall show. That's just when they bite best on most baits. Most people don't know that pile perch will be at the piers all year long. A couple of months ago I spotted one near the pilings on malibu pier and I tossed lugwroms, fresh mussel, and sandcrabs but it would just ingore it. I went to the shore and found a two little crabs on the pilings. Tossed the little crab to the perch and caught it with no problem. My second crab caught a fish on the next cast but that was it. I catch most of them next to the pier piling behind the surf zone. You can catch pile perch and other kinds of fish off rocky jetties too. Another bait that is second to small rock crabs are finger nail sized mussel but mussel can be messy so I don't use it that much. Give it a try.
Anthony

>Aztecwin,
>For me it's best around March. I catch them in Long beach
>after I'm done at the Fred hall show. That's just when they
>bite best on most baits. Most people don't know that pile
>perch will be at the piers all year long. A couple of months
>ago I spotted one near the pilings on malibu pier and I tossed
>lugwroms, fresh mussel, and sandcrabs but it would just ingore
>it. I went to the shore and found a two little crabs on the
>pilings. Tossed the little crab to the perch and caught it
>with no problem. My second crab caught a fish on the next cast
>but that was it. I catch most of them next to the pier piling
>behind the surf zone. You can catch pile perch and other kinds
>of fish off rocky jetties too. Another bait that is second to
>small rock crabs are finger nail sized mussel but mussel can
>be messy so I don't use it that much. Give it a try.
>Anthony
>
>Anthony,

When you mentioned lugworms I was curious if they are the same as bloodworms.

Aztecwin

Aztecwin,
Lugworms are similar to bloodworms. They seem to hold better on the hook and are less messy. I'm not sure which the fish like better but I prefer to use lugworms.
Anthony

anone heard or used those asian pink worms, i hear they work great and the trip is they are like 9' long!

I Fish...Therefore I Am