12/28/2023 0 Comments Peeler crab fishing baitWhereas our soft outer bodies grow around a rigid inner skeleton the crabs internal organs grow inside a non growing outer shell. Think in loose terms of the crab being opposite to a human. Cold weather delays the whole process and early frosts shorten the season. It varies with the severity of the winter and spring. Early October at the latest is the usual end of the peeling season this far north. In the East, it’s late April and into May before numbers are worth picking, and June is the real start of it for anglers in the Northeast and in Scotland. In the West and Wales, expect the first crabs to peel from about mid March with peak peeling explosions in May and June, then again in September, with the last of the peelers picked in early November. In Devon and Cornwall peelers can be found virtually right through the year, but numbers fall lowest during the colder months of January and February. Whilst the shore crab is a common sight twelve months of the year, the period it peels is governed by the warmth of the weather. The only other crab found over the same ground as the shore crab is the velvet swimmer which has a similar shape but the back of the shell is covered in like a velvet growth that instantly distinguishes the two apart. The belly varies between brownish orange to pale whitish green, depending on the type of ground the crab is living over. The colouration varies but is usually light to dark green with mottled darker patches for camouflage on the back. The shell tapers inwards in a straight line towards the rear of the crab. The shell is wide at the front with a series of bony serration’s along the forward edge. The Shore Crab is the commonest variety of crab found around the UK shoreline. “Greenbacks” or “Hardbacks” are crabs not in the process of peeling and with hard shells. When a male crab carries the female underneath him they are called “Carriers”. “Walkers” is a name used for peeler crabs without mates. When a crab is about to shed it’s old shell it is called a “Peeler” or “Shucker”, “Softie” or “Jelly back” refers to crabs that have peeled and are waiting for the new shell to harden.
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