Blue crabbin' 101 illustrated

[Kamo Gari]

I've heard that smirnoff makes them come runnin.

True story, but only if if copious cigar smoke and chicks in their underwear are also present. I can't explain it, but it works. Trust me.

[Kamo Gari]

As a last gesture to all the other salty at heart here, I offer the following secret tools of the trade that were employed.

Office wastepaper baskets (metal kind)
Guppy nets
Plastic shopping basket (borrowed; most any chain model)
Flashlights
SHOES
Flour sifters
Trout net
Bucket
A sense of adventure and the ability to giggle like a schoolgirl

Off the farking charts on the fun-o-meter. Was to be tuna fishing. When we got blown out, this was my plan B. Monster success. It's the simple things sometimes, boys...

[Fathom40]

As a last gesture to all the other salty at heart here, I offer the following secret tools of the trade that were employed.

Office wastepaper baskets (metal kind)
Guppy nets
Plastic shopping basket (borrowed; most any chain model)
Flashlights
SHOES
Flour sifters
Trout net
Bucket
A sense of adventure and the ability to giggle like a schoolgirl

Off the farking charts on the fun-o-meter. Was to be tuna fishing. When we got blown out, this was my plan B. Monster success. It's the simple things sometimes, boys...

KG,

Bottom line: you rock and know how to live life to it's fullest. Sometimes the Best times come with a plan B and the simple silly stuff. That party you was certainly not simple but had all the best ingredients...including the eye candy

[storm petrel]

Took my son, Andre down to the Great Salt Pond to hunt the elusive Blue Crab. Due to the sucky R.I. regs, you can't crab at night! A friend had told me the crabs swim around at slack tide.....WRONG! We hunted up five nice crabs before Andre got a little cold. Not bad for a first try. Next time, I'll try it w/a little current. We had to wade around and spot them as they hid under rocks, seaweed, etc. When we tried to scare 'em out, they stayed put. Not as easy as I recalled from back when I used to do it.....in the sixties

[SteveK]

Nice job SP! How did they taste? I haven't had one in many many years, and I can't remember where most of the meat is on these crabs.......is there any in the body or mostly the claws?

[Albiemanmike]

Heck with the crabs I want to come to one of your parties...................Hubba Hubba.....

[Kamo Gari]

Nice jobbie on you and your boy; the smile says it all!

In my limited experience, I found that they can be caught during the day, but we saw and caught far fewer in daylight, mostly I suspect because in the daytime they stay in deeper water. They're crafty little buggers too, and DO see well, enough so that it was clear that when they make out that something is coming at them, they screw (sideways swimmers--FAST sideways swimmers BTW).

We lucked out and hit them both times when the tide was moving in, and the crabs definitely came in with the water's rise. It just so happened that dead low coincided closely with nightfall, and when I do it again that's the condition I'll plan for. They were found scooting around (they seem to swim high in the water column), or laying in ambush for small prey. In the soft bottom (read as mud), we watched them slightly bury themselves in random spots, but a large percentage got up near the marshy bank and into the aquatic vegetation, where minnows were thick and hiding themselves from predators. I actually saw one crab eating a small fish he'd just caught.

As far as technique, what eventually worked well was a team effort. After they were sighted, the girls stood still and illuminated the BCs while we moved in from opposite sides, as much as possible approaching from the flanks, as they cannot move quickly front or backwards. Moving slowly, box them in. Once they're close enough (judgment call), move fast and bring two or three of whatever you're using together, and raise them up quickly as one. Important: move SLOWLY when walking them up, for two reasons. First, the BCs seemed to sense disturbances in the area, and if you stomp around, they tend to move away. Second, in that kind of marshy bottom, the silt plays a big role. Stir up the bottom too much, and you can't see anything. I recommend not trying to hand-grab them in the murky silt. It can be a painful exercise. You of course cannot help but stir up the silt while moving, but we figured out that by forming a line with one person at the bank and the rest stretched out and moving in unison like a firing line, the water ahead of the line stays clear.

As to their eating quality? They taste *fanfreakingtastic*, but you do have to work a bit to get a belly full, as they're not exactly loaded with meat. But when you hit 'em as well as we did, with a two day total of perhaps 140 of them, it can be done. The claw meat is actually less than half of the meat on them, I would say. It's something of a messy business (Heavy Duty please don't try this; you may get your dainty hands dirty and I'd hate to have you start bawling if you got a messy stain on your blouse), but on either side of the body are pockets of wonderful meat. In order to get at the flank meat, you have to bust the body in half, which is fairly easily done, like breaking a cookie in two. Call it the barbarian in me, but I find that smashing, ripping and tearing the delicious little bastards apart is fun as hell in its own right.

For those that enjoy the tomalley from bugs (I love that stuff), try the yellow mush in the body. I believe it's called crab mustard. NOTE: in the state info packet they make a point to warn of NOT eating more than a little bit of the 'mustard', due to contaminants that apparently build up there.

Mike, we try to make it fun. With bellies full of awesome eats, surrounded by family and friends, with most rocking a little ethanol fueled glow after the kiddies were put down, simply chilling out around the fire, bobbing your head to some good music and watching the lovely ladies shaking their hips into the night is hard to beat. Sing with me now: "summertiiiiiiime, and the living's easy..."



L

[storm petrel]

KG,
Many good crabbing insights........thanks. But thanks most of all for your starting this thread. As you say, the smile says it all. Brought me right back to when I crabbed as a boy. I would not have thought to go if it weren't for you.

I don't think I would have caught more than one or two if it wasn't for my trusty canyon dip net, with it's very long handle!!
I also think the crabs move around more at night, and hide in the daytime, although I saw them free-swimming a couple of weeks ago. It was in the middle of the day!!!

Next time I'll go towards dusk.........

Steve,
As KG says, there is a lot of meat in either side of the body; easier to get at if you remove the shell first. It's a lot of work getting all the meat out, but well worth it!!!!