Crabbing for the first time – everything you need to know

I can not believe that the Summer holidays are only a few weeks away. As ever the year is going so quickly. But the onset of the Summer holiday, long days and plenty of sunshine will normally mean one thing. The boys will request to go crabbing. It is a quintessential family pass time which we all really enjoy. If we find some best spots for crabbing near me then I always share it here on Mudpie Fridays. But I am often shocked by how many people say they have never been crabbing. So I thought I would write this post in case you are considering going crabbing for the first time. As it will help you have great crabbing expeditions. It covers crabbing lines, crabbing nets, crabbing bait and crabbing on the beach. At the bottom of this post, I have linked our favourite crabbing spots in the UK.  

Crabbing for the first time – everything you need to know

These are the main questions I have been asked. But if there is something have missed then please reach out. Leave me a question in the comments or message me on social media. There is something very magical about watching the excitement that comes when your child catches something at the end of their crabbing line. 

What do I need to crabbing?

So the good news is that you don’t need much at all. A bucket, hand lines or a net and some bait (see below). The boys much prefer a clear bucket so they can see the crabs up close. Although you need to be more mindful of the sun with a clear bucket. Although any old bucket will do. My only suggestion is to make it a big one. Especially if you are hoping to catch lots of crabs. 

Then the decision is whether to use a crab line or crab nets or even crab pots. A line is just that which wraps around normally a bright orange plastic handle. At the end, there is normally a little bag in which you can put bait in. The alternative to a crabbing line is normally more expensive is a net which have a bait bag inside it. Designed to lay flat on the sea floor when you pull it up the wire hoops inside made it appear like a bucket. There is normally a small weight inside the net. 

Crabbing Line v Crabbing Net

Personally, we prefer a crabbing net over a crabbing line. Although they are more expensive if you buy them in advance from somewhere like Amazon. Then they can work out a lot closer in price compared to buying a crabbing line from one of the beach vendors. We have used a crabbing line before but when you feel it up there is a lot depending on the hanging strength of the crab and have found that they quite regularly fall off. Which can be a little frustrating for the kids. It is likely you will only catch one or two at a time. 

While with crabbing hoop nets when you pull it up the net creates a bucket and holds the crabs inside. Depending on the current sometimes this is not always the case if the bait bag has been moved outside of the net. But you’ve got more chance of getting the crab to the top and more chance of catching multiple crabs wth crabbing nets. 

What bait is best for crabbing?

The first time we went crabbing was in Cromer. I can remember it distinctively as it was my birthday. We brought the crabbing bait from the same bait shops that we got the nets from. It was freeze-dried mackerel and stank. It wasn’t easy to open although thankfully we had a small pair of scissors on the husband’s key ring. Otherwise, we would have had to draw straws on who was going to open it with their teeth. Saying that the crabbing bait did seem to work okay in Cromer to be fair. But I think that was more to do with the sheer numbers of crabs at at bottom of the pier. 

Our favorite crab bait and most successful crabbing bait is smoky bacon. If you can get it the cheap cooking bacon from Tesco value range or similar gives the best results. Don’t worry if it’s been lurking in the fridge past its sell-by date and the smellier the better. Cut it up into small pieces to fit inside the bait bag. We have been to some places where you can actually buy bacon as bait for crabbing. Looe in Cornwall had this sort of bait for sale. 

If your crabbing trip is spontaneous and you’ve not had a chance to pick up some bacon then we have asked in food establishments before. instead of ordering a bacon butty, I have asked for two raw pieces of bacon to go crabbing and they even cut it up for us. 

When is the best time for crabbing?

It does depend a little bit on where you are crabbing. But generally, the best time of day for crabbing s deemed to be at slack tide or slack water. This is the period of time when the tide is not coming in or going out. This means there is very little movement and so you are more likely to catch more crabs as your line or net is not being moved with the tide. It is quite a tight window, about half hour before high tide or low tide and then half an hour after it. Let’s face it when crabbing with kids or doing anything with kids timing can go out the window. So I would not get too hung up on this as we have crabbed at all tides. However, it is worth checking tide times or a tide chart to make sure there is sea there when you turn up. 

I am often asked if you can go crabbing any time of year. We have gone in the early winter, on crisp spring days and all the way through long Summer days. As we are not commercial crabbers I do not think there is a best season as such. Although when we went in the early Summer we did catch a lot of young crabs and baby crabs at Walberswick.

How do you crab off a pier?

When we crab off a pier we tend to use nets. Ideally, you want a pier which is reasonably long so that you can stay away from any rocks or sea defences. As you want the net to lay flat on the bottom. When you throw your net over let off enough line so that it goes slack. This will help you to work out if the net is on the bottom. You have more chance of catching crab if this is the case.

Fill your bucket with some water to keep your catch in. We normally drop this down on the line first. By securing the handle to the net and lowering it into the sea. You may also want to add a little extra weight to your net after you have done this. We used large stones collected on the way to the pier to do this. Try an ensure the bait bag is placed above the stones. Don’t put too many in otherwise it will rip the net. Weighting it down will help the net stay on the bottom of the seabed and not be moved by the current so much. 

Can I go crabbing on the beach?

You can go crabbing on the beach. Although we tend to favour piers over crabbing on the beach. But it is possible to crab in rock pools. It is easier to use more traditional crab lines when fishing for crabs in rock pools. Although you will need handheld dip nets to stop them from running away once you take the line out of the water. Some beaches which have inlets also offer a good place for crabbing. As there is normally a slight drop between the beach and where the river joins. Which makes crabbing on the beach easier. 

What to do with the crabs after catching them?

We have always kept ours in a bucket for a little while before returning our live crab back into the sea. Mainly because the types of crab we catch are common shoreline crabs. Although we have been lucky enough to catch Brown Crab in Cromer and a hermit crab on the Isle of Skye. Normally we do not throw the crab back from the pier instead we find somewhere close to the shore to release them. Mindful of the seagulls who are always interested and looking for their next meal. Although someone did tell me once that they are hard enough to be dropped from such a height. 

If you are wanting to eat your fresh crab then the brown crab we caught in Cromer was probably the closest we have found so far to edible crab meat. And it was big enough to make a crab salad or similar. One day we will try going crabbing overseas and hope to catch Dungeness crab, red rock crab or blue crabs.

Our favourite crabbing spots in the UK

We have tried various places for crabbing all over the UK but here are six of our best crabbing spots:

We really do enjoy going crabbing as it is something the whole family can enjoy and a great way to get the boys outside. Have you been crabbing? Where are your best places to crab? I would love to hear about them in the comments below.

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