Mud crab

Mud crab size and bag limit in QLD

Males only. Min 15 cm across the shell. 7 per person, or 14 per boat with 2 or more aboard. No shell-off or claws-only possession. No closed season in SEQ.

Checked 8 Oct 2026 against the Queensland Government pages: size and possession limits and closed seasons.

Limits are possession limits: they count everything you hold, including any at home in the freezer. In yellow (conservation park) zones: max 2 lines and 2 hooks in total per angler. Green zones: no fishing. All QLD fishing rules

When to catch mud crab in South East Queensland

• P peak season
• S in season
• – off season
• C closed season for at least part of the month

Tide: Bigger spring tides around full and new moon move crabs.

Time of day: Any time the pots are soaking; check them regularly.

Weather: not fussy about wind; rain and runoff help.

Seasons partly come from Coastwatch report mentions, not catch numbers.

Mud crab by area

Not in our guide for Moreton Island, Offshore Sunshine Coast, Offshore Moreton and Offshore Gold Coast.

Around Scarborough and the Redcliffe Peninsula

Our local Redcliffe Peninsula notes come from local fishing columns and reports, and for mud crab they differ from the South East Queensland picture. Around Scarborough the best months are November to March, with April and October also worth a try.

Pine and Caboolture rivers (especially their mouths), creeks draining into Bramble and Deception Bays and mangrove-lined foreshores. Hays Inlet only outside the MNP11 green zone.

When: Any time the pots are soaking; check them regularly.

Where to catch mud crab in SEQ

Mangrove creeks and rivers throughout SEQ: Pumicestone Passage creeks, Maroochy and Mooloolah rivers, Noosa River, Pine and Caboolture rivers, Brisbane River, Logan/Albert and southern bay creeks, Jumpinpin, Coomera, Nerang and the Gold Coast creeks. Not in green zones. (Near Logan-area prawn farms, line fishing is banned within 100 m of intake/outlet channels; pots and cast nets are allowed.)

Catch Signal forecast areas that rate mud crab: Noosa River & Noosa Heads, Laguna Bay & Noosa offshore, Maroochy, Mooloolaba & Coolum, Caloundra & northern Pumicestone Passage, Bribie Island & southern Pumicestone Passage, Redcliffe Peninsula & Deception Bay, Bramble Bay, Pine River & Sandgate, Brisbane River, Central bay & Moreton Island west, Wynnum, Manly & Wellington Point, Cleveland, Peel & Straddie west, Victoria Point, Redland Bay & bay islands, Jumpinpin, Jacobs Well & Pimpama, Gold Coast Broadwater, Seaway & Nerang River, Burleigh to Point Danger, Ocean side of Straddie & Moreton.

Spots to try for mud crab

Picked because the water each spot reaches suits mud crab (our habitat match), not from catch reports. Each spot links to its place on the area page; tide times are for the place our forecast reads for that spot.

How to catch mud crab: best bait and gear

• Mullet
• Fish frames
• Chicken frames

Mud crab gear

Heavy pots with enough rope for the depth. Max 4 pots/dillies per person, tagged with surname and address, light-coloured float at least 15 cm marked with surname. No inverted dillies.

Good to know about mud crab

Catch rates fall below about 20 °C water; rain pushes crabs downstream. Pumicestone and the Brisbane River produce longer into winter than the bay creeks.

Open in the forecast

See mud crab in the Catch Signal app: seasons for the area you fish, closed-season warnings and the best days this week.