Hermit crabs are an underrated and underused sea fishing bait that can be very productive in your day. A large number of species can be caught using this excellent bait, for example dogfish, husk, plaice, flounder and it is also a widely used bait for the Smoothhound. Hermit crabs aren’t easy to collect, but if you can find and use them fresh, they can be an absolute top bait.
They can be collected by lowering a drop net or crab pot / trap (you can find them on Ebay), from the sides of docks, piers or rock ledges. If you know or can get the contact details of a friendly crab fisherman, he might be able to provide you, as hermits are a common bycatch in crab and lobster pots. Hermit crabs tend to like the same type of terrain as lobsters, which is why many are found in crab / lobster pots.
You can also find them around the low tide mark near rocky scales, especially after a heavy storm that has ripped through the seabed. Just walk the low tide mark and look for any similar sized whelks or shells. This is probably the easiest way to collect them, but you need to know that they actually reside in your local area. Ask some of the local boat anglers and tell them what you are looking for and if hermit crabs really wash up after a storm in your area. You may find, as we did many years ago, that one could offer you as many as you want. We had a steady supply of them for many years, of a kind we just asked for advice, sadly it happened, but we often see his wife when we’re on the beach digging. This is how we found out that the local name in our area for the hermit crab was Tell Pie, I know, don’t ask.
You can also find them in the larger rock pools, however don’t just break in, you will disturb the water and then it will be difficult for you to see anything. Take a look first, notice where you can see some hermits, and then slowly enter the water, trying not to disturb the bottom too much and making the water look like soup so you can’t see what you’re doing. Also remember to keep an eye out for peeler crabs too!
Once you’ve collected a supply of hermit crabs for a fishing trip you should use them pretty quickly as they don’t last long out of the water, probably only a few hours, BUT here’s the good news, they freeze really well.
Now this is where the debate starts, some fishermen like to freeze them in the shell, others prefer to take them out of their shell first and then wrap them in cling film or use one of those sealable freezer bags, Tesco sells some good freezer bags considerable and cheap too. I tend to freeze them after taking them out of the shell, then I put them inside a freezer bag inside a cardboard tuppa box, it keeps them from squashing each other while freezing. I’ve kept them for 6+ months or more in this way, and they were still good when thawed.
Another debate: how to get them out of the shell, you can’t just get them out.
Now some say use a cigarette lighter under them, the heat blows out the crab, but what a way to do it to be honest, some say get a small hammer, gently tap the shell, and then once cracked open the shell y Gently remove the crab. Others, like me, advise placing hermit crabs in tap water and due to the sudden change in salinity the crabs quickly come out of the shell themselves, job done. Experiment and use the method that suits you best. I have a partner who swears that he can’t make crabs move when he puts them in running water, but I and many others I know have no problem. I think they have too much alcohol in their tap water and they like to stay there for a drink!
You will often find a small white rag worm at home inside the shell when you remove the crab and you could use it to make a “cocktail” bait.
Hermit crabs are very easy to hook.
Wind them on a hook as you would a worm, push the hook up the upper body, carefully feeding it down and out the top of the head. If you are using a Pennel rig obviously use your top hook to hold it in place, it keeps it from moving up and down like you would any other bait. You will find that by doing it this way, the legs do not interfere with a bait clip. Then use some stretch cotton to wrap the crab making sure at all times not to burst the soft body with the hook or stretch cotton.
Happy fishing.
Hermit Crab Article by John Staten