Maryland Blue Crabbing Vacation

The months of August and September are both great crabbing months and coincide with a popular vacation time of the year. One such place to catch a few blue claws and enjoy some of the best weather of the year is out on Point Lookout MD.
The state park (Point Lookout state park) offers a boat launch, fishing pier, camping and beaches all surrounded in a rich Civil War history.


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Rednecks, Road Kill and Crabbing

Last Sunday my son and I went to one of our favorite crabbing haunts to be greeted shortly after we arrived by two locals rolling up on bicycles loaded down with crabbing gear. They were very pleasant but just as eager to start crabbing. The one guy asked how we were doing and I answered with the standard "it's been better" answer.
Shortly after setting out their hand lines one was retrieved rather early because the bait was floating. I took a glance over and giddily asked... "What is that? A mouse?"

Well... The answer was not half as amusing as to where they got the bait!

In a short reply, "nope... it's a half a squirrel". I had to then ask where they got the bait and was told they picked it up on the side of the road on the way down to the dock.

Needless to say I was in awe of this all and found it quite amusing to boot.
I didn't stay much longer, wished them all a "good luck" and packed up. I then wondered on the way home how they made out...

The Jimmies are Running!

Just like that (seemed like overnight) the jimmies are in thick here in eastern North Carolina. I took my son to do a little fishing off the local pier and at the last minute decided to bring a crab net just in case.
My son caught a small spot so I tied it to some spare fishing line I had to see if there was any activity. With the one fish we caught 9 crabs in the following 2 hrs. We lost just as many as the line was constantly tugging the whole time.

Here's my son holding the rule showing the one crab at 7". That wasn't even the biggest crab and was the average size!

Guy's Blue Crab Report!!!

On a 2 day set we came up with 8 nice crabs!
This is just the beginning of what looks like a terrific crab season :)
We will check the traps in a day or two and will report...

Blue Crab Molting & Mating Videos

Explanation on molting and the mating process of the blue claw crab. How the blue claw crab is part of the ecosystem and their diets.



Here's another video showing a blue claw crab molting...

Trotlining for Chesapeake Bay Blue Crabs

A great article describing how to catch blue claw crabs with a trot line can be found at "Maryland-Virginia Saltwater Fishing" website.
A photo of how to set up a roller guide system on the side of your boat and how the complete process is done is described in detail.
Be sure to check them out!

Giant Blue Claw Crab!

Digging through some old photos I came across this picture taken of a blue claw we caught in a brackish lake near Montauk LI. To date it has to be the biggest blue crab I ever saw no less caught!
The interesting thing is how we caught crabs in this shallow lake... You simply rowed about in 8' aluminum boats and looked along the bottom and picked the crabs up with a net. The water was only 3' deep or so and the crabs were easily spotted until the water became rippled by the wind.





For those interested in where this crabbing spot is located you can find it in the town of East Hampton at Cedar Point Campgrounds. It's called Alewife Pond. I'm not sure if you can still rent boats there but it's worth a shot. You can see the small salt water feeder on this map.


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First Blue Claw Crabs of the Season!

Great news for the blue claw crab fans... We headed out to our spot in Pamlico County and caught our first blue claws of the season. With the next couple of hot days we should see an improvement. The traps were re-baited and put back in.
Guy picked up a new trap and I a 6 ft. cast net so we're ready to catch the crabs when they come in strong.
Will report!

The Mud's Warming Up!

It's been a long winter but finally we had the chance to cast net for some bunker (menhaden) and bait our crab traps. The traps were topped off with chicken bait.
I'll give a full report when we head back to the pier and see if there is any action!

Cabin fever and the crabs are in the mud

Well it's the latter half of January and then some and cabin fever has officially set in. Tomorrow the forecast is for temps to reach into the 60's so I'm sure water events will be creeping toward the frontal lobs of many fishermen here in the Carolina's.
Won't be long we unpack the cast net and wet the traps!

The Crab Guy on YouTube :)

Here's a summary of a little crabbing stuff in '08. It should help you with that cabin fever!