crabbing for hard shell crabs - university of southern ...gcrl.usm.edu/.../ for hard shell crabs...

Crabbing for Hard Shell Crabs

Crabs are harvested using a variety of methods. Recreational crabbers, or"chicken neckers", may only use a piece of bait tied to a string while commercialwatermen use crabpots or trotlines.

Crabbing Bait

Bait

Most recreational crabbers use chicken necks for bait since they are consideredscrap, are very durable, and crabs love them! Commercial watermen, on theother hand, prefer to use various types of oily bait fish, eel, and bull lip. Somewatermen use frozen fish because it tends to break down (decompose) faster thanfresh which seems to attract more crabs.

Eel - Cut into 4" pieces, eel is the ultimate crab bait and is used extensivelyby commercial crabbers on their trotlines. Because eel is considered adelicacy in Europe and Asia, its price has risen sharply thus making itprohibitive to use as bait.

Bull Lip - A tough cut of meat from the facial area of beef. Bull lip is fastbecoming the bait of choice for trotlining since it is durable, inexpensive,and crabs love it. Bull lip is easily obtained from any beef slaughterhouse.

Crabbing - Hard Shell Crabs http://www.bluecrab.info/crabbing/hardcrabs.html

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Be sure to have an axe handy to chop it up!

Menhaden (a.k.a. alewife, shad, bunker, shiner, pogey) - The bait ofchoice for commercial crabbers utilizing crabpots. Menhaden is veryplentiful, is relatively inexpensive and is an excellent crab bait. It is saidthat frozen menhaden catches more crabs than fresh, however frozen doesnot last as long. Since most watermen tend their pots daily, which includesre-baiting, the fast decomposition of the bait is not a problem. Make sureyou use fresh if you plan to let your pots sit for several days.

Chicken Necks - A good bait which is used mostly by recreational crabbers("chicken neckers"). Usually used with crab traps and hand lines.

Turkey Necks - A good bait which is used by both recreational andcommercial crabbers. Turkey necks are durable and will generally lastseveral days when used on a trotline. Can also be used with traps and handlines.

Crabbing Equipment

Crabbing Gear

Most crabbers carry several important itemswith them on the water. A dip net(sometimes called a scap net) is essentialto scoop up stray crabs. A wooden bushelbasket is a good container for storingcaught crabs (all seafood stores buy andsell crabs "by the bushel"). Also helpful arethick crabbing gloves and a culling stick (Imade my own by cutting a 5-inch notch in apiece of wood as seen in the photo. 5-inches, point-to-point, is the minimum legalkeeper size in most states.)

Crab Pot


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Crabpot

Invented by Benjamine F. Lewis in the 1920's, patented in 1928, and perfectedten years later, the crabpot changed forever the way hard crabs are harvested onthe Chesapeake Bay. The crabpot is the most common method used to catch andharvest crabs and is used worldwide. Click here to learn how to make your own.

The crabpot is a large square trap constructed out of galvanized chicken wire(some new pots are constructed out of PVC (polyvinyl chloride) coated wire. Bewarned that these "plastic" pots become dirty very easily, becomingcontaminated with marine growth and barnacles. Also keep in mind that thesepots must utilize stainless steel frames and clamps which drives up the cost.). Thetrap has two internal chambers. The bottom chamber, or "downstairs", consists oftwo or four entrance funnels, known as "throats", which allow the crab to easilyenter but not exit. In the center of the bottom chamber is the "bait box" which isconstructed of fine-mesh galvanized wire so that the crab cannot get to the bait.The top chamber is the holding area, known as the "parlor" or "upstairs". Crabsenter the parlor through oblong, funnel-shaped, holes cut into the floor of theparlor making it difficult for the crab to swim back downstairs.

Crabpots are ingenious contraptions in thatthey utilize the crab's very own escapeinstincts in order to trap them. Crabs smellthe bait and circle the pot, entering throughone of the throats. Once inside and unableto reach the bait, the crab feels trapped andthreatened. When threatened, a crabinstinctively swims up towards the surfaceto escape, where it winds up inside theparlor. It remains in the parlor until

removed through a special opening along one of the top edges.

Most crabpots have two small exit holes up high in the parlor called "cull rings".These rings are big enough to let small crabs escape yet small enough to trap thelarger keepers.

Most people attach bricks or metal bars to the bottom of their pots which act asanchors. Commercial watermen will frame the bottom of their pots with steelreinforcement rods (rebar) which, aside from acting as anchor, make them muchmore durable. A long line is attached to the pot and a marker buoy (a cork orStyrofoam float) is attached. These marker buoys are painted bright colors andhave unique markings to help distinguish them from other pots. The line must berugged and it should not float (unless you attach a weight to the line). Weightsare attached about 2-3 feet below the buoy which helps keep the line submergedand less prone to being cut by a boat propeller. Another item found on mostcommercial pots is a zinc anode. Since saltwater is very corrosive, sacrificial zincanodes are attached to a pot which effectively doubles its life span (commercialpots without zinc anodes usually last only one or two seasons.)


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Jimmy Potting - During the last two weeks of May, watermen will bait theirpots with several live jimmies placed in the pot's parlor (or use a special"peeler pot") which lures large mate-seeking peelers (she-crabs that did notreach the terminal or mating molt the year before) into the pot. While thismethod works using a regular pot, it will only catch a few peelers becauseonce a jimmy doubles-up with a female other females will not seek him. Theuse of a peeler pot is preferable which does not exhibit this problem.

Bare Potting - Involves setting an un-baited pot down deep in the barrenchannels. Crabs see the pot as a hiding place and will enter the pot. It'susually only practiced for several weeks in the spring.

Peeler Pot - A specially designed crabpot used to catch mate-seekingfemale peeler crabs. A peeler pot is similar to a standard crabpot exceptthat instead of a bait box, it incorporates a special holding cell where a livemale crab is placed. Mate-seeking female peeler crabs are attracted to thelone male and will enter the pot and become trapped. Peeler pots can beutilized all season long and work remarkably well.

Trotline

Trotline

A trotline is the tool of choice in the area near the Chester and Wye Rivers onMaryland's Eastern Shore (actually, in those areas it's the only choice that'sallowed by law!). A trotline is a very long line (it can be over a mile in length!)which is anchored with heavy weights on each end (some watermen use scrapengine blocks as anchors.) The line is baited at specific intervals and is allowed tosink to the bottom. The waterman will start at one end of the line by pulling it upand draping it over a roller attached to the side of the boat. As the boat movesdown the line, the line, bait, and hopefully crab, are slowly raised towards thesurface where the watchful waterman will scoop up the crab with a dip net.


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Working a TrotlinePhoto courtesy of Harvesting the Chesapeake: Tools & Traditions

This method makes for very long, hard, tedious work. Most watermen prefer touse eel for bait since it is more durable than other baits and can be reused manytimes over. At the end of a long day of crabbing, the trotline is pulled aboard andstored in a barrel of strong brine solution which helps preserve the bait. Recently,many watermen have switched to bull lip for bait instead of eel since it issignificantly cheaper.

Click here for detailed trotline information

Crabbing Dredge

Crabbing Dredge

The crab dredge is used only during the winter months to dredge up crabs whichhave burrowed into the bottom during their winter dormancy. The crab dredge is


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about 6 feet wide, weighs 250 pounds (dry), and resembles an oyster dredge.Both employ the same structural design and have "bags" or netting made of chainin the lower half and twine in the upper. The crab dredge has long tines or teeththat can be adjusted at various angles so as to rake the bottom (they are setaccording to the bottom hardness and how deeply the crabs are buried). Properlyset, the tined bar will force up bottom mud or sand in neat curl like snow in frontof a road plow. In the curl are rudely awakened crabs.

Traps

Traps

Strictly a recreational activity, trapping crabs can be lots of fun and veryproductive. Since a boat is not required to trap crabs, it is a popular method ofcrabbing. One method is to crab from a public bridge; you'll know when you findone because other crabbers will be there. Crabbing from a public pier or dock, sayat a marina, is another great way to utilize a trap. Wading out into shallow waterand tying off your traps to sticks or poles is yet another way. And of course, aboat makes an excellent crabbing platform!

Ring Net - The ring net is the simplest andleast expensive trap available. It consistsof two rings each of a different diameterconnected by netting. When baited andlowered to the bottom, the trap lies flat onthe bottom. The crab will then approachand start to feed on the bait. When the trapis pulled up the top ring is lifted first thistrapping the crab in the netting. The

benefits of thistrap are itssimple design, ease of use, ease of storage (it foldscompletely flat), and its low cost. The drawbacks arethat it only works in relatively calm water with flatsandy or muddy bottoms and that it must be loweredvery slowly straight down.

Pyramid (folding star) and Box traps - These trapswork similarly in that they are made of metal and havesides that swing down (open) when resting on the

bottom. They are more expensive and complicated than the ring net but can beused in stronger currents and bottoms covered with small rocks and marinegrowth. They can be "thrown" or "swung" into position. The pyramid trap (shown


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at left) can be easily stored since it folds completely flat but is very cumbersometo use and fouls frequently. The box trap is bulkier but works consistently andremarkably well. It is the trap of choice among recreational crabbers.

Hand Lines & Scapping

Hand Line and Dip Net (Scap Net)

The simplest method of crabbing is a handline and dip net and is strictly a recreationalactivity. The bait along with a small weightis simply tied to a line and lowered to thebottom. The crabber, feeling the lighttugging of a feeding crab, slowly pulls theline in, and, when the crab is just visiblebeneath the surface, is quickly scooped upwith the net. This is a very inexpensive,low-tech, way to catch crabs and is a greatway to get the whole family together! Makesure your dip net's pole is no longer than six feet or it becomes difficult to handle.

Scapping

The most basic of all methods, scapping involves the age-old "man against crab"ploy where a man simply takes a long-handled dip net (scap net) and wadesthrough the water looking for crabs among the eelgrass (no bait is used). Thismethod is practiced when hunting both hard and soft-shell crabs. An alternatemethod employs the use of a small boat where the crabber stands on the bow anduses the net's pole to push himself along near the shore. Crabs seek shallowwater where they can hide in the eelgrass in order to molt. Once a crab molts, itis extremely weak and cannot easily swim away. Once spotted, the crabbersimply scoops it aboard. Scapping hard crabs is best practiced at night with alantern or bright light. Nocturnal crabs can be easily spotted swimming near thesurface. Some claim that shining a bright light into the water will attract curiouscrabs.


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