How to Catch Stone Crabs
Stone crabs have a remarkable trait in that they are able to regenerate lost limbs. Current fishing laws take advantage of this by allowing recreational crabbers to remove the largest claw from a stone crab and return the animal to the sea. The same limb can be grown back multiple times. However, because of this, it is illegal to keep the whole crab. The regulations protect populations of stone crabs while allowing the public to dine on the tasty morsels. The delicate tidbits are in high demand and regularly fetch premium prices, causing a crab craving to take a real bite from the family budget. Luckily, stone crabs are easy to catch. Follow the steps in the guide below and, for less than the cost of one order of crab claws from the local seafood shack, you can be pulling in a pile of claws of your own.
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Instructions
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Select your traps. There are two kinds of traps commonly used for catching the stone crab. The most common one is rectangular model made of wire or plastic. The basic box is attached to a float with a rope. It has a trap door which allows the crab to come in to eat the bait, but won't let it back out. This type of trap can be left out floating in the water overnight, which is when stone crabs commonly feed.
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Compare the rectangular wire trap with its smaller triangular rival. The triangle trap is favored by those without boats who still hope to catch stone crabs by setting traps out early in the morning. These traps work better in shallow waters than the rectangle variety and can be easily used from docks and bridges. However, they lack the one-way door. Instead they require frequent inspection by the crabber. By quickly pulling the trap from the water, the movement of the water forces the doors closed, locking the crab inside.
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Choose your bait. Popular choices for stone crabs are fish heads or chicken necks.
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Locate a likely stone crab population. Stone crabs can be found in beds of sea grass, near oyster reefs, boat landings, tidal creeks and mudflats.
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Place the bait inside your trap and toss it into the water. If you're using the triangular traps, check on them every 15 to 20 minutes to make sure the bait is still there. The larger, rectangular traps can be left in the water for up to three days.
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Remove your trap and inspect your catch. If you've managed to catch a rusty brown crab with one gigantic black-tipped claw, you've caught yourself a stone crab.
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Measure the big claw. If the length of the claw is at least 2¾ inches, you can keep it. You cannot keep the whole crab, just the one big claw. To remove the claw, pin the crab under your foot, applying just enough pressure to hold it down. Grab the claw firmly, placing your hands as close to the body as possible, and twist the claw counterclockwise and give a sharp tug to pull it off at the base. Don't worry. The crab will grow another one.
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Return the crab to the water and place the claw in a bucket with clean, cold water to keep it chilled.You can collect up to a gallon of crab claws per person or two gallons per boat on any given day between Oct. 15 and May 15.
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Tips & Warnings
As an economical alternative, you can go crabbing with nothing more than a piece of strong nylon rope, a fishing net, a weight and a chicken neck. Simply tie the weight and then the bait to the rope and toss it into the water. When you feel a tug on the string, begin pulling the string in. When the crab is in sight, slip the net behind it and scoop it up. Sometimes you can get fish heads from a local seafood restaurant or fish market free.
You cannot have more than five traps out at any time without a commercial license. You cannot keep the stone crab's claw if it only has one. You cannot remove the claw from an egg-bearing female. To determine the gender, flip the crab over and inspect the abdomen. The differences between the two are fairly obvious -- see the link to the Stone Crab Photo Gallery for an example. Floats of recreational traps must be clearly marked with the letter "R" and must be permanently marked with the crabber's name and address.
Resources
- Photo Credit wikimedia commons
