Blue Crab Fishing

[GatorzBack2Back]

After reading an old thread on here a week or so ago about Blue Crab fishing, it got me thinking back to growing up at my dad's on Matanzas Bay when we used to keep a crab trap wet at all times. How great it was to pull in 20 or so crabs on a saturday and have a crag boil that night.

So, I decided that it was time for my 7 yr old son to learn how to crab fish. We got my 3 old traps down from the rafters of my dad's boat house, and went out yesterday to drop them. Since it had been 15 years or so since I had been on the water in that bay, my '30 minute trip' turned into a 3 hour tour. Literally. He lives on the SW side of the bay, and the WSW winds yesterday blew all the water out, and the tide was at dead low, and what is normally a foot of water at dead low tide turned into 6 inches or so. And I forgot my pole when I launched. So I got 100 yards out and the motor started to hit bottom. I then had to get out and walk us back towards shore. In knee deep mud and oysters. In shorts and tennis shoes. Against the wind. NOT fun....

So I got back in, got a paddle and pole, and headed back out. Dropped 3 traps with chicken thighs in there (I couldn't find chicken necks at Walmart. Any help?) and headed back in (again, against the wind) to let them soak overnight.

This morning at 11am, we went back out at high tide, with 2-3 feet of water in the shallows. All motor, all the time today, baby!!! First trap, 3 crabs. I decide to let it sit a while longer while we go check the others around the island. Second trap, 15 or so Hermit Crabs. If I were fishing today, that would have been great, as reds LOVE Hermit Crabs. But I wasn't, so I dumped them back in and pulled the trap. On the way to our third trap, my son and his keen eye spots a fairly new crab trap sitting up in the marsh grass where a storm had deposited it a while back. So I pull up to the shore and let him get out to get it. No name on it, so he now has his first crab trap of his own. On to the third trap, where we pulled 6 LARGE crabs. He was happy as could be! So we toss them in the bucket and pull the trap. Head back to the first trap, and one more had crawled in.

So, first day crab fishing in 15 or so years, and we get 10 crabs. All keepers. No females. Not bad for a 19 hour soak in January! My son had the best time out there watching his dad walk, row, and pole the boat, and replace a shear pin too! He can't wait until friday after school when we go put them back in to soak until sunday.

So, anybody else Blue Crab fishing? Got any tips for us? Is it better to go into the ICW channel, or stay in the back waters of Matanzas Bay? If you want to see where I am talking about, Google Earth "Princess Place, Flagler County, FL" and you'll see Matanzas Bay where Pelicer Creek flows into it. Any suggestions would be great, but bear in mind that we are doing this in a 14' jon boat with a 5hp kicker until the parts come in for our 16' Bonita, so no jetty or inlet fishing tips, please. Also, how does the weather and water temps effect the crabs? Is there a time of year that is better than another?

As always, thanks in advance!!!

 

[Bard1]

Re: Blue Crab Fishing

I haven't been out for crabs in two months or so.But as far as bait,I'll buy a whole chicken and cut out the Brest meat,legs ect. I cut the rest up to use for bait. Cans of cheap dog food work well for a long soak.Fish heads work but don't last for smell.

A fun way to cook if Ya have time is a seafood steam. Dig a shallow pit burn fruit wood (drink beer) 1/4 of the day.Remember to tell the wife-"Honey I need a good bed of coal's" I like 6"-10". Use banana leafs 4" green or seaweed to cover your cupped hole so nothing rolls out. Put water soaked whole corn in husk, taters ect. on the bottom.Note: the longest cooking food is on the bottom.Cover with banana greens ones more add clams,shrimp,crab ect.Cover real good with banana greens. You don't want any coals exposed at all from the start. I use a cooking blanket "wool" soaked in water.Let it sit for 4-5 hr. (drink beer) uncover and enjoy, remember it's real hot and your drunk.
This can be done in many different ways to do this, I've cooked pigs in a plywood box for 25yr. everything I cook is the old school way.Lot's of work but the pay off is worth it.

 

[mthieme]

Re: Blue Crab Fishing

I couldn't find chicken necks at Walmart. Any help?

So, anybody else Blue Crab fishing? Got any tips for us? Is it better to go into the ICW channel, or stay in the back waters of Matanzas Bay? If you want to see where I am talking about, Google Earth "Princess Place, Flagler County, FL" and you'll see Matanzas Bay where Pelicer Creek flows into it. Any suggestions would be great, but bear in mind that we are doing this in a 14' jon boat with a 5hp kicker until the parts come in for our 16' Bonita, so no jetty or inlet fishing tips, please. Also, how does the weather and water temps effect the crabs? Is there a time of year that is better than another?

As always, thanks in advance!!!

I'm envious. I'm real big on crabbing.
Crabbing is big here on the Chesapeake, but seasonal. I'm sure the crabs move differently down there. Certain times of the year when the oxygen is low, we work 4-5'. Other times 8-12'. When the water hits 60 degrees at the end of the season - you're done...usually in November. They head down the bay to dig into the mud for winter.
I prefer working with the tide moving along a channel.
I checked out the map and see a couple of spots that look good to me. Unfortunately, there are no names on the creeks.

I've noticed that chain stores do prepackaged stuff - no necks.
The mom & pop grocery stores carry necks in bulk - $21 last season for a 40# box.

 

[GatorzBack2Back]

Re: Blue Crab Fishing

I prefer working with the tide moving along a channel.
I checked out the map and see a couple of spots that look good to me. Unfortunately, there are no names on the creeks.

If you have Microsoft Paint, you can Save A Copy in Google Earth, pull it up in Paint, and mark it to your heart's desire, and post it. Our house is the one 200 yards SSW from the landmark "Siesta at Princess Place", right along that dagger looking canal on the south side of the bay. Pelicer Creek is the large river on the west side, and Stiles Creek comes in from the south where Pelicer Creek widens into the bay. On the Google Earth map, grayish is oyster beds.

The trap I got 6 in was on the east side of the little island right off shore of the Princess House.

So the crabs dig in for the winter? That must be the holes I saw all over the bottom of the bay. I figured it would be slower right now, but that bay is so shallow, a warm sunny day warms the water quite a bit from the river temps. Maybe that's why I got a few today, since it was 75 for two days straight.

Well, thanks for the info. Any tips are always appreciated.

 

[GatorzBack2Back]

Re: Blue Crab Fishing

Cans of cheap dog food work well for a long soak.Fish heads work but don't last for smell.

Do I open the can all the way? Punch holes in it? How do you do it?

As far as fish heads, we used to take catfish that we caught, cut the tails off, and put them in the bait cage. They would last about 3 days, and catch a TON a crab.

That cooking method sounds like something I would have help someone do at their house first before I undertake something like that. But it does sound fun.

 

[mthieme]

Re: Blue Crab Fishing

I don't have MS Paint.
Maybe my photo software? I'll give it a try later.
Oysters !?!!?#!!! Not those too. Arrggghhh.
I gotta migrate south.
Next you're gonna tell me stripers jump in the boat!

 

[GatorzBack2Back]

Re: Blue Crab Fishing

I don't have MS Paint.
Maybe my photo software? I'll give it a try later.
Oysters !?!!?#!!! Not those too. Arrggghhh.
I gotta migrate south.
Next you're gonna tell me stripers jump in the boat!

Well, what types of things should I look for? Steep banks? Grassy, gentle-sloping banks? Deeper channels off of those banks?? Swift moving water? Slower water? Eddies behind islands and off of points? Oyster beds? What do they like? I used to just throw them in off the banks on a whim and get lucky. Now that I am taking it seriously, I would love to know how to maximize my payoff.

Yeah, big fat oysters. They're great on the table. Not so great scraping your shins as you have to push your boat across 3" of water in knee deep mud. But you can go out with a rake and get a bushel in 5 minutes.

I have to say, we live on one of the best bays in FL. Fairly private due to the shallow water. Lots of wildlife with deer, hogs, bobcats, 2 bears, and a myriad of waterfowl. No development on the banks due to Natural Wildlife Preserves on all 3 sides. In fact, we have the only occupied house on the whole bay. Tarpon, reds, Snook, Sheephead, Trout, Flouder, and Ladyfish. Blue Crabs, Stone Crabs, Hermit Crabs. TONS of shrimp....It really is a hidden gem that only locals seem to know about. But here's your alert: Princess Place State Park is the best unknown fishing spot for skinny water fishing on the East Coast of Florida.

And no, stripers don't jump in your boat.





They jump in your ice chest.....

 

[jay_merrill]

Re: Blue Crab Fishing

I haven't put my pots out much in awhile. I live very close to a "shrimp lot" with about 30 vendors, so fresh shrimp, live crabs, etc. are easy to get for less money than it costs in gasoline to get my own. I guess I'm being a bit lazy too.

All this talk about crabbing has me going, though! I like to put my pots along a shoreline where there is some tidal flow, or out in the marshes where there is plenty of access to the Gulf. I'm also fond of chicken necks - they work well and are too darned easy to deal with, to fool with anything else.

Because of a very heavy storm flow in the Mississippi River this past spring, a spillway from the river to Lake Ponchartrain had to be opened to prevent flooding. Every time this happens (seldom) people complain because it changes the water quality for awhile, but I always hear about an improvement in crabbing in the months afterwards. I've been seeing some pretty big crabs at the market lately - I wonder if that is the reason why! Looks like I might have to get the pots out soon!

Here's kind of an interesting site for crab fans:

http://www.bluecrab.info/

 

[Bard1]

Re: Blue Crab Fishing

Do I open the can all the way? Punch holes in it? How do you do it?

As far as fish heads, we used to take catfish that we caught, cut the tails off, and put them in the bait cage. They would last about 3 days, and catch a TON a crab.

That cooking method sounds like something I would have help someone do at their house first before I undertake something like that. But it does sound fun.

Punch holes all around the can.

 

[mthieme]

Re: Blue Crab Fishing

Of course, I have no clue about the depth and a few other fine details which are pertinent to my area.
But....going in cold, I'd try the areas where the red lines are.

 

[GatorzBack2Back]

Re: Blue Crab Fishing

That is exactly where I was going to start this weekend!

GMTA right?

The depths there are about 3-4 feet at high tide, compared to 2 feet for the rest of the bay. So it's slightly deeper there. And grassy edges as well.

I'll give it a shot and let you know. Although, it is supposed to get cold again thursday night, going through to sunday, so I may not even bother this weekend. Maybe next weekend.....

 

[mthieme]

Re: Blue Crab Fishing

How deep does that cove/bay get? If using traps you might throw some out in different depths to get a feel for their preference. 4' here is as shallow as they get.
Is the bottom generally flat with gentle slopes (avoid abrupt contours).

 

[GatorzBack2Back]

Re: Blue Crab Fishing

There is a slight channel running NE from Pelicer Creek to the north side of the bay. It may be 5-6 feet at high tide. The rest is fairly flat. No abrupt depth changes. At low tide, there is about a foot of water across most of the bay. 3-4 deep at it's deepest. But, the place is over run with them sometimes.

 

[GatorzBack2Back]

Re: Blue Crab Fishing

I do good to find a spot that will keep the whole trap under water at low tide....

 

[Bard1]

Re: Blue Crab Fishing

Look for good tied flow outside heavy current, 4' to 12'. Light grass or at the edge of grass and sand. Good flow sends the sent far. You'll pick up not only blue's but stone's also. Good luck!

 

[stackz]

Re: Blue Crab Fishing

if you have to use chicken, just the cheapest you can. chicken necks you usually can find in the grocery store. Its better to just buy them they day before and let them sit in the sun to get nice and stinky before you stuff them in the trap.

crabs love the stinky stuff. I even caught crabs one time on a opossum carcass, I guess I didnt have the traps secured enough over winter?

my FAVORITE bait to use is that whenever I'm out fishing, if I catch fish that are junk fish or small without a minimum size limit...I keep it all and then let it sit out in the sun for a day and chop it all up and form it into a tube with papertowels around it and then freeze it in a ziplock. just toss the frozen papertoweled stinky bait in the trap and wait.

also, try going into a little deeper water or a creek opening.

oh yeah, whats up with the hermit crabs and reds?? you mean red snapper?

do you crack the hermit crab out of the shell and hook it I assume??

what about snails??

 

[Woodstock60]

Re: Blue Crab Fishing

Wow I love blue claws, here in Rhode Island they show up in mid june and stay till october-ish but more often than not they don't show at all. We don't really know why so we just say "They run in cycles" When they are here we just jump in the water at low tide and scoop them up with a net. last year I did buy a few nets and the damn things didn't show up, very disappointing- thank god were teaming with lobsters and steamers, but I'll gladly line up a trade. Ronnie

 

[alangf]

Re: Blue Crab Fishing

After reading an old thread on here a week or so ago about Blue Crab fishing, it got me thinking back to growing up at my dad's on Matanzas Bay when we used to keep a crab trap wet at all times. How great it was to pull in 20 or so crabs on a saturday and have a crag boil that night.

So, I decided that it was time for my 7 yr old son to learn how to crab fish. We got my 3 old traps down from the rafters of my dad's boat house, and went out yesterday to drop them. Since it had been 15 years or so since I had been on the water in that bay, my '30 minute trip' turned into a 3 hour tour. Literally. He lives on the SW side of the bay, and the WSW winds yesterday blew all the water out, and the tide was at dead low, and what is normally a foot of water at dead low tide turned into 6 inches or so. And I forgot my pole when I launched. So I got 100 yards out and the motor started to hit bottom. I then had to get out and walk us back towards shore. In knee deep mud and oysters. In shorts and tennis shoes. Against the wind. NOT fun....

So I got back in, got a paddle and pole, and headed back out. Dropped 3 traps with chicken thighs in there (I couldn't find chicken necks at Walmart. Any help?) and headed back in (again, against the wind) to let them soak overnight.

This morning at 11am, we went back out at high tide, with 2-3 feet of water in the shallows. All motor, all the time today, baby!!! First trap, 3 crabs. I decide to let it sit a while longer while we go check the others around the island. Second trap, 15 or so Hermit Crabs. If I were fishing today, that would have been great, as reds LOVE Hermit Crabs. But I wasn't, so I dumped them back in and pulled the trap. On the way to our third trap, my son and his keen eye spots a fairly new crab trap sitting up in the marsh grass where a storm had deposited it a while back. So I pull up to the shore and let him get out to get it. No name on it, so he now has his first crab trap of his own. On to the third trap, where we pulled 6 LARGE crabs. He was happy as could be! So we toss them in the bucket and pull the trap. Head back to the first trap, and one more had crawled in.

So, first day crab fishing in 15 or so years, and we get 10 crabs. All keepers. No females. Not bad for a 19 hour soak in January! My son had the best time out there watching his dad walk, row, and pole the boat, and replace a shear pin too! He can't wait until friday after school when we go put them back in to soak until sunday.

So, anybody else Blue Crab fishing? Got any tips for us? Is it better to go into the ICW channel, or stay in the back waters of Matanzas Bay? If you want to see where I am talking about, Google Earth "Princess Place, Flagler County, FL" and you'll see Matanzas Bay where Pelicer Creek flows into it. Any suggestions would be great, but bear in mind that we are doing this in a 14' jon boat with a 5hp kicker until the parts come in for our 16' Bonita, so no jetty or inlet fishing tips, please. Also, how does the weather and water temps effect the crabs? Is there a time of year that is better than another?

As always, thanks in advance!!!

I remember roughly 50 years ago when we would go crabbing at night in Great South Bay. We would troll the boat using search lights and nets. The crabs would swim just below the surface and could be netted. I recall with three or four of us netting we filled a 55 gallon drum in about three hours.
More recently we use traps and drop lines. Bait of choice is still fish heads as it it a natural bait. When is the last time you went fishing and caught a chicken or turkey? Minimum water temp is 60 degrees.

 

[Pontoongoon]

Re: Blue Crab Fishing

I love the talk about Blue Crabs. Here is a site I found with some great info to catch them little buggers.

Check it out:

http://www.crabtips.com

 

[kfa4303]

Re: Blue Crab Fishing

we used to go down to the marshes/brackish water and tie a piece of scrap chicken (thigh, neck, leg, anything with the bone still in it) to a 15'-20' string and throw it in the water. We'd then wait a minute or two then slowly pull it back in. There would usually be 4-5 blue crabs all hitching a ride. Once they're close enough you just coop 'em up with a dip net. A couple people could easily get a 20+ crabs in an hour or two using 1-2 pieces of chicken and a string (super fun for kids btw). Of course, not so much anymore. Fewer places to fish and fewer crabs to be had:/ Not just here, but all over. I went to Maryland a few years ago to visit family, so of course they took us to the obligatory dinner at a crab shack, but I couldn't help but chuckle when I read at the bottom of the menu that all of their famous Chesapeake Bay "Maryland" crabs were actually from Apalachicola, FL about and hr. from my house :/ I'm veggie these days, but I do miss a good crab cake and fried, soft shell crab Po' Boys can't be beat.