No crabs

General Fishing Discussion
1

Having a little issue this week.

I always put out a crab trap for bait while at IOP and normally have plenty each day however this week all have caught is 3 big stone crabs and one blue

Using chicken as always and changed it out every day

Did keep the big claw of each stone crab and threw them back

Have even tried a couple different spots too

Sea Pro 210cc
Yamaha 200 4 Stroke
Dodge 1500 4x4 HEMI

2

Apears you may have a pocher!

3

Thought about that but dont think so

Couple days it has been at my boat at marina and itis actually under the boat and between dock and boat so you would have to remove dock lines to get trap

Actually checked it just few minutes ago and looks like i caught one of stone crabs again since it only had one claw

Sea Pro 210cc
Yamaha 200 4 Stroke
Dodge 1500 4x4 HEMI

4

Had the same deal in MI. Are they molting?? I saw some joints offering fresh softshells.

5

You should lie in the bushes with a rifle over night and watch your trap …

Bragging may not bring happiness,
but no man having caught a large fish,
goes home through the alley.
-Anonymous

6

My daddy is a commercial crabber and he too has seen a big drop in the last few weeks, and with those caught being a lot of little ones or “white or poor” Ashe calls them…those he tosses back to fatten up. Still catching a. Couple peelers here and there as they do year round. Might want to go bygone of the docks or seafood markets and see if they will give or sell you some fish parts from cleaning cheap…ight do you better than the chicken.

miss’n fish’n

212 SEAHUNT CC
Sea Squirt 16

7
quote:
Originally posted by penfishn

My daddy is a commercial crabber and he too has seen a big drop in the last few weeks, and with those caught being a lot of little ones or “white or poor” Ashe calls them…those he tosses back to fatten up. Still catching a. Couple peelers here and there as they do year round. Might want to go bygone of the docks or seafood markets and see if they will give or sell you some fish parts from cleaning cheap…ight do you better than the chicken.

miss’n fish’n

212 SEAHUNT CC
Sea Squirt 16

Thanks. I will do that. Never put a trap out overnight and not had crabs in 35 yrs.

At first i suspected soneone stealing them but have put in different locations and same thing. It is almost like my chicken aint good enough:smiley:

By way stone crab claws were GREAT

Sea Pro 210cc
Yamaha 200 4 Stroke
Dodge 1500 4x4 HEMI

8

tprice, as Penny said, you might want to try something other than chicken. Yes chicken works, but how much of a crabs diet comes from chicken? Throw something in the trap that is simmiliar to a crabs diet. During shrimp season, I keep all my menhaden/pinfish/crokers/mullet to freeze and use for crab bait. Most success I’ve had has been about a dozen frozen menhaden, snapped in half, all loaded up into the bait part. Started doing this a couple years ago and have always yeilded better results.

  • A bad day fishin’ is better than a good day at work!
9

Thanks picked up some fish caucuses at mt pleasant seafood this am

Will see how that works

Thanks again for the help

Sea Pro 210cc
Yamaha 200 4 Stroke
Dodge 1500 4x4 HEMI

10

We were in MI all last week. Caught very few crabs as well. 3 was the most in one day. Had several days of zero. Never experienced anything like this. We used chicken parts and cut mullet.

11

Crabbed yesterday on the Cooper for about 30 mins under a dock to escape to heat for a while. Caught 6, all good size ranging from Coors Light can to two that were 7 inches, all male. Bait was dead mud minnows and a croker tied to a hoop net. Would have stayed longer but tide began to come in too hard and couldn’t get the nets to sit down flat.

  • A bad day fishin’ is better than a good day at work!
12

We crabbed a week ago around Capers. We caught 13 keepers and every single crab we caught was a female. None of those bug “rusty” jimmies that I like. We caught about 20 or so that were all undersized.

13

Ive seen a few dead blue crabs lying around lately while gigging…nothing crazy but I’ve never seen them like that in years of going out at night. Murrells…maybe 12 or so in one night.

14

Diver cleaned my bottom this week - said there were a lot of crabs beneath the boat.

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