Looking for any information on using crab as bait. Like what kind of crab, how to hook it, what size hook to use, best method of presentation. I'll mostly be fishing from piers and the shore. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

I am no crab guru, but basically take your small ones and put them on the hook where they will stay. Bigger ones are more difficult since you have to cut them up and you will lose meat. Use whatever crabs are legal. Put them on a three-way rig with a good surf leeder with lots of weight, the amount depending on current. Throw it in the bottom.

as i understand it ya run the hook through the area by the paddle leg/flipper .
i have only tried crab once and i had to split it in half and where i was it was a waste of time.

I read somewhere that on a larger crab you have to split the whole thing open then cut it into 4 pieces. It will attract fish faster with more of the meat exposed.

Snag...the answer is "D. All of the above"

Go catch a fish!

Rleo is pretty much right-on. The biggest flounder I ever caught was caught on a quarter of a blueclaw crab body after the back and legs and claws had been removed. I cut the body into 4 pieces and I used a treble hook with one hook thru the body and the other two hooks exposed.

We had run out of bait and the crab made the mistake of hanging on to one of our last shrimp. I was glad he did. The flounder was over 18" and baked out really well. Good fight too!

I can tell you that you can get crabs on rundburg if your not careful....hehehe

I think in spanish those crabs are called "Chatos"

Cut off both pinchers, and break off both "horns" (the points)with scissors/pliers. This releases crab essence to attract gamefish, and makes it more palatable. Now, you can hook the crab starting from the underside and emerging through top shell (carapace) near one of the missing horns. The method of cutting the crab in 1/2 or 1/4 is fine when you are on top of feeding reds, but the method I described avoids bait steelers husking out the bait and leaving the shell on the hook.

Thanks guys! What are some good size fishing shears/scissors to get and are there any good deals on line?