Crab Bait

Today we decided to use menhaden (bunker) for our crab traps.
Not that chicken is too expensive but rather smells quite a bit when we process the traps.
Being a commercial fisherman for lobsters I have always used bunker as a choice bait. What the heck, they have to work for crabs as well, right?
Only time will tell because on Sunday we will check the traps. I have a 6 foot cast net which we easily got enough to bait the traps and them some.
Guy is a bit reserved about the idea but I have full confidence our little bunkers will do the job and then some :)
We came up with 24+ beauties (mature jimmies) with nice hard shells today.

Will report...

Crabbing with a trot line

Here's an interesting video of trot lining for blue claw crabs.

Crab Guy's Dash Board

Here's a picture of Guy's bobble head.
He's seriously a goof ball!
Only Guy would do something like this.

Cooler with Blue Claw Crabs

Today we managed to get a few (40 +) blue claw crabs. It's to a point now where we don't keep anything under 6". Some of the guys that came along for the ride hand-lined with chicken legs and pulled up another 8 - 10 nice sized Jimmies.
Guy also took home a half dozen crabs for Judy to cook ;)

New Jersey Crabbing Spots

It's great to stumble onto websites that offer information on good crabbing spots.
I couldn't let this on pass without sharing with you folks from NJ.
Scott's Bait and Tackle has a great listing of crabbing locations along the Jersey shore. Included are maps and lists of facilities with a description of what you'll expect to find there.
I hope you catch a few!

Jumbo Blue Claw Crabs!

Well... After the brush of our tropical storm Sunday we decided to check the traps and change the water. Much to our surprise the traps were packed with crabs.
Many jumbo males! Guy picked up 51 pounds of shrimp from the local boat and cleaned them there on the dock. This may had an impact on the amount of blue claws we caught. It's a day later and I'm trying to figure out how else I can prepare them.
May have to give them to the kids for dinner :)
I did cook 22 crabs in a big pot my dad had. I used water (naturally) and about a cup of cider vinegar and two heaping tablespoons of old bay. Once the water came back to a slow boil after the crabs were put in I timed it for 25 minutes.
They were delicious!
The traps are baited again with chicken thighs. We'll see what happens...

Crab Wrestling

Here's Guy in a crab tangle. Wonder who wins...

Cooking Jersey Blue Claw Crabs Part-3

Garlic, butter, parmesan cheese and wine for crabs...
Blue claw crabs cooked New Jersey style.

Crabbing on the Neuse River

Sunday we had a nice amount of medium to large blue claw crabs in our traps out in Pamlico County. After baiting the traps (cut up chicken) we decided to look for a different spot along the Neuse River.
Not far from our crab spot in the country we found a public pier heading into the river.
We tied some chicken to a few hand lines and were pleasantly surprised to see quite a lot of activity. We caught 8 within 20 minutes or so but had to leave due to one of the kids getting a splinter from the bulkhead.
The pressure treated wood creates a very nasty and painful experience and since I couldn't take it out we quickly packed up and went home.
Bringing in the crab lines we had 2 keeper crabs on one bait!
Will return here I'm sure...

Guys Cooked Blue Claw Crabs

Click image for super size. Be sure to have a bib or napkin ready!
Well, actually Judy cooked them but we all knew who ate them...
Looks great!
You can visit the "Crab Lady's" blog for more about this dish.
The Crab Lady

North view of our crab spot.

Here's a north view of our new crabbing spot in the country.
That's a shrimp boat in the distance.

Crabbing on Sunday 7/6/08

Despite rough water and overnight thunder storms we still managed to get 17 nice crabs. Mostly male with a few large female crabs mixed in. We also tried hand lining with chicken thighs and picked up a few nice ones as well. My dad "Pops" cooked up the crabs and my two kids who love them took their fair share.

The traps were re-baited and we plan to check them Monday night. Instead of stuffing chicken inside the bait towers we decided to tie off parts so the meat of the chicken will be more available to our hungry guests.

Will post results...

New crabbing site in the country.

The crab Guy and I are testing a new crabbing location. Guy's friend allowed us to put out 2 traps at his pier out in the country. We set out down the pier armed with our crab traps and a pile of chicken parts.
As we walked out on the pier we saw quite a few crabs hanging on to pylons. We now anticipated a good catch to come when we come back to pick up the traps Sunday.

It was exciting to say the least. So we tied off the traps and then decided to ask our humble dock host for a net so we can get the crabs we saw just hanging around.

We returned to the pier and picked up 8 or so crabs but most were mating so we let them be. One however was of decent size and instead of bringing one crab home we decided to put the crab into a trap to possibly attract more or better yet be there when we get back Sunday.
Well... We were surprised to find that within the 15 minutes of the trap being in the water we had a jumbo Jimmie already!

I can't wait till tomorrow...

The Dome Crabcatcher Crab Trap

The Dome Crabcatcher Crab Trap made by "The Crabcatcher" looks to be a nifty way to fill your bucket with crabs.
I just visited the web site and read about how the trap works and am impressed with the simple design. For pier crabbing it looks like a sure fire way to land more crabs than the bait line or old style folding traps that work most of the time.
On the Crabcatcher web site they show their trap in action. You can even see how they steam crabs in Maryland and yes... how to clean them and remove the crab meat.

New Crab Board

Here's our new crab board prototype.

Catching Blue Claw Crabs In Pamlico County NC

3 and 4 crabs at a time and the cooler is full within an hour!
This amazing video will get any crab fishermans heart pumping.

Here's Hobucken on the map...

View Larger Map

Crab Recipes

We have crab recipes saved throughout the years that will be posted every so often.
For now check out "The Crab Lady".
She's got a few great crab recipes you may like :)

Water is heating up.

As the inshore shallow bays, sounds and other crabbing waters heat up we find the larger crabs seeking deeper water and are replaced on most piers with smaller crabs.
It may be a good time to go fishing and wait till late September when the inshore waters cool off a bit.
Crabbing remains good in the cooler waters of the north east throughout the summer months but declines dramatically south of the Chesapeake Bay region.

NODC Coastal Water Temperature Table

Building crab traps

I have some plans on building a simple crab trap and will post images and catch results when they are available.
Tomorrow will be going to the Bogue Inlet Pier and will bring a cast trap for blue claws. I never knew you could catch blue claw crabs in the ocean until last year. A fellow fisherman was doing quite well with a buttryfly style trap. Later... I came back armed with my own and did OK myself.

Turkey necks for crabbing

Today we tried turkey necks. They were on sale :)
The ones that sank did OK but didn't compare to chicken. The tide was also on the way out so we just gave it a little try and left after an hour or so. The action was good but was hard to bring the crabs to the top. Tomorrow the tide will be in our favor and we will try chicken thighs. Will report.

Crabbing results for Tuesday 6/17

Sad to report we didn't catch as much as we set out for but was fun.
Did get a nice big crab for Ma. She claimed it at first sight!

Blue Crab Feast

Kids having a ball with the crab board and a yummy snack.

The Crab Board and Mallet is hand made in the USA by "The Crab Guy"

Going Crabbing

Down here in the coastal region of North Carolina we have some of the best blue claw crabbing that heats up in early June. The target crab is the large "Jimmies" that are a meal in itself.
Leaving at 5:30 am and will be using chicken necks on a hand line. Will post our results...

Hi. I'm the Crab Guy.

I love blue claw crabs... Catching them, eating them and cooking them!
You can find some of my favorite recipes here.