Blackfish Jigging

[gypsy]

When fishing crabs, I cut in half, but do you normally keep the shell on or take it off. I've seen guys take them off, I left mine on, very new to blackfish

[Skolmann]

Originally Posted by gypsy

When fishing crabs, I cut in half, but do you normally keep the shell on or take it off. I've seen guys take them off, I left mine on, very new to blackfish

I usually take the shell off especially on green & Asian crabs but I have seen good blackfishermen leave them on. Guess it’s a matter of preference as well as what the blackfish want that day.

[porgylber]

Originally Posted by gypsy

When fishing crabs, I cut in half, but do you normally keep the shell on or take it off. I've seen guys take them off, I left mine on, very new to blackfish

I leave the shells on. I crush the crab a bit after cutting in half to expose the meat and juices.

[Gerry Zagorski]

When these fish are on the chew, you could put a leg of a crab on and it will get crushed.

When the bite is tough and scratchy is when you need to experiment to see what they want and how they want it.

Most times I'll start with a half a crab with the shell on and legs off. If I'm not getting any bites I'll stick with a half a crab but leave some legs on (french fries). I'll also try a small whole crab. When I do this I'll usually crush the shell with my foot or a sinker or cut around the perimeter of the shell and remove it entirely.

Two common things here .. You always want the inners of the crab exposed to get some scent in the water and you always want to run your hook through a leg socket and out another since this is the firmest part of the crab which helps it stay on your hook.

One other thing I've noticed, sometimes a slight movement of the jig will trigger a bite. I'm not talking a big or constant movement here. Just an occasional and slight lift of your pole tip and letting the jig settle back down on the bottom.

[scanman5]

The stinger hook is a good suggestion. I tie a double line at the end of my leader and thread a hook on before looping the jig on.

[porgylber]

Originally Posted by Gerry Zagorski

When these fish are on the chew, you could put a leg of a crab on and it will get crushed.

Very true! Roughly 7 years ago, I was scheduled to go out on a charter with some work friends. The morning of the trip, the NE winds were blowing like crazy. The captain offered us another date, but we decided to give it a shot.

The boat cleared past the Manasquan Coast Guard station, and a small CG cutter was in front of us. What I saw next, was a scene from hell. Waves were completely crashing over the MI jetty. The cutter ahead made 2 attempts to clear the inlet...and then gave up.

The Captain then offered us a day of blackfishing in the canal. We didn’t expect much, but within 10 minutes we were bailing keeper sized togs left and right. It was so good, the Captain called his wife to bring over more crabs for us.

While waiting, my friend had the brilliant idea to take a slice of pepperoni off of one of our sandwiches and send it down. Bam...he hits with a beautiful tog. Another slice...another hit. Repeated over and over.

So, when they are hungry...they will hit anything.