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Skipjack 17 posted 09-05-2008 02:06 PM ET (US)
My son Lawton snapped this with his phone. A good day on Bellingham Bay with 96 in one pull...I think being on the water with my son in our BW is very rewarding.....
Bob
[img]http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n111/Skipjack-17/96Crab.jpg[/img]
JMARTIN posted 09-05-2008 07:43 PM ET (US)
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n111/Skipjack-17/96Crab.jpg
Way to go Bob. It has been good crabbing this year.
Those stainless pots fish well, wish I had more of them.
96 in one pull, jeepers was that all in one pot?
John

Skipjack 17 posted 09-05-2008 08:21 PM ET (US)
Thanks John for the link. Yes one pull all in one pot. My Dad pulled 52 once back in the late 60's and I thought that was alot......B
towboater posted 09-05-2008 10:38 PM ET (US)
96.
ouch, makes my back sore just looking.
How many male keepers in that bunch Skip?
mk
dburton posted 09-05-2008 11:47 PM ET (US)
Let me guess, it was on the south end of Eliza Island on the Bellingham side.
Doug
Skipjack 17 posted 09-06-2008 10:42 AM ET (US)
15-18 keepers @ +6.5" and no I have never fished off of Eliza Island. I like to try new places that look interesting on the charts and away from others.....
Bob
Roarque posted 09-06-2008 10:55 AM ET (US)
Bob, as a veteran salmon angler who also brings in 100 prawns a week, I have become interested in learning about how to catch crab. I am located in Nanaimo BC on Vancouver Island and there are lots of local crab to be caught.
Can you point me to a Primer on Crabbing?
Greg
mitch13 posted 09-06-2008 11:00 AM ET (US)
18 keepers in one pot is my personal best , but that was some years ago. In the last couple of years, 3 or 4 in one pull is good here in Hood canal.
mitch
towboater posted 09-06-2008 04:14 PM ET (US)
Roarque
Skips SS pot is top of the line (spendy).
There are so many variables, no one primer would help you more than a local bait shop or an old salt in a bar.
Some minor things are often underestimated.
1. BAIT. You can have the best pot in the world but if you dont bait the pot correctly or use bait crabs wont bother finding their way into the pot you are wasting time and fuel.
2. Length of rope and buoy according to the area you intend to crab. My pots are set up to fish in around 30 ft or less. I use one bullet buoy and a cork trailer with about 60 ft of 7/16 line. Shorter line may submerge in the current. Too long of line makes it hard to maneauver on top of the pot to reduce the effort to pull it manually. The small cork trailer helps determine which way the current flows and thus which way to stem the tide and pull the pot and avoid getting the rope in the wheel.
3. Connect your buoy line to the opposite site of the top of the pot that opens. Thus, when you pull the pot on deck, most of the crab will be laying under the lid.
4. Secure your bait inside the pot in a position that forces the crab to crawl inside the pot to get to it yet not so close to the outer edges of the pot they can probe thru the web from the outside or on top. Dont secure the bait in the middle of the pot or crab will block the doors and prevent others from getting inside.
5. I like to trail all of the buoy line behind the boat before I drop the pot. (my pots are pretty heavy) This eliminates odds of line getting hitched around itself or your leg. Keep a sharp knife near.
6. Know the local regs.
Skips quantity is very impressive but I wonder if his pot has limited escapement openings that a legal crab cant get OUT but undersize can. My guess is the crab were plentiful and he had great bait but he pulled the pot prior to giving the little guys time to escape and thus, less weight to pull and time needed to remove and measure.
7. If you have any current in your area, you should drop pots near low water slack and plan to be finished crabbing at high (6 hrs). NW bay crabs tend to bury themselves during ebb currents and move around to feed during the flood.
bottoms up.
mk
elaelap posted 09-06-2008 04:37 PM ET (US)
Great primer, Mike. A few more thoughts: 1) Many of us attach a series of one ounce weights to the upper third of the crabpot lines every four feet or so, just to make sure the extra line sinks rather than floating around near the surface where it might snarl a prop; 2) when approaching a pot to pull the sucker, make sure you come up on it down-current for the same reason as #1; and 3) please, please pull your pots at the end of the season. I don't know whether it's just Bodega Bay laziness or whether a few crabbers die each year with their pots still in the water, but all year 'round we come upon abandoned crab pots attached to barnacle-encrusted buoys in all sorts of places which pose the same threat, especially in fog or at night, as #1 & #2. Oh yeah, allow enough extra line so tidal changes won't pull your buoy entirely under water, again posing the risk mentioned in #1, #2 & #3 ;-)
Tony
The obvious admonitions--like not standing in the bight of the line when either dropping or retrieving a pot and not taking a turn or two of line around your wrist for extra purchase when pulling a pot--should go without saying. If ignored, Darwin will do the rest...
pglein posted 09-07-2008 12:09 PM ET (US)
I use the same kind of pots with fresh salmon in commercial style bait bags on long soaks in a wide variety of depths, and I've NEVER seen a pull like that. That is simply amazing. Heck of a lot of juveniles, though.
Whatever you guys are doing, you're doing it RIGHT.
Skipjack 17 posted 09-07-2008 12:28 PM ET (US)
Some good points Mike. I will not disclose everything but I can add a few things
Yes Mike SS pots are spendy but I got these used for 1/2 the price. Besides if you trap more then 8-10 crab it pays for the pot.
Per Mike List:
1. Yes, I always say Best Bait Wins......I like fresh or fresh frozen
2. I like to fish at 50-120' to get those cold water purple giants with 180' of polyester line and I stream line the floats to keep from being sucked down on the tide.
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n111/Skipjack-17/Crab1.jpg
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n111/Skipjack-17/Crab1.jpg

3. Yes
4. Yes, and that were bigger pot really help.
5. Yes, Make sure pot is weighted correctly and circle drop with the boat.
6. Yes, Always
Mike, three 4" escapement openings in these pots
7. Sometimes, depends on location.
Bottom Line, don’t be a lemming and find your own spots. Study the bottom were food can collect on both ebb of flood. Volume catching is fun for the kids and make for a good photo but when you find those clean purple 7"-9" giants you then understand how good crab can be
Mike, you forgot about cooking them…??

Bob
pglein posted 09-08-2008 10:39 AM ET (US)
I think location is more important than depth. Few people fish deeper thaan 100'. But this has nothing to do with where the crab are, and everything to do with the fact that the line/float kits that the stores sell come in either 50' or 100'.
I fish as shallow as 20' and as deep as 400'. And, although my luck in the deeper water has been hit or miss, when I do catch crab, they're always very large (8" or more). In certain locations, I've found the deep water to be very productive, in others I've found it to be a desert.
Shallow water invariably holds numerous undersize crab. Whether this is because juveniles stick to the warmer shallower water, or becuase the masses fish those depths and take all the adults remains undetermined.
JMARTIN posted 09-08-2008 11:14 AM ET (US)
Good crabbing information, I will throw in a couple.
Try to let the pots sit over a tide change. The crabs tend to move in and out with the tide.
If you have one pot that does not seem to fish as well as the others, try tying an empty aluminum can to the pot. I heard this from an old salt, something about electrolysis or cathodic rhythms. Anyhow, it worked or my luck with this one pot got a lot better. John
JMARTIN posted 09-08-2008 11:33 AM ET (US)
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n111/Skipjack-17/Crab1.jpg
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n111/Skipjack-17/Crab1.jpg
Jeepers, I should read more and write less. I agree with Mike on having the pots soak on the flood tide. My pots have two bait boxes in them. Feed them well.
I am sure Greg knows this but, if you drop at low tide, make sure you have enough line to be able to pick it at high tide.
One other item, besides the normal lid closure device, I tie the lid shut with a single strand of cotton string and cut off the ends. If someone lifts my pot, they have to break this string to get the crabs out. It is too small to tie back on so I know if I have been robbed or if the crabbing is just not good in this location.
Pots need the escapement ring and the cotton lid closures just in case the pot gets away from you. John
ratherwhalering posted 09-08-2008 11:50 AM ET (US)

quote:
Mike, you forgot about cooking them…??
Whaaaa! Never cook a crab...steam is the only way to go, IMHO. I clean them at the dock, wash in salt water, add some Old Bay seasoning and beer to the steam bath, then steam 4-5 crab in a turkey fryer for 12-15 minutes. Ymmm yummm. You'll never go back to a boiled crab again.
TransAm posted 09-08-2008 12:58 PM ET (US)
Ratherwhalering,
You have got the ticket on steaming crabs. Take it from someone who crabs the waters of the Chesapeake Bay in MD where Old Bay was invented (Baltimore Spice Co.). Our crabs here are Blue Crabs, and of course I'm biased as far as them being the absolute best tasting crabs in the world. They have blue crabs in the south and although they look the same, and can be cooked to taste similar, there is nothing like the taste that comes from the Chesapeake. In Lousiana, they boil theirs-how awful!
JMARTIN posted 09-08-2008 02:02 PM ET (US)
I am a boil whole guy. Might have to try a steam whole. Nothing like a little crab soup to flavor up the meat. John
pglein posted 09-08-2008 02:24 PM ET (US)
I clean them live prior to cooking. No way I want them cooking with all those guts. And I boil. Never heard of steaming them. Perhaps I'll try it.
TransAm posted 09-08-2008 02:33 PM ET (US)
You folks out west have strange ways ;). Try steaming them live and uncleaned. The innards add flavor the hardcore here eat them as well. The only things left uneaten are shells and lungs. For small batches, a turkey fryer will do with a basket insert to keep the crabs out of the liquid. Add an inch or so of cider vinegar/water mix at 50/50. Add a can of beer. Layer crabs; sprinkle with salt, dry mustard and copious amounts of Old Bay. Steam for 25 minutes after steam has been generated-perhaps a bit longer for those larger northwestern crabs. You will never boil them again.
JMARTIN posted 09-08-2008 02:46 PM ET (US)
Concur, cook whole, but Dungeness is so tasty, you do not need seasonings or other stuff in the cooking water to make them taste good. John
ratherwhalering posted 09-08-2008 05:33 PM ET (US)
Truely a matter of taste out here fellas...I prefer to clean them live and steam with broth for a hint of flavor. Remember we're talking about a 2.5lb critter with a belly full of bait that I wouldn't eat on a bet. If boiled, the guts stay in, and ya don't really need any more flavor, but I find the 'marine' taste a little sketchey, perhaps because I know what's been used for bait...like knowing what's in a sausage, I've tainted myself with the knowledge ;-)
kwik_wurk posted 09-08-2008 07:18 PM ET (US)
Nice haul Skipjack17...
Add a couple things to the primer...
Go heavy on the pots, I have picked up 6 pots this summer floating in 300'-500' of water. (Most of these have gotten back to their owners. The rest went to DFW, they were great, and I keep the hotline number onboard all the time.)
I keep sections of line 25', 50', and 100'. I keep them in gym bag stuffed in one pot, and clip them on as I need them. This helps when spreading pots at depths from 20' - 150'. (This allows me to re-use line for shrimp and other needs.)
I second the clean before cook.
I can clean an uncooked crab in 10 sec. and it takes about 1-2 mintues cooked.
And they take up less space in the pot when they are broken in half and cleaned (which is what most people do).
East coast blue crab I have most often cook whole. (But they tend to be smaller and less meat.) Soft shells I have never cooked, so I don't what to say about those.
But to each there own...
towboater posted 09-08-2008 10:45 PM ET (US)
You know crabbing is good if;
1. Rather than measure to see if it is a keeper, you toss it back.
2. You only crack the meaty parts of the legs and toss the rest of the leg.
3. At the end of the day, the entire crew is stuffed full of crab and you have enough left to trade or repay favors.
Recent outing and cooking results forthcoming (gtg).
mk
pglein posted 09-09-2008 11:25 AM ET (US)
I'll add one to that list:
4. When you spend a week on the boat and catch crab fast enough that you are forced to throw away your burgers to make room for lump crab meat in the freezer.
towboater posted 09-09-2008 11:48 AM ET (US)
Cape Disappointment Wa, Sun & Mon.
4 pots pulled twice.
42 keepers. See previous post.
Probably the best weather I have ever experianced in that area. The crab were large, a little soft and not quite full. The best PNW Coast dungenous crabbing occurs on months that have R's in them. 1-10, crabs are about 6.5 right now, good weather rates it up to 8.
Regs? Basically, Washington honors Oregon shellfish Regs on the Columbia River...which are different from Puget Sound. CR season is open year round.
As Jmart refers, the brine adds flavor steaming would not.
I have been cooking Dungenous crab old school recipe that involves cooking full live crab in 8 gals of water, 2.5 cups of rock salt (basically the same salinity as sea water). Cook for 18 minutes in boiling water. Rinse with cold water and use lots and lots of ice to cool them quickly. They are never completely submerged in fresh water after cooking to avoid rinsing off the brine.
Once they are backed, they are rinsed lightly, shaken, not stirred.

We really didnt plan on crabbing this past weekend but the weather and tides were so good we dumped the pots and stayed a extra day (salmon fishing is closed there). Usually the crabs are too precious to mess around with different cooking methods.
We tried Uncle Berts method this time;
Back the live crab.
Use 2 cups salt in just over 7 gals of water in a modified beer keg and start pulling them after 12 mins in boiling water. I liked cooking more crab in less time.
We submerged the cooked crab in cold fresh water to cool which saved a few bucks and time to round up ice.
This batch turned out just a tad light on salt.
Yesterday we used 3 cups of rock salt...a bit tart.
Next time, I will try 2.5 cups of salt, 8 gals, dunk in ice cold fresh water using more buckets which will speed up the cooling time and reduce the rinse factor.
SO, the question is, when to cook whole and when to cook backed?
IMO, depends on how many, how long do you want to keep them on ice?
Backed crab dry out pretty fast even if you cover them with plastic beneath shaved ice or use unopened bags of cocktail ice. I usually stow backed crab inside plastic food trays and cover them with a clean damp towell to keep them from drying out.
I will argue whole crab ice down better and thus retain fresh flavor longer than backed crab because the shell prevents ice from rinsing out flavor and allows you to pack ice around the entire crab. If you can find salt treated shaved ice and pack your crab in layers, sprinkle a little bit of rock salt on the layers of ice...your crab will last twice as long as backed crab.
We plan to supply at least 60 crab for our Harvest Bash near the Mount Hood forest (private) Sept 20.
mk
Skipjack 17 posted 09-09-2008 04:37 PM ET (US)
Lots of good crab cooking ideas out there. I like it very simple and if you do it right as John state it needs no garnishes....
- Take home 2-3 gal of fresh sea water while you’re crabbing.
- Clean the crab at the dock. Use cleat to pop off shell then snap in half, shake and rinse 10 sec max.
- With in an hour, heat 2-3" of sea water in an ss pot to a boil, add crab to ss basket and place in pot with ss lid.
-Know !! Add 3-5 LB weight to the lid and when the steam stats to gush set you time for 8 min.
-At 8 min pull the basket pop in large bowl.
Enjoy at once.......you family and friends will love you……
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n111/Skipjack-17/DSCF0222.jpg
Bob
FlyFishers2 posted 09-11-2008 01:39 PM ET (US)
You are all very lucky. Melinda and I lived near the Oregon coast and after 30 years of eating salmon and crab almost every weekend it seems, she now is allergic to both and we live in Tucson. Go figure.
Pierce posted 09-11-2008 05:35 PM ET (US)
I never got my boat running this summer!! WWaaaaaaaaa!!! Stop this thread it's killing me! I recently found out that the Swinomish didn't crab Skagit bay this summer and crabbing was good. Oh well.
pglein posted 09-30-2008 11:24 AM ET (US)
On Sunday, I brought in what I can only describe as the single most successful haul of crab I've ever had. I don't want to reveal my secret location, other than to say that it was in one of the few marine areas in Puget Sound that are still open right now. Using 4 pots (two people), on a an overnight soak, we caught our limit of 10 crab. But what made this haul so great was not the number, but rather the massive size of the crab brought in. Not a SINGLE crab in the pot was less than 7.5" across the carapice. Several were well over 8". I've never seen Dungeness crab this big before. And we didn't bring in a single undersize, female, or Rock crab.
This was as good as it gets.
pglein posted 09-30-2008 03:18 PM ET (US)
A look in the livewell:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j4/pglein/crabbing2/RockBand079Large. jpg
One of the monsters:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j4/pglein/crabbing2/RockBand085Large. jpg
Tollyfamily posted 09-30-2008 04:40 PM ET (US)
My brother pulled in 22 keepers last Saturday morning just north of Anacortes, he trailered his 76 Montauk up and slung it in at Cap Sante.
Here is our family crab cooking method I have been using for 53 years. Clean crab, bring pot full of sea water, a little olive oil, garlic and a bunch of Monttral seasoning to full boil, add crab and cook for 8 minutes, pull and toss into bucket of cold water, done.
Dan

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Author	Topic: Good Crabbing This Year In The NW
Skipjack 17	posted 09-05-2008 02:06 PM ET (US) My son Lawton snapped this with his phone. A good day on Bellingham Bay with 96 in one pull...I think being on the water with my son in our BW is very rewarding..... Bob [img]http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n111/Skipjack-17/96Crab.jpg[/img]
JMARTIN	posted 09-05-2008 07:43 PM ET (US) http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n111/Skipjack-17/96Crab.jpg Way to go Bob. It has been good crabbing this year. Those stainless pots fish well, wish I had more of them. 96 in one pull, jeepers was that all in one pot? John
Skipjack 17	posted 09-05-2008 08:21 PM ET (US) Thanks John for the link. Yes one pull all in one pot. My Dad pulled 52 once back in the late 60's and I thought that was alot......B
towboater	posted 09-05-2008 10:38 PM ET (US) 96. ouch, makes my back sore just looking. How many male keepers in that bunch Skip? mk
dburton	posted 09-05-2008 11:47 PM ET (US) Let me guess, it was on the south end of Eliza Island on the Bellingham side. Doug
Skipjack 17	posted 09-06-2008 10:42 AM ET (US) 15-18 keepers @ +6.5" and no I have never fished off of Eliza Island. I like to try new places that look interesting on the charts and away from others..... Bob
Roarque	posted 09-06-2008 10:55 AM ET (US) Bob, as a veteran salmon angler who also brings in 100 prawns a week, I have become interested in learning about how to catch crab. I am located in Nanaimo BC on Vancouver Island and there are lots of local crab to be caught. Can you point me to a Primer on Crabbing? Greg
mitch13	posted 09-06-2008 11:00 AM ET (US) 18 keepers in one pot is my personal best , but that was some years ago. In the last couple of years, 3 or 4 in one pull is good here in Hood canal. mitch
towboater	posted 09-06-2008 04:14 PM ET (US) Roarque Skips SS pot is top of the line (spendy). There are so many variables, no one primer would help you more than a local bait shop or an old salt in a bar. Some minor things are often underestimated. 1. BAIT. You can have the best pot in the world but if you dont bait the pot correctly or use bait crabs wont bother finding their way into the pot you are wasting time and fuel. 2. Length of rope and buoy according to the area you intend to crab. My pots are set up to fish in around 30 ft or less. I use one bullet buoy and a cork trailer with about 60 ft of 7/16 line. Shorter line may submerge in the current. Too long of line makes it hard to maneauver on top of the pot to reduce the effort to pull it manually. The small cork trailer helps determine which way the current flows and thus which way to stem the tide and pull the pot and avoid getting the rope in the wheel. 3. Connect your buoy line to the opposite site of the top of the pot that opens. Thus, when you pull the pot on deck, most of the crab will be laying under the lid. 4. Secure your bait inside the pot in a position that forces the crab to crawl inside the pot to get to it yet not so close to the outer edges of the pot they can probe thru the web from the outside or on top. Dont secure the bait in the middle of the pot or crab will block the doors and prevent others from getting inside. 5. I like to trail all of the buoy line behind the boat before I drop the pot. (my pots are pretty heavy) This eliminates odds of line getting hitched around itself or your leg. Keep a sharp knife near. 6. Know the local regs. Skips quantity is very impressive but I wonder if his pot has limited escapement openings that a legal crab cant get OUT but undersize can. My guess is the crab were plentiful and he had great bait but he pulled the pot prior to giving the little guys time to escape and thus, less weight to pull and time needed to remove and measure. 7. If you have any current in your area, you should drop pots near low water slack and plan to be finished crabbing at high (6 hrs). NW bay crabs tend to bury themselves during ebb currents and move around to feed during the flood. bottoms up. mk
elaelap	posted 09-06-2008 04:37 PM ET (US) Great primer, Mike. A few more thoughts: 1) Many of us attach a series of one ounce weights to the upper third of the crabpot lines every four feet or so, just to make sure the extra line sinks rather than floating around near the surface where it might snarl a prop; 2) when approaching a pot to pull the sucker, make sure you come up on it down-current for the same reason as #1; and 3) please, please pull your pots at the end of the season. I don't know whether it's just Bodega Bay laziness or whether a few crabbers die each year with their pots still in the water, but all year 'round we come upon abandoned crab pots attached to barnacle-encrusted buoys in all sorts of places which pose the same threat, especially in fog or at night, as #1 & #2. Oh yeah, allow enough extra line so tidal changes won't pull your buoy entirely under water, again posing the risk mentioned in #1, #2 & #3 ;-) Tony The obvious admonitions--like not standing in the bight of the line when either dropping or retrieving a pot and not taking a turn or two of line around your wrist for extra purchase when pulling a pot--should go without saying. If ignored, Darwin will do the rest...
pglein	posted 09-07-2008 12:09 PM ET (US) I use the same kind of pots with fresh salmon in commercial style bait bags on long soaks in a wide variety of depths, and I've NEVER seen a pull like that. That is simply amazing. Heck of a lot of juveniles, though. Whatever you guys are doing, you're doing it RIGHT.
Skipjack 17	posted 09-07-2008 12:28 PM ET (US) Some good points Mike. I will not disclose everything but I can add a few things Yes Mike SS pots are spendy but I got these used for 1/2 the price. Besides if you trap more then 8-10 crab it pays for the pot. Per Mike List: 1. Yes, I always say Best Bait Wins......I like fresh or fresh frozen 2. I like to fish at 50-120' to get those cold water purple giants with 180' of polyester line and I stream line the floats to keep from being sucked down on the tide. http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n111/Skipjack-17/Crab1.jpg http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n111/Skipjack-17/Crab1.jpg 3. Yes 4. Yes, and that were bigger pot really help. 5. Yes, Make sure pot is weighted correctly and circle drop with the boat. 6. Yes, Always Mike, three 4" escapement openings in these pots 7. Sometimes, depends on location. Bottom Line, don’t be a lemming and find your own spots. Study the bottom were food can collect on both ebb of flood. Volume catching is fun for the kids and make for a good photo but when you find those clean purple 7"-9" giants you then understand how good crab can be Mike, you forgot about cooking them…?? Bob
pglein	posted 09-08-2008 10:39 AM ET (US) I think location is more important than depth. Few people fish deeper thaan 100'. But this has nothing to do with where the crab are, and everything to do with the fact that the line/float kits that the stores sell come in either 50' or 100'. I fish as shallow as 20' and as deep as 400'. And, although my luck in the deeper water has been hit or miss, when I do catch crab, they're always very large (8" or more). In certain locations, I've found the deep water to be very productive, in others I've found it to be a desert. Shallow water invariably holds numerous undersize crab. Whether this is because juveniles stick to the warmer shallower water, or becuase the masses fish those depths and take all the adults remains undetermined.
JMARTIN	posted 09-08-2008 11:14 AM ET (US) Good crabbing information, I will throw in a couple. Try to let the pots sit over a tide change. The crabs tend to move in and out with the tide. If you have one pot that does not seem to fish as well as the others, try tying an empty aluminum can to the pot. I heard this from an old salt, something about electrolysis or cathodic rhythms. Anyhow, it worked or my luck with this one pot got a lot better. John
JMARTIN	posted 09-08-2008 11:33 AM ET (US) http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n111/Skipjack-17/Crab1.jpg http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n111/Skipjack-17/Crab1.jpg Jeepers, I should read more and write less. I agree with Mike on having the pots soak on the flood tide. My pots have two bait boxes in them. Feed them well. I am sure Greg knows this but, if you drop at low tide, make sure you have enough line to be able to pick it at high tide. One other item, besides the normal lid closure device, I tie the lid shut with a single strand of cotton string and cut off the ends. If someone lifts my pot, they have to break this string to get the crabs out. It is too small to tie back on so I know if I have been robbed or if the crabbing is just not good in this location. Pots need the escapement ring and the cotton lid closures just in case the pot gets away from you. John
ratherwhalering	posted 09-08-2008 11:50 AM ET (US) quote: Mike, you forgot about cooking them…?? Whaaaa! Never cook a crab...steam is the only way to go, IMHO. I clean them at the dock, wash in salt water, add some Old Bay seasoning and beer to the steam bath, then steam 4-5 crab in a turkey fryer for 12-15 minutes. Ymmm yummm. You'll never go back to a boiled crab again.
TransAm	posted 09-08-2008 12:58 PM ET (US) Ratherwhalering, You have got the ticket on steaming crabs. Take it from someone who crabs the waters of the Chesapeake Bay in MD where Old Bay was invented (Baltimore Spice Co.). Our crabs here are Blue Crabs, and of course I'm biased as far as them being the absolute best tasting crabs in the world. They have blue crabs in the south and although they look the same, and can be cooked to taste similar, there is nothing like the taste that comes from the Chesapeake. In Lousiana, they boil theirs-how awful!
JMARTIN	posted 09-08-2008 02:02 PM ET (US) I am a boil whole guy. Might have to try a steam whole. Nothing like a little crab soup to flavor up the meat. John
pglein	posted 09-08-2008 02:24 PM ET (US) I clean them live prior to cooking. No way I want them cooking with all those guts. And I boil. Never heard of steaming them. Perhaps I'll try it.
TransAm	posted 09-08-2008 02:33 PM ET (US) You folks out west have strange ways ;). Try steaming them live and uncleaned. The innards add flavor the hardcore here eat them as well. The only things left uneaten are shells and lungs. For small batches, a turkey fryer will do with a basket insert to keep the crabs out of the liquid. Add an inch or so of cider vinegar/water mix at 50/50. Add a can of beer. Layer crabs; sprinkle with salt, dry mustard and copious amounts of Old Bay. Steam for 25 minutes after steam has been generated-perhaps a bit longer for those larger northwestern crabs. You will never boil them again.
JMARTIN	posted 09-08-2008 02:46 PM ET (US) Concur, cook whole, but Dungeness is so tasty, you do not need seasonings or other stuff in the cooking water to make them taste good. John
ratherwhalering	posted 09-08-2008 05:33 PM ET (US) Truely a matter of taste out here fellas...I prefer to clean them live and steam with broth for a hint of flavor. Remember we're talking about a 2.5lb critter with a belly full of bait that I wouldn't eat on a bet. If boiled, the guts stay in, and ya don't really need any more flavor, but I find the 'marine' taste a little sketchey, perhaps because I know what's been used for bait...like knowing what's in a sausage, I've tainted myself with the knowledge ;-)
kwik_wurk	posted 09-08-2008 07:18 PM ET (US) Nice haul Skipjack17... Add a couple things to the primer... Go heavy on the pots, I have picked up 6 pots this summer floating in 300'-500' of water. (Most of these have gotten back to their owners. The rest went to DFW, they were great, and I keep the hotline number onboard all the time.) I keep sections of line 25', 50', and 100'. I keep them in gym bag stuffed in one pot, and clip them on as I need them. This helps when spreading pots at depths from 20' - 150'. (This allows me to re-use line for shrimp and other needs.) I second the clean before cook. I can clean an uncooked crab in 10 sec. and it takes about 1-2 mintues cooked. And they take up less space in the pot when they are broken in half and cleaned (which is what most people do). East coast blue crab I have most often cook whole. (But they tend to be smaller and less meat.) Soft shells I have never cooked, so I don't what to say about those. But to each there own...
towboater	posted 09-08-2008 10:45 PM ET (US) You know crabbing is good if; 1. Rather than measure to see if it is a keeper, you toss it back. 2. You only crack the meaty parts of the legs and toss the rest of the leg. 3. At the end of the day, the entire crew is stuffed full of crab and you have enough left to trade or repay favors. Recent outing and cooking results forthcoming (gtg). mk
pglein	posted 09-09-2008 11:25 AM ET (US) I'll add one to that list: 4. When you spend a week on the boat and catch crab fast enough that you are forced to throw away your burgers to make room for lump crab meat in the freezer.
towboater	posted 09-09-2008 11:48 AM ET (US) Cape Disappointment Wa, Sun & Mon. 4 pots pulled twice. 42 keepers. See previous post. Probably the best weather I have ever experianced in that area. The crab were large, a little soft and not quite full. The best PNW Coast dungenous crabbing occurs on months that have R's in them. 1-10, crabs are about 6.5 right now, good weather rates it up to 8. Regs? Basically, Washington honors Oregon shellfish Regs on the Columbia River...which are different from Puget Sound. CR season is open year round. As Jmart refers, the brine adds flavor steaming would not. I have been cooking Dungenous crab old school recipe that involves cooking full live crab in 8 gals of water, 2.5 cups of rock salt (basically the same salinity as sea water). Cook for 18 minutes in boiling water. Rinse with cold water and use lots and lots of ice to cool them quickly. They are never completely submerged in fresh water after cooking to avoid rinsing off the brine. Once they are backed, they are rinsed lightly, shaken, not stirred. We really didnt plan on crabbing this past weekend but the weather and tides were so good we dumped the pots and stayed a extra day (salmon fishing is closed there). Usually the crabs are too precious to mess around with different cooking methods. We tried Uncle Berts method this time; Back the live crab. Use 2 cups salt in just over 7 gals of water in a modified beer keg and start pulling them after 12 mins in boiling water. I liked cooking more crab in less time. We submerged the cooked crab in cold fresh water to cool which saved a few bucks and time to round up ice. This batch turned out just a tad light on salt. Yesterday we used 3 cups of rock salt...a bit tart. Next time, I will try 2.5 cups of salt, 8 gals, dunk in ice cold fresh water using more buckets which will speed up the cooling time and reduce the rinse factor. SO, the question is, when to cook whole and when to cook backed? IMO, depends on how many, how long do you want to keep them on ice? Backed crab dry out pretty fast even if you cover them with plastic beneath shaved ice or use unopened bags of cocktail ice. I usually stow backed crab inside plastic food trays and cover them with a clean damp towell to keep them from drying out. I will argue whole crab ice down better and thus retain fresh flavor longer than backed crab because the shell prevents ice from rinsing out flavor and allows you to pack ice around the entire crab. If you can find salt treated shaved ice and pack your crab in layers, sprinkle a little bit of rock salt on the layers of ice...your crab will last twice as long as backed crab. We plan to supply at least 60 crab for our Harvest Bash near the Mount Hood forest (private) Sept 20. mk
Skipjack 17	posted 09-09-2008 04:37 PM ET (US) Lots of good crab cooking ideas out there. I like it very simple and if you do it right as John state it needs no garnishes.... - Take home 2-3 gal of fresh sea water while you’re crabbing. - Clean the crab at the dock. Use cleat to pop off shell then snap in half, shake and rinse 10 sec max. - With in an hour, heat 2-3" of sea water in an ss pot to a boil, add crab to ss basket and place in pot with ss lid. -Know !! Add 3-5 LB weight to the lid and when the steam stats to gush set you time for 8 min. -At 8 min pull the basket pop in large bowl. Enjoy at once.......you family and friends will love you…… http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n111/Skipjack-17/DSCF0222.jpg Bob
FlyFishers2	posted 09-11-2008 01:39 PM ET (US) You are all very lucky. Melinda and I lived near the Oregon coast and after 30 years of eating salmon and crab almost every weekend it seems, she now is allergic to both and we live in Tucson. Go figure.
Pierce	posted 09-11-2008 05:35 PM ET (US) I never got my boat running this summer!! WWaaaaaaaaa!!! Stop this thread it's killing me! I recently found out that the Swinomish didn't crab Skagit bay this summer and crabbing was good. Oh well.
pglein	posted 09-30-2008 11:24 AM ET (US) On Sunday, I brought in what I can only describe as the single most successful haul of crab I've ever had. I don't want to reveal my secret location, other than to say that it was in one of the few marine areas in Puget Sound that are still open right now. Using 4 pots (two people), on a an overnight soak, we caught our limit of 10 crab. But what made this haul so great was not the number, but rather the massive size of the crab brought in. Not a SINGLE crab in the pot was less than 7.5" across the carapice. Several were well over 8". I've never seen Dungeness crab this big before. And we didn't bring in a single undersize, female, or Rock crab. This was as good as it gets.
pglein	posted 09-30-2008 03:18 PM ET (US) A look in the livewell: http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j4/pglein/crabbing2/RockBand079Large. jpg One of the monsters: http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j4/pglein/crabbing2/RockBand085Large. jpg
Tollyfamily	posted 09-30-2008 04:40 PM ET (US) My brother pulled in 22 keepers last Saturday morning just north of Anacortes, he trailered his 76 Montauk up and slung it in at Cap Sante. Here is our family crab cooking method I have been using for 53 years. Clean crab, bring pot full of sea water, a little olive oil, garlic and a bunch of Monttral seasoning to full boil, add crab and cook for 8 minutes, pull and toss into bucket of cold water, done. Dan