If I am using crab for bait, I will cut the whole crab in half. I put the point of the hook in next to one of the legs and then force the tip of the hook to poke through the shell on the bottom of the crab.
Depend on how much bait I have, I will cut the bigger crabs in to 4 pieces to stretch the bait.
Some times just the claws is all that is needed for bait.
Generally I have better success with cut crabs vs. live crabs. For a smaller size live crab I will use pliers to break off the "Pinchers" and then hook them the same as a cut crab.
When you feel a fish hitting the bait.......wait.....let the fish start to swim off or give it 3 to 5 seconds before starting to reel in. I never yank back on the rod to "set the hook".
There is always lots of bait in the Big Lake area, so all that is needed is a cast net or a drop line to catch a few crabs.
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