STAR QUESTION

Q: I’m told it’s important to remove lungs from peeler crabs before use or freezing. I recently bought some, and they hadn’t been removed. Which is correct? LEE GOODALL, BY EMAIL

PF says: I always remove the lungs of all my peeler crabs prior to using them on the hook, or before freezing them for a future session. There are basically two reasons why I do this.

First of all, the lungs don’t appear to have any food value to fish. I’ve come to this conclusion because when I’ve been out collecting during a moult, there seems to be plenty of empty shells lying around in rock pools with old lungs still intact. Surely, something would have eaten them?

Secondly, the lungs are full of bacteria and, when frozen, they seem to turn black and are obviously contaminated and not very appealing to many fish. I prefer to cut the lungs away with a pair of scissors as this helps to trim and remove much of the shell too.

Before freezing, always rinse the peeled crab under fresh water from the tap to further remove any bacteria. Wrap tightly in clingfilm and place on to a tray that you’ve had in the freezer for a couple of hours.

When you have enough peeled, rinsed and wrapped, store them in a large ice cream tub and write the date you prepared them on the lid.

When prepared properly, frozen peeler crabs are a fantastic winter bait, when live peelers can be difficult to obtain.