BLUE SWIMMER CRABS

Bond relaxing on the jetty

Blue Swimmer Crabs

Mandurah has some great spots for crabbing just off the jetty. I use crabbing nets which I tie to the end and middle of the jetty. The best bait to use is tuna heads but crabs also will go for spleen or chicken wings. Some people like to secure the bait in a mesh cage so the blow fish don't eat all the bait, but I usually just let the bait free flow in the water and I use Metal wire to secure the bait in the middle of the crab net. Crabbing is definately my favourite seafood the meat is the best and nothing beats eating fresh crab. I also find that I prefer the taste of male crabs compared to female crabs. Now how can you tell the difference between male and female crabs? Its easy, if you turn them on their backs the male crab has a thin mountain shape flap underneath and the female crab has a broard, round, cloudy shaped flap. The male crabs also have bigger claws and more of a blue colour in their shell in comparison to the female crab. I usually throw the net off the jetty and pull the net in every 20 minutes. Make sure you pull in the nets hard because if your too slow, they will swim out and you'll loose the crab.
It's always handy to carry a crab gadge and measure the length of the crab to make sure that you have the legal size. Crabs must be the size of a can in length which used to be the way I measured the crabs. There is also a catch limit you can't catch more than 10 crabs per person. If you get caught with more than the legal limit you will be fined for it by the fisheries if you get caught. If you catch a female crab and she's pregnant you can tell cause she will have produced a huge amount of tiny orange eggs in her abdomen, the eggs go from orange to black as they mature. Make sure you put her straight back in the water for the preservation of future stock. Crabs are basically scavengers of the ocean, you will normally find them either offshore or commonly in estuaries. When I catch them in the net they have powerful claws so be careful not to get nipped. I tend to grab them from behind and I grab hold of both arms at the same time so they don't get the chance to nip me, sometimes I have had one really grab hold of the net, so if they grip onto the net too hard and you can't pull them away turn the net over and hang it over the bucket, give it a shake and they will loosen their grip and drop in the bucket, a handy trick for the stubborn ones. Half fill the water with sea water to keep them fresh. Before you cook crabs you can put them to sleep on ice but I usually just throw them in the pot.
The best way to cook crabs is in their natural sea water, I usually boil the crabs in a pot of sea water for about 8 minutes or until they turn orange, then pull them out of the water and cool them down in cold water so the crabs don't over cook.

                                                                         Bluey's

North Perth fishing

North Perth catch

Biggest yellow fin whiting I've ever caught

Flathead

We headed back to the same spot the following day for an early morning fish, this time I walked along the beach to find some nice reefy drops and sandy spots. I used prawn and whiting bait to lure in the fish.

I have never caught a yellow fin whiting the length of a 2 litre bottle of coke before, you can imagine my excitement when I reeled this big boy in. This was indeed my catch of the day, whiting is one of my favourite eating fish because the meat is sweet. As I casted out the line anticipating what species I might catch next not even 8 seconds in the water and chomp, something took the bait with a mighty big pull, it was a Flat head. Although these fish are in my opinion ugly and evil looking they are a great tasting fish. When you handle them make sure you wear a glove or use a towel to hold them as Flathead's are very spiny. Flatheads love whiting bait and sandy spots as they are bottom dwellers they will bury themselves in the sand and camoflage their skin to match their environmental background. I usually like to let the bait drop to the bottom and very slowly reel the bait in making frequent stops for a few seconds then very slowly reeling the whiting bait in. This keeps the bait on the bottom and lures the flathead to attack and suck up the bait. As soon as you get a hit it's important to maintain a pull on the line but don't pull your line in too quick cause you don't want to loose the fish.
Yellow fin whiting like shallow water. These fish are timid so keep the line light and use size 4 hooks with a small sinker. when fishing you can cut a drinking straw or put a red bead above the hook to attract the fish. Whiting love prawns or worms but remember keeps the line light a big splash with a huge sinker will scare away the fish.
I was pretty happy to catch some Herring that day too. Herring normally like to stick together so if you catch one there's bound to be a school of them swimming around. Herring like deeper waters they only come out to more shallow parts at night time. These are the silver fish of the sea, they're tasty!  I usually like to put butter and garlic in the herring and wrap them up in alfoil and straight in the oven to bake.
I did catch 4 rock cod through out the morning also, cod like the offshore reefs the bait they like to eat are prawns and fresh filleted fish. Personally I don't go for the texture of the meat, it's mushy and bland. These fish are slippery little buggar's when you handle them as they feel slimy. However they are a beautiful fish to look at. I've tried eating it fried in a pan, battered and grilled. Each time I've cooked it I've always ended up  with a dull flavoured, mushy fish, but if anyone's got a great recipe they want to share, post it up, maybe there's something I've yet to learn about the art of cooking cod.

Herring

                                                   

Rock Cod

 

Fishing trip North Perth

Went on a 2 day fishing trip North of Perth. I drove along Marmion Ave past the Mindarie suburb and the newly developed areas until I came across sand dunes with tracks on the left. So I turned left off the road and followed the tracks towards the beach which was only obtainable via four wheel drive. I parked up in the sand dunes and walked a short distance to the beach. What we stumbled on was a perfect secluded beach fishing location, not a soul in sight. You could see a few reefs out in the ocean which told me that we might catch a variety of fish here. The fishing bait I used was prawns and chicken heart. I started fishing at 4pm and stopped as soon as the sun hit the ocean in the horizon. Caught 14 whiting which was a reasonable effort for 3 hours of fishing. Whiting's just such a beautiful textured and tasty meat. Early in the morning the following day proved to be the best time to fish. The tide was high which proved to be great fishing conditions for what we caught. I filleted and pre cut up my bait so I wouldn't waste fishing time. This time I used prawns and whiting which I cut into 1 cm pieces. I used size 4 and 8 hooks and rigged up my line 3 hooks 10 cm apart and a sinker on the end of the line. I started fishing at 6am in the morning, at first there were little nibbles here and there then bang the fish really started to bite. I caught a range of fish that morning, herring, whiting and a Dart swallowtail which put up a sensational fight, these fish are from the trevally family and they will Dart through the current with such power to try and avoid capture. Most fishermen don't go for them but personally once the fish is filleted it is a great tasting fish. Dart fish are also not common around here so you could imagine my surprise when I realised what it was. If your targeting Dart fish they normally go for worms, prawns or whiting and they love surfing waves. Over all I was pretty impressed with my catch 24 fish in total that morning, which I later filleted and cooked straight on the pan.

Some whiting catch

Whiting, herring and Dart Swallowtail

Filleted fresh fish straight on the pan

One tip I've learnt about cooking whiting let it chill in the eski and place it skin up so it doesn't curl while you cook it :) !