the post about the canals reminded me that we went crabbing last time we were there. It was our first time. Here's the skinny on how we caught some lovely Blue Crab....
What you'll need....
- Net with a long handle
- Container, like a 5 gallon bucket
- Knife
- Bait. We used chicken necks and wings. One neck will catch many crab because you will reel them in before they devour it.
- Rigs. Basically kite string with a weighted metal clasp/loop on the end.
- Chairs
What we did.....
- Spear the chicken neck with the metal clasp of the crab rig (which is kinda like an overgrown baby pin) and latch it shut.
- Lower this into water and probably best to tie the other end to something. It's not like a fish that will yank hard.
- While you are waiting, maybe fill that bucket up with water for when you start catching them.
- When you can see that a crab has hold of the bait, very slowly start pulling him in. Micro-slow is the key. Too fast and they will release. When we got them near the surface, we'd get that net under them and they'd be ours. One trick that we discovered is to get the net under them and then yank slightly on the string to make them let go and fall right into the net. That way we didn't have to pry or cut the bait out of their claws.
- Make sure the crab is not too small. There is a minimum legal size for keepers. I think it is 5 inches, but can't remember for sure.
- Put crab in bucket. Hold it from the back so you don't get pinched as you remove it from the net. You'll want to pour in fresh sea water every now and then to make sure they stay alive. So maybe buying two buckets is a good idea.
Our first adventure was right at the beginning of the season, so we only caught a few. But it was fun just lounging around outdoors and sitting shooting the breeze with friends.
We took them home, threw them in a pot of boiling water (we actually put them in freezer for several minutes first because we heard it was more humane), then pulled them out and ate them. Make sure you have some melted butter handy.
It doesn't take too much training to get the meat out of the legs. However, getting the meat out of the shoulder sockets is trickier. Here's some basic instructions on how we did it....
- Turn crab so you looking at his belly.
- From the rear of the crab, in the center on its body will be a piece of its shell that goes towards the center of the crab's "tummy".
- Wedge the tip of the knife under the tip of this piece (usually somewhere near center of "tummy") and pry away from body.
- this piece turns out to be kinda like a lever. Lift it all the way and it will break off, leaving a slot at the back of the crab.
- Stick a butter knife or similar into the slot and slowly twist it. You might want to turn the crab back over now so the top is up. The top shell should just pop right off.
- Take your finger, or your finger covered in a paper towel, and swipe down the middle, removing pretty much everything down the center (from front to back). Also remove the lungs, which are the frilly things on the left and right. The mustard-colored stuff is junk, and doesn't taste good, so try to keep that from getting all over everything.
- At this point, I like to break him in half and work on a side at a time.
- No technique at this point, just get into the shoulder sockets and get that tender meat. Some kind of small thing is good to get in there and hoke out the meat. The shoulder is a lot of trouble, but the meat is delicious. And the bigger the crab, the easier.
You won't believe how awesome fresh crab is.
Where can you crab? Well, we just asked around. Maybe near a canal, bridge, or harbor.
We only went the one time, and our method is a combination of info we received from friends, the Internet, and just folks in the Outer Banks that we asked about it. I'm sure there are better write-ups out there, but hey, maybe this one gives you a little insight from a beginner's perspective.
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06-03-2008, 07:45 AM
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