Bait
Crabs are scavengers. They will eat the remains of a cleaned fish or a piece of chicken or turkey.
Traps
Cube traps and pyramid crab traps work the same way. Use wire to hold your bait in place, and toss your crab trap in. When you pull the trap in, the line closes the doors, trapping the crab inside. Check it every 10 to 15 minutes.
Scooping
Crabs love to hang from pilings and along bulkheads. Move slowly as you approach a crab. When you are close enough, a quick motion is needed to put the net under the crab and scoop it up.
Drop Line
Tie a wire ring to a length of rope. One person slowly brings the baited ring up while a crab is eating the bait. A second person scoops the crab up as it approaches the surface.
Preparation
Drop the live crabs into a large pot of boiling water. It seems cruel, but the meat decays so quickly that you cannot let them die naturally before cooking them. Boil crabs for 6 to 10 minutes.
Article Written By Stephen Byrne
Stephen Byrne is a freelance writer with published articles in "Nor'East Saltwater," "Sportfishing" magazine, "Pacific Coast Sportfishing" and "Salt Water Sportsman." As a fishing charter captain, he was also interviewed for a feature in "Field and Stream." Byrne studied environmental science at the State University of New York at Delhi.
