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Bait and crab selection
Sea bream love crabs, which they refer to as real delicacies, especially green, pink and white crabs. Soft-shelled crabs are particularly attractive as their fragile shells are easily crunched by dorados. Live crabs are preferable. But dead crabs can also be used, in which case the shell must be slightly fractured to release juices and increase their attractiveness.
Fishing season and spots
Crab fishing generally begins in spring, as early as May, when the dorados return from the open sea and become more active as warmer weather approaches. The best fishing times coincide with high tidal coefficients, which make dorados more aggressive and less wary.
Assembly and technology
Most of the time, the crab is placed on a sliding rig with a long leader (from 1.30 m to 1.50 m in fluorocarbon), often with a two-hook wishbone to optimize the hooking action. Don't hesitate to place the bait close to shore, where bream feed on shellfish, small crabs and worms. The dorado's bite is often discreet: it tastes the crab, chews it, puts it down again, before actually swallowing it.
Shoeing and fighting
It's essential to be patient and to hook only when the dorado moves the line firmly. Too quick a strike can leave the crab intact, too late a strike exposes you to the risk of having the hook cleaned. Fights are vigorous with powerful rushes, particularly on large specimens.
Selectivity and results
Using crab generally reduces the number of bites but increases the average size of the catch, as smaller bream are less inclined to bite these tough baits. In this way, every bite of crabbed sea bream is particularly deserved and valued by anglers.
Crabbing is a demanding strategy that combines patience, precision of set-up and finesse of hooking to maximize the chances of catching sea bream on the seashore.
