The Best Techniques for Catching Blue Crabs in the Surf

The best techniques catching the blue crab or "savory beautiful swimmer" in the surf require different types of equipment, depending on the region where you crab. From boats, docks, piers or bridges, blue crabs are found from Massachusetts to Texas ... although North Carolina (Chesapeake Bay) and Louisiana support the largest crab fisheries. Baiting the crab pot varies from male blue crabs to chicken necks and many types of fresh fish.

  1. Peeler pot

    • During the molting season, usually in April, crabbers use one or two large males to attract the female that is ready to mate into a peeler pot. The "peeler pot" refers to the female's molting or shedding of the shell , although it is a regular crab pot. A crab pot is a cube-shaped wire trap with two to four entrance shafts and two chambers. Bait is placed in the lower chamber where the entry shafts are located. The upper chamber is separated from the lower chamber by a wire partition. When the crab enters the pot, its natural reaction is to swim upwards. Once in the upper chamber, the risk of escape is reduced as the pot is raised out of the water.

    Bait

    • Placing menhaden (bunker) chunks or chicken necks into a crab pot is considered by the Jersey coast crabbers to be the best baiting technique, although fresh pieces of fish works just as well. Bait loses its attractant odor after being submerged in water for long periods of time, so replacing the bait every few hours is a good idea.

    Bait line

    • Using a bait line off a bank, crabbers recommend tying a 6-ounce sinker and a large hook to one end of a 15- to 20-foot cord with a stick tied to the other end. The stick secures the bait line on the bank. When a crab tugs on the line, slowly and steadily pull the line in until the crab is close enough to scoop up with a long-handled dip net. Lifting the crab out of the water with the line alone increases the chance of the crab getting away.

    Boat

    • Anchoring your boat from stern to bow is an effective way to prevent unnecessary movement. Any disturbance and the crabs will seek out other means for food. Hand lines and traps can be used from a boat at the same time, since occasionally one works better than the other.

    On ice

    • The best technique to store your catch is in a bushel basket with a lid. Store in the coolest place possible. Leaving crabs in a bucket of water causes the crabs to drown. They use up all the dissolved oxygen. Avoid closed containers and plastic bags, this will kill the crabs. If traveling a long distance, place crabs in a cooler with ice.