Fiddler crabs are an exceptional saltwater bait to use when fishing for sheepshead and they will also hook black drum, tautog and even catch the occasional redfish and flounder. A lot of tasty Carolina inshore saltwater fish eat fiddler crabs including red drum in the winter, and they are the preferred bait for most sheepshead anglers.
For plenty of additional tips and tactics on catching and cooking Carolina saltwater fish see my new book Surf and Saltwater Fishing in the Carolinas.
When cleaning redfish and black drum in the winter I have often found their stomachs full of fiddler crabs, as well as small blue crabs and rock crabs. The lowcountry Carolina mudflats are fiddler crab havens, and the best thing about them as bait is that you can gather them for free.
Fiddler crabs are found in many coastal states. The Carolinas have three different species and there are 97 throughout the world. There are fiddlers along the entire Atlantic and Gulf Coasts, and the Pacific states have their own species. Everywhere they occur fiddler crabs are great bait for certain local fish.
Fiddlers live in salt marshes where they have holes burrowed near the grasses. They come out of their holes as the tide lowers and feed on small organisms that were washed in with the tide.
You can catch fiddler crabs at the coast during months when it is not too cold. You have to locate a marsh area where they are plentiful and chase them down. I catch them by hand but some folks use a crab net.
The pinch of a male fiddler crab (the ones with the claws) is not painful. Just be careful not to try and pick up a small blue crab by mistake, as one of those will pinch the mess out of you. Male fiddlers have those large claws to attract the lady fiddlers (size does matter in the fiddler community).
To prepare a fiddler crab as bait break off the large claw if it is a male and hook the crab thorough the back. Make sure the hook point comes out of the other side, sheepshead and redfish will not mind.
Check out this article on easy sheeshead recipes.
Fiddler crabs are best fished on fishfinder rigs. Simple homemade rigs are better than store-bought varieties because fish like sheepshead are turned off by too many snaps and beads. All you need is the weight, a swivel, the leader and a hook.
To make a fishfinder rig first thread an egg sinker to the line running from the rod and reel. The size of the sinker depends on the conditions you are fishing and how much weight it will take to get the crab to the bottom. Go with the smallest sinker you can get away with but make sure your rig is getting where it needs to go.
Hook sizes vary but don't go too large. I use hooks between No. 4 and 1/0 when fishing with fiddlers depending on what I am targeting.
For inshore saltwater fishing, I rarely use more than about an ounce of weight but there are places where the current calls for much more. Fishing from an ocean pier around the pilings (where sheepshead and black drum hang out) you will probably need an ounce or more.
Fish don't usually hammer a fiddler crab bait like they might a piece of bloody cut mullet. Instead they often take the bait in their mouths and peck at the shell to spit it out. Sheepshead fishermen have long said the time to set the hook is just before they bite! While that is likely impossible, keep a finger on your line and set the hook if you feel anything strange.
For much more information on saltwater fishing see my blog A Dash Of Salty.
Comments