Catching Blue Crabs
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One of my favorite childhood memories was when the weather was warm enough, Aunt Mary would give us a couple of balls of twine, weighs, chicken necks and a dip net so we could head down to the Bonner’s dock to catch blue crabs. This is one of the easiest and cheapest outdoor fishing activity to get started in. There are three ways to catch them. The lowest tech is a hand line of twine with a weigh (2 oz sinker). Tie a chicken neck to the end. Drop the hand line off a dock and let sit for a minute. Slowly pull the line up, if a crab is on the line you will feel it pulling. Use a dip net to scoop the crab up when the line reaches the surface. It takes a while to catch enough to eat, so keep the crabs in the shade and maybe even drape wet spanish moss or a wet towel over them. |
| A drop net is the next step up in crab technology. These nets are simply weighted and baited like a hand line, but don’t require a dip net. Also it is less likely you will loose a crab while pulling the line up. Drop nets should be pulled up quickly to keep the crab from crawling out. | . |
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For the advanced crabber you can buy a crab pot like the ones used by commercial fisherman. You can have one for personal use without a permit. The pot is baited and placed in a creek either tied to a dock or using a float. The trap is left overnight and then pulled up, emptied, and rebaited for the next day. Pots should not be left for extended periods of time, crabs will be trapped and die if left too long. This can be very effective, but it isn’t as much fun as a hand line. |
| When you get home, simply bring a pot of water to a boil, add Old Bay if you like and place the live crabs in the pot until they turn orange. Spread some paper on a table and start crackin.
Be careful handling crabs, a pinch from a blue crab will easily draw blood and they do not let go. If you want to hire a charter to take you crabbing try Capt Walt, wrixon@tds.net or 887-3149. He also does beach and fishing trips and caters. Also check out the Awendaw Blue Crab Festival every summer in Awendaw, SC, between McClellanville and Mt Pleasant. |
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