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mud_crab
03-08-2002, 06:56 AM
Hey Guys,
I was just wondering if anyone knows the life cycle of the mud crab. How long do they take to reach legal size?

Also I would like to hear what sort of bait other crabbers like to use.

jaybee
03-08-2002, 12:19 PM
This should help mud


http://www.dpi.qld.gov.au/extra/pdf/fishweb/mudcrab.pdf

If you read this you will see that females go offshore to breed. My bro has actually caught male and females in spanner crab traps of bruns.
Hope this helps
cheers

gruntahunter
03-08-2002, 02:39 PM
jaybee thats interesting reading with a couple of learning points for me.Firsty the one that they don,t normally eat fish, I,ve often wondered about them catching fish .Secondly the biggest recorded crab is 22.5cm which is a touch over 8.75 inches.Bloody hell i got a couple that were 8 .50 inches (21.5cm).thats getting pretty close hey.They had barnacles all over them.I'll put a pick in for u.
Does anyone actually know how long it takes for a crab to reach 15cm.

jaybee
06-08-2002, 06:02 AM
Qld museum might be able to help with those questions muddie ;D

http://www.qmuseum.qld.gov.au/

they are usually fairly quick to reply
cheers.

Mad_Barry
07-08-2002, 06:57 PM
G'day fella's,, hmmmm, Mudcrabs #;D

In "cooler" waters of nthn Nsw & southern Qld they take about 3 yrs to reach 15 cm,, this time reduces as the water temp increases towards nth Qld to about 18 mths. During that time they may also "moult" about 6/7 times.

They are interesting little buggers #;), if you are keen for more info, there is a little book called,

"The Mud Crab Book" by Kerry Wright, I picked one up at a tackle shop a few yrs ago, but if you don't find one, the address from inside the front cover is,

Print Wright
P.O. Box 793
Gladstone QLD 4680
Phone/fax 07 4972 6663.

Also inside the cover it mentions that the author has a majors degree in Zoology/marine Biology & was also a pro fisherman in nth qld for several yrs.

it's no "glossy cover" & fancy pic type book, more like black & white text & diagrams,, nonetheless very interesting,,,,, if that's you're cup of tea #;)



edit,,uh oh,,just noticed "mud crab" is a "Jenny",, apologies,,should have said "' G'day Ladies & Gentleman" ;D,,,