![]() Snails, oysters, mussels, submerged aquatic vegetation, and even other crabs are part of the feast. Being omnivorous bottom feeders, crabs will eat the Bay’s bounty with little scrutiny. ![]() Mature crabs aren’t picky eaters, which is why they are incredibly easy to catch during the most active months of their lives. When water temperatures warm in late-spring and early-summer the crabs “run” back into the shallow, spawning rivers around us. In mid-winter, they migrate into the deeper waters of mid-Bay, where the crabs often burrow into the soft, muddy bottom, patiently awaiting the start of the spawning cycle. Megalopae soon morph into half-inch blue crabs, which by late fall have migrated back into the upper Bay’s waters, where they grow to maturity. There they mature into megalopae after six to seven initial molts-getting closer to crab status. Called zoeae, the microscopic young’uns drift to and fro in the currents, eventually settling in sea grass beds. Two weeks later baby crabs are born, looking like something from the movie Alien. Within nine months (sometimes as early as two), she produces and then drops an external egg mass, which can grow to the size of a baseball and contain more than 8,000,000 eggs. After mating, the female crab migrates to saltier waters near the mouth of the Bay. During the summer, recreational crabbers occasionally catch these doublers (etiquette dictates throwing the female back into the water). Blue crabs seldom live past the age of three, but those three years are quite intense.īetween May and October mature crabs spawn in the brackish tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay, with the male crab cradling the female underneath him. (The largest recorded in Maryland was nine inches.) Before reaching this mature size (harvestable minimum is five inches) and age (1 to 1.5 years), a crab will have shed its shell, or molted, upwards of 20 times. If you enjoy eating crabs, you’re probably familiar with the hard-shelled, 10-legged adults, which average 5 to 7 inches from pointy tip to tip. The mantra be the crab can lend itself to catching them. ![]() The early bird gets the crab, as the best crabbing is usually at dawn Know One to Take Oneīefore you get your lines wet, let’s step into the underwater world of the blue crab to gain a basic understanding of its life. ![]() Those who are able to manipulate the right bait at the right time with patience, confidence, and a little luck are rewarded with the Chesapeake Bay’s finest delicacy, Callinectes sapidus-the blue crab.Įn route to a crabbing spot on the Severn River. Recreational crabbing is far removed from the pressures of its commercial counterpart and enjoyed by many during the warmer climes of mid–summer into brisk, late-October. The relaxing atmosphere on the water as sunny mornings drift into breezy afternoons, combined with the sense of accomplishment (if you actually catch some crabs), is a precious feeling. These days, when time affords, I’ll awaken early and take my jon boat out on Valentine and Plum Creeks off the Severn River to set box traps and “get a few lines wet,” as we say in my family. They politely declined our entrepreneurial overture. After catching two dozen keepers this way during one outing, we tried to sell them to O’Leary’s Seafood Restaurant. With one movement, we could easily “scapp” the crabs off the pilings and into the cooler. We’d scour the pilings of the long docks, eyeballing the unsuspecting crabs clinging to them. It might even be my earliest memory.īy the time I was 12, my brother and I would take to the docks of Annapolis and Eastport with only a small cooler and dip net in hand. It was a memory that will last a lifetime. We enjoyed the tasty riches of our efforts. Several more patient catches followed, and eventually my grandfather and I had enough to steam and eat. For the first time in my life, I had caught blue crab number one of the day. Then, with a quick scoop, I lifted the net out of the water. Peering over the edge of the old wooden dock on the South River, he patiently began pulling up the taut bait line and instructed me to ever-so-gently dip the net into the shallow water and under the blurry, spidery-looking creature. Nearly 40 years ago my grandfather-may he rest in peace-showed me the way. Recreational crabbing is a Chesapeake pastime that generations love let’s learn the methods, plus how to steam, crack, and eat these beautiful swimmers
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