How to Use Blue Crab for Bait: Cutting and Rigging Tips

Redfish and black drum are addicted to blue crab! While it's highly effective, it can be intimidating if you don't know how to use blue crab for bait.
In this video, Coach Tony is going to show you the right way to cut blue crab into halves or quarters as well as how to rig it.
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[@Saltstrong]

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[@daveperson1722]

EXCELLENT Tony !!! The 1/4 crab is a great insight tip !! I TOO DONT wanna “just feed fish” I’ll use the 1/4 crab when I see them or know there in the vicinity

[@Saltstrong]

Glad we could help!

[@jonathanfortune5660]

Great video on using blue crab! Thanks Tony !

[@howwefishflorida]

Great video, Gonna sharer it on our channel.

[@tonyacevedo2379]

Thanks for sharing!

[@comfortablynumb9342]

I have no luck using crab. Apparently I need to try it more.

[@bendhilfishing3816]

The Best 👍

[@Crv-]

Hi Tony! I have plenty of frozen Blue Crab that I could use as bait, but I am wondering how long is too long for frozen crab? I bought them live at a market and froze them immediately back in May and I am planning on using them in Mid-October for surf-fishing for Bull Reds on the OBX.

[@tonyacevedo2379]

I don't like using frozen blue crab. just doesnt seem to work as good as fresh. When the meat thaws it pretty much disintegrates and falls right out of the shell.

[@twotoned2774]

Nice tutorial. I always use 1/4 crab and wonder why they steal my bait.

[@Saltstrong]

Glad we could help!

[@bcask61]

What is the law about using smalls for bait? Does the crab have to be legal to use for bait? Can you use females?

[@comfortablynumb9342]

I suggest you download Fish Rules and check your state laws. I think it's legal to use any blue crab that doesn't have eggs in FL but in VA the rules are different. I think in VA they have to be legal size. And I haven't lived anywhere else. But the Fish Rules app should tell you.

[@tonyacevedo2379]

Depends on the state. In Florida, females can be harvested legally but not if they are bearing eggs. Eggs can be visible underneath the crab if they have them.

[@Rex73777]

Blue crab is food bro, top shelf food. What are you doing? My man is using $50-$70 a pound seafood as bait….

[@ihtenubz9697]

Live blue crabs are cheap af in any bait shop near the beach

[@Rex73777]

@@ihtenubz9697 What a shitty bait shop if they’re selling females with eggs. I like catching and eating crabs so I don’t keep fertile females with eggs. If you want your kids and grandkids to keep fishing, it’s called conservationism.

[@ihtenubz9697]

@@Rex73777 nobody said they’re selling females with eggs. They’re selling harvested blue crabs, and in Florida it’s illegal to harvest egg bearers.

[@tonyacevedo2379]

These crabs go for about $2.50 each. We spend waayyyy more money on other tackle and gear to catch fish than that. Also, female blue crabs have red tips on their shells and claws. The "flap" underneath them is also wider than a male, and not t-shaped. The males are t-shaped. Female blue crabs can't be harvested in Florida if they are bearing eggs. The eggs would be visible underneath the crab. The yellow goo inside that you see is the crab's hepatopancreas that filters the crabs blood.

[@raymonddesmond8869]

The ONLY way to use a crab for bait, is to use the hole crab. That’s the way they do it in the wild.

[@comfortablynumb9342]

Don't tell the people in Virginia. On the Chesapeake they chop up peeler crabs all the time.