How to Harvest Soft Shell Crabs
The soft shell crab got its name from the stage when the crabs are harvested. At this point, the crab has just molted its shell. If the crab is caught before it has molted, it is called a peeler. Crab-farming facilities will gather peelers to harvest them right after they have molted. The soft shell crab can be found on the Eastern Seaboard as well as the Gulf of Mexico.
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Instructions
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Wade out or take a small rowboat to an area where crabs gather. A common bait to use is a chicken neck, fish head or a herring tied to a string.
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Scrape your net along the bottom of the lake or stream. This process is called dipping.
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Place the crabs that have molted into the ice cooler. Place peelers into the empty cooler, then fill the cooler with water from the area where you are fishing.
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Tips & Warnings
Soft shell crabs can be prepared in a variety of ways. A favorite in Maryland is deep frying the entire crab and eating it in a sandwich.
You should keep peelers in their cooler until they have molted. After that, they can join the soft shell crabs in the ice cooler.
Discard any crab that has an ammonia smell, which they put off when they are dead and not good to eat.
Crabs have a powerful pinch and should be grabbed from behind.
References
- Photo Credit Crab image by matko from Fotolia.com
