Blue Crabbing. You have to try it.

[cpbrocke]

I searched this forum for blue crab info and didn't find a single thread so I thought I would share a little bit about what I discovered yesterday.

5 mesh crab traps, bag of chicken necks for bait, 5 20 foot ropes, and leftover milk jugs for buoys for under 20 bucks at wally world and 3 hours later I had 15 good sized blue crabs. And they are very tasty if you steam them.

I hadn't heard much about blue crabbing so I just decided to go out and try it. I always see the buoys from the commercial guys up and down the intercoastal waterway in Daytona Beach, FL. I drove past a few of them and the depth finder said anywhere from 3 to 5 feet of water. So I found my own spot and started to drop my traps every 30 yards or so. After I dropped the last trap, I went back and pulled up the first one (about 10 - 15 mins after dropping it) with the biggest crab of the day. This was more productive than any of my fishing trips in the intercoastal, unless hardheads are considered productive fishing.

If you like eating fresh crabs and don't like paying out the ...... for them then drop 20 bucks and go catch them yourself. One tip from my trip, reinforce the cheap string at the hook where you tie your rope to it. I lost two traps (probably full of huge crabs) because the string broke when trying to pull them up.

 

[tnduc]

Re: Blue Crabbing. You have to try it.

I agree, crabbing is totally underrated. I grew up crabbing (and fishing) on the SC coast. I love eating them, but hate cleaning them .

 

[rdny041285]

Re: Blue Crabbing. You have to try it.

what do you need legally for crabbing in florida? any commercial license or anything? you probably need a special license right? do you drop traps in the intra coastal or shallow ocean waters?

 

[rdny041285]

Re: Blue Crabbing. You have to try it.

found this for anyone else interested.

Blue Crab Limits

No Females With Eggs
No Size Limit
10 Gallons of Whole Blue Crabs Per Person, Per Day


Blue Crab Allowable Harvesting Gear

Maximum of 5 blue crab traps per person as described in the summary of blue crab trapping rules below
dip or landing net
drop net
fold up trap with a square base panel no larger than one foot square
hook and line
push scrape
trotline
Blue Crab Trapping Rules

Five trap maximum per person
Buoy must have a legible ?R? at least two inches high, permanently affixed to it. Buoys are not required if trap is fished from a dock.
Trap shall have harvesters name and address permanently affixed to it in legible letters.
Traps must be pulled manually (not by a trap puller). Any vessel that is rigged with a trap puller will be considered a commercial vessel and the appropriate licenses will be required.
Traps must be pulled only during daylight hours.
Traps must not be placed in navigational channels of the intracoastal waterways, or in navigational channels maintained and marked by any county, municipal, state or federal governmental agency.
No harvest allowed with any trap out of state waters (seaward of nine nautical miles from shore on the Gulf of Mexico or seaward of three nautical miles from shore on the Atlantic Ocean).
A Florida recreational fishing license is required to harvest blue crabs under the recreational fishing regulations.
Blue crab trap specifications are the same for recreational and commercial harvesters. Trap specifications may be found in Rule 68B-45.004, Florida Administrative Code.
Can female blue crabs be harvested?

Female blue crabs may be harvested lawfully if they are not bearing eggs. Although it is lawful to keep non-egg bearing female blue crabs, it is a conservation practice to release them unharmed. There has been evidence that the females support the population of the species. Male crabs are capable of mating several times, but females are only able to mate once, after they mature. If a juvenile female is harvested, there will be no chance that she will be able to reproduce. Additionally, mature females may store sperm in their bodies for several months after mating in order to spawn at a later date. If a mature female is harvested, though she may not exhibit eggs, there is no certainty that she has spawned. Releasing female blue crabs enhances reproductive capacity and population renewal.

 

[rdny041285]

Re: Blue Crabbing. You have to try it.

http://www.bluecrab.info/cbyc.html

here is a link on how to clean them...sorry for multiple posts in a row

 

[cpbrocke]

Re: Blue Crabbing. You have to try it.

I searched Florida's fish and wildlife website for an official document of the rules and found a .pdf, rather than the quick summary, that doesn't say anything about limits for fold up traps (string mesh, folding triangle and box traps). These are exceptions to the rules because the crabs can come and go as they please rather than the pot style that sit for a day or so with the crabs trapped inside.

So I went back to Wally world and bought 10 of the string mesh traps. They're 2 bucks a piece and I found that they actually catch more crab than the 7 dollar folding triangle traps. I "convinced" a buddy of mine to come out on the boat and try to catch some dinner. We tied off empty milk jugs to some rope we tied to the traps and set a total of 15 traps out in the intercoastal waterway. They call it the Halifax river here in Daytona. We dropped them in a straight line in 3 - 5 feet of water about 20 yards apart and turned and went back to the first one. I felt like I was on Deadliest Catch. Crabs were flying in the boat faster than we could handle them. And it hurts like a son of gun if they manage to get a pincher on some flesh. Even the little guys will draw some blood. Maybe a pair of gloves would help......

We steam em for 25 mins in some old bay, cider vinegar, beer mix and then we pull them apart instead of cleaning them first. I'll have to try it though cause I've only done it a couple of times now. I read that the meat is really good for you too.

The only drawback is that there isn't any time for a fishing pole and a cold one if you want to catch some serious crab.

 

[rdny041285]

Re: Blue Crabbing. You have to try it.

i need to stop reading this....sounds like so much fun and i have to wait a couple more days til weekend... you are getting these traps at wal mart? i dont think ive ever seen them at these wal marts down here but then again i never looked for them specifically...and also where do you get the chicken that you say you use??? i was wondering maybe i could get some scrap chicken for bait at publix...maybe much cheaper...also i read oily fish is really good too so maybe some bonito would be good if i can catch some of them.

 

[tnduc]

Re: Blue Crabbing. You have to try it.

i need to stop reading this....sounds like so much fun and i have to wait a couple more days til weekend... you are getting these traps at wal mart? i dont think ive ever seen them at these wal marts down here but then again i never looked for them specifically...and also where do you get the chicken that you say you use??? i was wondering maybe i could get some scrap chicken for bait at publix...maybe much cheaper...also i read oily fish is really good too so maybe some bonito would be good if i can catch some of them.

Chicken necks or the more readily available chicken wings will work just fine. Leave them out in the sun and get 'em stinkin' before using, the crabs love that.

 

[cpbrocke]

Re: Blue Crabbing. You have to try it.

I found some frozen chicken necks in the fishing department at walmart. They were in the freezers. I never saw the traps until I looked for them. At this one they keep them by the fishing poles and the bait traps/holders.
I bought more traps and found some deck hands to help pull traps. I'm going out tomorrow to see what we can catch.
Just got done installing the new radio in the boat too. I'll let you know how we do. If I remember, I'll take some pictures.

How did crabs acquire a taste for chicken?

 

[rdny041285]

Re: Blue Crabbing. You have to try it.

went on my first trip today with 5 traps...caught 1 crab trying again tomorrow though

 

[Kymasabe]

Re: Blue Crabbing. You have to try it.

How does one permenantly afix their name and address to a trap?

 

[rdny041285]

Re: Blue Crabbing. You have to try it.

i was wondering same thing but i just put mine on the buoy instead...

 

[cpbrocke]

Re: Blue Crabbing. You have to try it.

We went out right before the tide started to change and rigged up all the traps. We set them up in a line and went back and checked the first one and it had two huge crabs in it. We went home with a 5 gallon bucket half full of the blues and one spider crab. I forgot to take the camera. Next time though.

I don't think you have to have your name on the buoy if its only a fold up or mesh trap. Mine are just milk jugs and anything I could find that floats out of the recycle bin with no name or anything. I don't see why they would need it if I'm out there with them the whole time.

Only 1 lonely crab? Does somebody else have any pots in your area that would help guide you to a good spot? Thats how I found a good spot.

 

[rdny041285]

Re: Blue Crabbing. You have to try it.

i dont see too many crab pots around here...sometimes i see someones house boat with a trap or 2 around the sides but not too often...ive seen them before though and i will keep trying until i find a really good spot...just dropped some yesterday for a little while in the ocean about 10 to 15 feet of water and had 4 traps with nothing in them.

 

[EricR]

Re: Blue Crabbing. You have to try it.

rdny you need to try going inshore more, in the creeks and rivers.

We have tons of them in the tidal creeks and our brown, muddy water in coastal Georgia.

I was working on a customer's boat today, and while I was on the docks I got one of the trianglular shaped traps, which I baited with chicken, but the trouble with that type of trap is you pretty much need to drop it and pull it up each ten min or so, and pull it up fast, twice I pulled it and the crabs got out. It's the type of trap that lays flat and when you pull the string it pulls the sides up in theory, but it isn't like slamming a mouse trap shut and they had plenty of escape time.

I use the wire mesh pot style, you can drop those in and they can't get out.

 

[JCF350]

Re: Blue Crabbing. You have to try it.

I searched Florida's fish and wildlife website for an official document of the rules and found a .pdf, rather than the quick summary, that doesn't say anything about limits for fold up traps (string mesh, folding triangle and box traps). These are exceptions to the rules because the crabs can come and go as they please rather than the pot style that sit for a day or so with the crabs trapped inside.

The limits are as posted, "5" traps (of the fold up kind) per person. The actual statutes allow the FWC to change rules as they see fit. All they have to do is post it 6 months ahead of the effective date on the website and publish it.

 

[JCF350]

Re: Blue Crabbing. You have to try it.

How did crabs acquire a taste for chicken?

It's just meat. Fish and old bait works too. If you let the traps sit in one spot day after day that will become a good spot too, they are attracted my the smell of food and will find the food.

 

[rdny041285]

Re: Blue Crabbing. You have to try it.

im going to keep trying...its tough around here cause there is soooo much traffic in the inner coastal...its funny cause whenever we go fishing for fish all we get is crabs eating the bait....now that i try for crabs, i dont get anything...we put 2 chicken necks in each trap and only 1 out of 8 necks looked like it had been chewed on...

where can i find the "wire mesh pot style" ones? at wal mart ive only seen the triangle ones and i checked gander mountain and they had 1 square on which isnt spring loaded or whatever so the trap doesnt even open right.

 

[cpbrocke]

Re: Blue Crabbing. You have to try it.

This is the set of rules that I found on the FWC site.

http://myfwc.com/marine/workgroups/Docs/BlueCrabch68B-45_Apr06.pdf

I was referring to section 68B-45.004 Regulation and Prohibition of Certain Harvesting Gear. It's on the second page. Paragraph 7 says that all the rules stated in 1 - 6 do not apply to the listed traps which include fold up traps.

This is from April of 2006 and I can't find a more recent one.


If you can't find any crabs you need to find a really muddy place with a lot of grass growing along the shore. Is the water in Jupiter pretty clear because it's an inlet? I can't see anything deeper than 10 inches in Daytona.

 

[rdny041285]

Re: Blue Crabbing. You have to try it.

the water around the inlet is pretty clear for the most part...the further in ya go the darker it gets.