A Crabbin We Will Go

[atavist]

As I start kitting out my new boat one of the many many items I want on board are crab/lobster traps... the collapsible type would be nice for space saving but the ones i see most searching online are the Promar nylon netting types which have realy bad reviews... I also see the Daniels enameled steel ones which read like they may be good but I can't find any reviews....

anybody got any experience with a collapsible trap that they would recommend?

[atavist]

bump... back to the top...

somebody out there's gotta do some crabbing.

[JeanneP]

when we went through the Chesapeake in 1986 it was my first experience with crabbings since I was a child. *I "chicken-necked" them. *I.e., tied a string to a chicken neck (sold in all the supermarkets for just that purpose) and threw it over the side of the boat with the string tied to a stanchion. *I'd sit holding the string and when I felt a tug I'd slowly pull the string in, and just before the crab and the chicken broke the survace I'd put a net in the water beneath the crab and bring him aboard. *In a quiet cove I could catch half a dozen or more in a very short time. *Early morning was the best time.

One of my stories (don't groan, I can't help it!).

I have never liked wearing shoes and on the boat I don't. *The first time I caught a bunch of crabs I thought that boiling them was done the same way as New England lobster. *So, I brought the big pot of water up to a boil and brought down the crabs which I had in a bucket. *The first two that I dropped into the boiling water jumped out of the pot and landed on the cabin sole with their claws in battle formation and headed for my bare toes! *I hopped onto the seat and yelled for Peter to help me. *Those crabs were feisty and they moved really fast! *Finally, Peter snagged the crabs and I figured out that the crabs had to go into the pot first, then the water, the lid, and the heat. *THEN I remembered having had almost the same thing happen to me the first time I cooked Caribbean lobster many years earlier but at least then they had no claws to bite me. *

Yum! *They taste so-o-o-o good.

*

[atavist]

Thanks for the story JeanneP... I would have done the exact same thing... it's always nice to learn from someone elses mistakes .

For traps, I've been watching a lot of underwater videos of crab traps in action and have decided to build my own, which I hope will be effective... From what I'm seeing it looks to me like the simple trap door type are the most effective with the funnel entry types being the next most effective and the connical fish trap types not really working at all...

wish me luck, I'll post an update when my experiment succeeds or fails.

[BillAU]

A Crabbing We Will Go

I have used the same method as JeanneP while living aboard in Durban, S. Africa. i.e.

I "chicken-necked" them. I.e., tied a string to a chicken neck (sold in all the supermarkets for just that purpose) and threw it over the side of the boat with the string tied to a stanchion. I'd sit holding the string and when I felt a tug I'd slowly pull the string in, and just before the crab and the chicken broke the survace I'd put a net in the water beneath the crab and bring him aboard. In a quiet cove I could catch half a dozen or more in a very short time. Early morning was the best time.

I spotted some blokes on shore fishing for crabs this way and just coppied them and...it worked a treat.

Crabs from Durban harbour are bleeding big suckers so you have to be real careful when handeling them, like our big Aussie mud crabs...they taste great Early morning or just on dusk was the best time for me.

Good crabbing mates.

Bill AU

[dnice]

Around here (MS), recreational trapping requires a license (its only $5 though), but "chicken-necked" and netting are unregulated (but there is a size limit of 5" for hard shelled crabs no matter how you catch them).

The string method works great. But the most common method around here is a simple drop net (wal-mart style) with the chicken tied in the middle of it. That way you can often get several crabs at a time and you don't have to constantly tend it. Just lift it up every so often and 9/10 times there are crabs in it (they really LOVE chicken!).

Chicken necks are indeed the best bait, but they will go after any kind of chicken, as well as fish pieces or pretty much anything else smelly and fleshy.

crabs are definitely built for combat, so get a pair of thick gloves or avoid handling them at all costs net -> bucket -> pot - no hands!!!