Crabbing, a Summer-time Adventure!!!

As a child, my Father taught me how to Fish, at that time we lived in California where they were only Lakes. The Ocean was a several hour drive to get to, so fishing was usually the best option at these Lakes!!

Later on we moved to Virginia and learn to Crab and Fish, by this time, I had Never Fished from a True Fishing Pier! At the Lakes they had a dock that you could fish off of but nothing like a Pier. My Father showed me how to Crab, he took some string, tie a chicken drumstick to one end and tied the other end to the pier. We used about six of these at various point on the pier, along with those we had an 8 foot telescopic net that could be length to 16 ft if necessary. Since the pier we were on was about 8 foot from the water, the net only had to be extended to 12 ft.

The use of the chicken on a string works very well in telling you that a crab has the bait. You can feel all of pulling, tugging and biting that the crab is doing to the chicken! By this time I was a teenager learning to catch Blue Crabs, but this is a great excursion for children. It teaches them the value of Patience and how to increase their own as well. I share this because once you feel that a crab has taken the bait, you have to pull the chicken to the surface slowly. The Crab must not be aware of the our presence. If you pull to fast or hard, the crab will left go or get away; the purpose is to bring close enough to the surface for the Long Net to reach the Crab.

Now there are many ways to catch Blue Crabs, there are many other types of Crabs but Blue Crabs are plentiful along the Eastern Seaboard of the U.S. Besides, they taste great after being cooked in Beer and Old Bay Seasoned boiling Water!! Chicken on a String in the best way to catch Blue Crabs in my opinion, you know when there is a Crab on the other end! The use of a Crab pot is pretty cool too, but the only thing is that there is no way to know that a Crab has wondered into the net. The best time to use a Crab Pot is when the Water Temp. is Close to or More then 80* F. When the water Temp. is that warm, the Crabs go on a Feeding Frenzy, eating anything they can get their claws on! That means that you won't have to wait long to catch a crab using a crab pot.

Some Crabbers like to use a Crab Cage, the way these traps work is still by using Bait. The Cage is designed for the Crab to Swim into but not out of, plus the bait is simply use to lure them into the Cage not to actually eat. The Cage can be up to any size, from 3 ft. by 2 ft. all the way up to 20 ft. by 30 ft., the bigger they are the longer they can stay submerged. Some Crab Cages are designed to hold hundreds of Crabs in one capture setting, even with this ability, the trick in any method of crabbing is that the Crabs Must Be Alive before they are cooked!!

Personally I use the Chicken on a String approach and the Crab Pots to go Crabbing. This is my favorite Summer Activity, Crabbing allows me to let go and simply enjoy the Sea Breeze! The Last time I went, I caught over 30 Dozen Crabs (5 Bushels), I let my Family eat their fill and sold the rest! That was the most Crabs that I have Ever caught, the year before I caught over 15 Dozen Blue Crabs! That's when I earned the Name "The Crab Master!" because the crabs seem to jump into my Crab Pots!!!