Crabbing in the Barnegat bay has been GREAT this year. I finally got out for the first time a week or so ago. I posted a blog on crabbing a month ago. I had not had a chance to go out myself until my sister came for a visit from Virginia. So Any Excuse to take a day off and use the Boat!
we got a late start, and went to my secret spot that has always paid off and it certainly did, in a few hours on the boat we had enough crabs for dinner. The Vast majority of the crabs were big enough that we did not even have to measure them, I would say they were mostly over 6"... And all Males, very few pesty little ones (some times it feels like you keep catching the same tenacious little guy!)
Here is a picture of my daughter with a crab, one of the smaller keepers we caught ... She is going to hate me for posting this picture, but she was being her typical 16 yr old self... You know what they say about pay backs???? Thats my son in the back ground about to net his sister... and my nephew next to him
(Hmm. I should have cropped the photo, you will be able to tell my secret spot from this....)
Of course I did not have my camera, I never do and had to rely on my Blackberry for a shot.
Below is how they looked all ready for dinner. A little Old Bay Seasoning, and cooked up ready to eat
They still look ready to pinch, don't they? I am truly lucky to live where I do. Ocean county offers so much and I know at times I take it for granted... but Luckily family shows up and you get to see through their eyes what you were missing!
So, go grab a net, some bunker and a few drop lines and catch yourself some dinner... and if you ask really nice, I will tell you where my secret spot is, there is a bit of local knowledge involved, and a little bit of a trick with the current that you also need to know... That secret I may just have to keep for myself!
Have a great week
Rob
Real Estate Mortgage Network
Boy they look good, the picture is making me hungry!
Yum!!!! I love crabbing. I like diving for lobsters a little bit more, but YUM!!!
Hey Rob - I see you like that spot over there by the bridge, hahaha. Don't worry - your secret is safe with me.
Yes Kara, But WHICH bridge???? I guarantee it is a bridge that you have NEVER seen!
Kim, A little more work to get the meat than a lobster, but MMMMMM Yummy! I have never had any luck diving for lobsters... but I also have not tried all that hard!
That looks like quite the feast. Nothing like the East Coast for good crabbing.
If it is more work, don't know that I would do it... LOL, it is hard enough for me to grab the things that look like cock roaches, LOL
Kim: I mean to eat them... Easier to catch a blue claw crab than a lobster, but the meat is not as easy to get to. Lobster here have HUGE claws... I am more afraid of losing a finger trying to get one!
Stacey, You thought it was just MD for blue claws??? we have them too! NJ always seems to be left out of a conversation on Blue Claws.
Good eating if you get to Florida I'll show you my favorite spot. Enjoy
Oh my - these look lovely. Makes us want to come and have some.
Robert: I'm hungry!
I ate all the sea food I could up in New England. Yum! Yum! They had some amazing scallops up in Mystic, CT.
I didn't realize the Blackberry takes such great pictures.
Thanks for sharing!
OOOOH, you'd better not let your daughter see that photo - I sense a big giant TOE ATTACK coming if she sees it!!!
Robert: You can be the Crabber on the East Coast, and I'll be the Crabber on the West Coast. We hunt the illusive Dungeness out here, every bit as tasty as your Blues. Nothing beats a day out on the boat pulling up delicious crab!
Rich, Dungeness are tastey! much harder shell than a blue claw, but all tasty! What is the secret to the Dungeness? I use Drop lines and fish for bait (bunker the bait of choice stinky oily fish) but you can use chicken as well.
some people use traps, but they dont work well from the boat.
Wow. What a great day. I was born and raised part of my life in NJ and we used to go to shore (Woodbine area?) each summer. That is cool...but I will stay in Phoenix. I don't miss the winters back there.
One of the perks of living in Maryland are the crabs. Nothing beats a good afternoon of beer and "pickin"crabs.
Ellie, I can say the same about NJ! The Barnegat bay and The Chesapeak Bay have some great crabbing!
Next month, I am going to have to get some Dungeness crab at the coast in Oregon and I will post those pictures. The blue crab is not a soft shell crab is it. I have heard so much about soft shell crab and I have never had a chance to try it. I am making myself so hungry right now...Jason
How yummy. I love crab - never caught them myself but my Mother enjoys doing it on the Oregon coast. I was up in Alaska a couple weeks ago and we hit my favorite spot for all you can eat crab legs - 2 hours later - yum!!!
Jason, it is a hard shelled crab, but easier to crack open than a dungeness. You can get a soft shell Blue Claw, they are basically shedders, Typically they shed around the full moon as they grow. Most often they are sold as a soft shell crab sandwich, I am not a big fan of the soft shell version... but some people love them that way.
Hey, Robert. Funny, I was talking about going crabbing just last night. Have a great week, Jim
CRAB!!!! We are going out crabbing on Thursday for Dungeness. I AM SO EXCITED!!!!
btw, A sure fire way to get featured on ActiveRain is to write about crabbing! :-)
Robert - Wow! That is great. Being from Missouri, catching crabs is very foreign to me. However, it looks like alot of fun! :)
Robert, Those crabs look so good. I love to have a piece of crab...
well, it's not THE Barneget Bay Bridge. I seem to remember that one being alot bigger. (the old draw bridge went over the bay, right?)
Who would have guessed that writing about crabbing on the East coast would get The west coast excited about Crabs????
Kara, it is not the bridge between Toms River and Seaside (route 37) It is actually between Brick and Mantaloking, the new Mantaloking bridge, replaced the old wooden bridge that was there till just a year or two ago.
YUM! You made me hungry for crabs!!
Yum! Those crabs look good! It must be fun to go out and catch your own dinner. A good guarantee that they are fresh! Congrats on the feature!
Great photos and love the expression! Congrats on being Localism Featured!
OMG I am so HUNGRY, originally from Maryland, love the steemed crabs. Have got to make a trip to Baltimore for some. Blue claws are the BEST.
nice post. Thanks for the nice Jersey plug!! Maybe I'll see you out on the bay sometime...
Those are nice size blue crabs---I used to tarpon fish in Florida with small blue crabs--they worked everytime.
I'm hoping that my invite just got lost! They look really good.
Grew up in Joisey and miss crabbing in Barnegat Bay. Maryland has great crabs but somehow it's not quite the same.
What great fun..... we got back from the Gulf Coast recently and brought some of those home.
MMMMMMMM
we used to scoop them off the pilons at the kings grant inn/mooring when I was a kid. Did you find any soft shells?
Looks like a lot of fun, as well as a delicious meal afterwards!
I can smell the Old Bay from here. When am I coming down for dinner??
~JC
Our crab season opens up in a few weeks and it's a huge deal here on the Northcoast! I can;t wait!Thanks for waking up my taste buds!
Robert: We use traps here. We're allowed four traps per boat. I typically use salmon guts for bait. They seem to like that the most. But just about anything will work...We go down around 100 ft. and leave 'em out overnight. The limit is 5 per day per license, the must be males, and 6.25 inches across.
Blue Claws need to be 4.5 inches, but I usually only keep them over 5", You can keep Females if they do not have eggs, but I also throw back females. The limit is a bushel of crabs. On a boat we use drop lines and a net. But you can opt for a crap pot, (trap) that you leave out overnight. there are pretty strict restrictions on that to avoid killing turtles that try to get in the traps. The Barnegat bay is not deep, so you can catch crabs in anywhere from a few feet of water on up...
Mike, KINGS GRANT INN??? Are you from Point Pleasant? I graduated from Point Boro Highschool.
HI Robert, Congrats on your featured Localism post.. I don't really like crabs but you make them look tasty.. God bless,
Hi Robert, I know Jersey has Blue Claw Crabs, but, I am the only one that likes them. My boys are in Baltimore so they can have them whenever. My "sig. other" does not like crabs, at all. So...that's why I said Baltimore. Can't see myself going crabbing and bringing them home and cooking them. I think I may be able to get them at Chickie and Petes in Philly or Bordentown. Maybe I will try that. Thanks,
Robert,
What a great blog!.... In your next blog, please describe exactly how we cook our Blue Crabs (beer & old bay!!!), eat them (newspaper or brown paper thrown on any flat surface!), crack them open (mallet and knife!) and suck out that wonderful white meat (are crabs "the other white meat" the commercials are always boasting about?)! At least "this is how we do it" across the Bay from 'Joisey in OCEAN CITY MARYLAND and all along the DELAWARE BEACHES!!
Kathy Opatka
Kathy, I dont have to describe it now, You just DID!!! that is exactly it... But I opt for the nut cracker approach over the hammer...
When in doubt, add more beer and more OLD BAY seasoning! And make sure there is enough beer to wash them down!
Robert,
Are you talking about those little red plastic things or do you use a REAL NUT CRACKER?
Hhhmmmm???.... I like that idea!..... Maybe we're on to a new invention here!
Kathy Opatka
A real vs a fake nut cracker???? NO not a plastic thing... its metal... I think it is actually for Lobster, but works great on a crab claw. just similar to a nut cracker....
Just like Rob likes his coffee in a 'real' ceramic mug, NOT a paper cup, he likes 'real' nutcrackers. I am sensing a trend here :)
Robert,
One of our local buffets have these red plastic claw crackers that work most of the time if you don't mind the claws flying across the room; i don't mind them ,but the people whose plate the cracked claws land on don't appear to be very happy!!!! Where would you buy a "lobster cracker" in this area?
kathy opatka
I Cant believe it, this post has been viewed 1,319 times! Who would have thought that Crabbing was so popular!?