Blue Crabbing. You have to try it.

[jay_merrill]

Re: Blue Crabbing. You have to try it.

Yup, I've been there!

The first year that I was in Louisiana, I took my 4WD down to the beach at Port Fourchon. There is a saltwater pond at the east end of it and a couple of guys were dragging a test trawl around by hand - when they hauled that thing up on the beach, it was literally stuffed with crabs. About half of them were "pou pons" (females in berry stage), so they threw those back in the water. At the time, I didn't even know that Louisiana had blue crabs, so I was thrilled to see what they had caught!

PS: I was just rereading some of the posts here .... I don't think we ought to invite Rodbolt down here for a crawfish burl .... he might take exception to da suckin da heads and pinchin da tails!

 

[tnduc]

Re: Blue Crabbing. You have to try it.

you guys are cheating. the proper way is on a bulkhead or dock, a hand line, with a chicken neck tied to the end. you also need a long handled dip net. no traps. also Palatka Florida is the blue crab, capitol. so they like fresh water also.

The handline is how I crabbed for years. As I got older, though, I got lazier and use the traps .

Here is a video on how to cook 'em: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3RBKY2L2kY

 

[jay_merrill]

Re: Blue Crabbing. You have to try it.

Yes, excellent video. I always did want to learn how to tap dance and cook crabs at the same time!

 

[TommyA]

Re: Blue Crabbing. You have to try it.

Yep I've seen crab cooked that way before. After watching that one there was another that got even more of my attention.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBlx8FYjUd4&feature=related

 

[Rock Hall]

Re: Blue Crabbing. You have to try it.

I stumbled on your thread here and thought I would share some crabbing info from up here on the Chesapeake Bay. Crabbing is just as if not more popular as fishing on the Bay. This year has been slow up till this weekend. Most of the guys in my area got 1 to 2 bushels in a couple of hours which is very good.
A couple of rules we have up here on bait. True or not...dont know. Crabbing is a big commercial industry on the bay and many of these tips come from the commercial crabbers.
1. Crabs DO NOT prefer rotten stinky bait. This one I'll vouch for. I've crabbed enough to know that I do much better with fresh bait. (chicken)
2. We use chicken necks here most of the time. I usually cut them in half. I was told that a crab is less likely to go after food that he can not pick up and carry away. Crabs will go after larger bait, but it has been my experience that I get more action on the smaller pieces.
3. If you cant get chicken necks, the pros up here use eel. That is supposed to be the best bait for crabs, but is very expensive in my area.
4. Crab when the tide is moving. If we are out crabbing and there is lots of action, the action abruptly stops at slack tide. Crabs generally move and feed with the currents.
5. Crabs will generally have the most meat in them about a week before the full moon. (this is one you might want to verfiy. There is a molting cycle and I think I am right on this)

Maybe Blue Crab behavior is different in Fl.
This is an excellent site for information on crabbing
http://www.bluecrab.info/

Mark

 

[turfman]

Re: Blue Crabbing. You have to try it.

Use bull lips for bait and run a trot line. We got close to a bushel in 2 passes yesterday.

I will not comment on the cooking procedures other than to say that no one described how to cook the world famous Maryland Blue Crab correctly.

Old Bay is so tourist. A real crab spice contains salt, paprika and a mixture of pepper spices. We buy it locally in 5 lbs bags and keep it in the salt shaker on the table and use it as season salt. The stuff is great on French fries.

http://www.skipjack.net/le_shore/crab/

I always wondered why thrashers fries were so good.

 

[TheMFA]

Re: Blue Crabbing. You have to try it.

Thanks for the information. I am definantly going carbbing this weekend.

 

[matt2002]

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.

OMG ! 25 minutes ? The last batch I did was 8 minutes and they were perfect.

 

[lmannyr]

Re: Blue Crabbing. You have to try it.

So we TRIED to do some crabbing here is West Palm Beach. We had two string type traps from walmart. There were no chicken necks available so we settled for boneless thighs for 3 bucks. Tied a line to the trap, and a empty bottle to the other end and spaced them about 100 feet or so. I dropped them about a mile north of an inlet at a depth of 6 feet near a marina. Water was murky and water temp was unknown. Waited about 20 mins, pulled them up, and NADA, NOTHING, ZILTCH. We didn't bother throwing them in as it was getting dark. Our main mission today was to empty the holding tank 3 miles out in the ocean. Pump no worky. We dropped the traps for shoes and giggles.

Any pointers?

thanks!!

 

[mthieme]

Re: Blue Crabbing. You have to try it.

How did I miss this thread?
Born and raised on the Chesapeake here. Handlined immediately after weening. Went around the shore before breakfast as a kid to catch it (soft crabs - sauted with a whole stick of butter).
I can't believe not a single Marylander has contributed to this thread. For shame.
I spend up to 4 days a week in season crabbing...this year a little less as it has been a little slow up until about three weeks ago.
I went out last Monday with my nephew and brought home a bushel with 80 crabs in it.
I expect to be out this Friday and get another bushel.
Do you guys have Old Bay seasoning down there?

 

[captquest]

Re: Blue Crabbing. You have to try it.

I grew up in Tampa, when I was young my Dad would take me out crabbing. We went out after sunset on a very low tide. Using a dip net with a long handle and a spot light we would wade around in ankle deep water and scoop them up as they ran away. We would have a large tin tub (cantina) to throw them in and they could not craw out of. My Dad who was Cuban decent made a traditional "Crab en Chala". I t was like a spaghetti sauce with whole (cleaned of course) crab bodies and claws. Very messy, but what great meal it was. It was always my Dad's July 4th tradition until he passed away a few years ago.

 

[dingbat]

Re: Blue Crabbing. You have to try it.

I can't believe not a single Marylander has contributed to this thread. For shame.

It must have been my comment about Old Bay being so tourist that got me disqualified as a Marylander

 

[mthieme]

Re: Blue Crabbing. You have to try it.

It must have been my comment about Old Bay being so tourist that got me disqualified as a Marylander

Sorry, I missed your post. I got to scanning down the list too quick as they all starting looking alike.
Oh course we Marylanders have our own seasoning recipes, but I figured Old Bay was exotic enough for our fellow posters. It's the first thing out of state visitors ask about.

I'm glad to know that blue crabs are prevalent in other places...opens up my retirement relocation possibilities.

 

[F16TJ]

Re: Blue Crabbing. You have to try it.

Hey, I'm a Marylander! I crab. Just handlines. You can see some of the pictures of them at: lifesignatures.wordpress.com

 

[mthieme]

Re: Blue Crabbing. You have to try it.

Hey, I'm a Marylander! I crab. Just handlines. You can see some of the pictures of them at: lifesignatures.wordpress.com

I hope those pics are not from this year - I saw females in that thar basket.

 

[mthieme]

Re: Blue Crabbing. You have to try it.

Went out this morning. Caught 3 dozen in hours...enough to fill the steamer - which is where they are right now!
Lunch is at my house guys!

 

[F16TJ]

Re: Blue Crabbing. You have to try it.

I hope those pics are not from this year - I saw females in that thar basket.

Nope! Pictures are from last year. Wife just started her blog and loved those pictures. Hoping to go out on Wednesday and see if I have any luck.

 

[mthieme]

Re: Blue Crabbing. You have to try it.

You'd better pick another day unless you have a commercial license.

 

[cpbrocke]

Re: Blue Crabbing. You have to try it.

Are blue crabs going extinct? I have been out twice in the last week to both of my hot spots and caught 1.5 crab(s) total. I thought that these things were around all the time. Is it because the economy is slow?