Fishing
for shore crabs is an exciting pastime for any child on holiday on the coast.
J.K.
Snickeri
in Sweden manufactures and sells traditional crab-fishing poles for children.
The
crab-fishing poles are made completely by hand and are designed for many
years of use.
The
pole itself is made of hand-planed pinewood.
A stainless steel swivel prevents the fishing-line from getting tangled up.
How
to fish for crabs
Fishing
for crabs is simple. All you need is a crab-fishing pole, a bucket and
perhaps a landing net. If you haven’t learnt to swim yet, you must wear
a life-jacket.
Where
to fish
The
best place to fish is usually around jetties where the water is 0.5 to 1
metre deep. The crabs like to hide among stones and in seaweed, which is
why it’s well worth fishing between the stones.
Fish
between the stones – it can be worth it.
What
should I use as bait?
Crabs
eat almost anything but sea mussels are their favourite dish. Sea mussels
grow among seaweed or on the pontoons of floating landing stages. Break
the shell with a stone and use the clothes-peg on the crab-fishing pole to
fasten the bait.
If
you can’t find any sea mussels, using a bit of raw bacon or a shrimp you
have bought will work just as well.
Sea
mussels work very well as bait.
What
do I do when I get a bite?
Things
start getting exciting as soon as you have lowered the clothes-peg with
the bait into the water. You probably won’t have to wait for long before
the first crab appears. Wait until the crab gets a good grip on the sea
mussel and then carefully pull up the line. If you have a large crab on
the end, the easiest way to land it is to use a landing net.
Carefully
lower the crab into a bucket of fresh seawater. If the crab has eaten up
the bait, attach a new bait and then lower it into the water again.
Hold
the back edge of the crab’s shell with your fingers.
If
you want to hold the crab, you should grab it by back edge of its shell. Other wise the crab might nip your fingers. It can really hurt!
Throw
the crabs back into the sea
When
you’re done fishing, always throw the crabs back into the sea in the
same place you caught them. Remember, the water in the bucket quickly gets
warm and loses its oxygen. So don’t keep the crabs in the bucket for
more than two hours.
Since
our crab-fishing poles have a number of small parts, they are not suitable
for children under the age of 3.
J.K.
Snickeri