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!

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...