ResearchCrab Fishing - a Unique Challenge
Of course, I mean to address this sport by its proper name of "crabbing". Clearly, you fish for fish and crab for crabs. And scream for ice cream. But if you say "crabbing" not everybody knows what you're talking about, except for far up along the Northeast coast of the US and parts of Canada.
I once knew somebody who engaged in pier crabbing. This was an arcane ritual done with (a) a normal fishing rod and line, (b) a steel ball tied to the end (c) bacon, and (d) a net. Wrap the bacon around the ball, lower it into the water, gently pull it up to just below the surface, and if you have a crab, scoop it out with the net. This works only on a pier, lowering the line next to a pylon. You have to let the bacon-ball rest on the bottom, since crabs generally don't swim up to the bait. You pull the line up slowly, letting the crab hang onto the meat with one claw. Unlike with fishing, you won't be able to feel a tug on the line (if you did, that must be one big crab - you'd better run away!), so you just leave it sit five minutes then troll it up to see what's happening.
But there are more conventional methods. The Eastern seaboard also hosts some serious catchers of crab, locally known as "watermen". These crabbers commonly use traps. Crab traps are often seen for sale at just about any department store that sells fishing tackle in the Virginia and Maryland region. They consist of a wire mesh platform where you tie the bait, and the platform usually has 4 sides that lay flat on the bottom attached by a hinge to the bait platform, and to a rope that goes to a float on the surface. When you haul up the rope, the sides swing up, trapping any crabs or fish feasting on the bait. These traps tend to work okay in backwaters and off of piers, but strong tidal currents tend to make them tip over. They are more commonly used by recreational crabbers.
By far, the vast majority of crabs caught by professional watermen are taken with a crab pot. A crab pot is a wire mesh cage which has funnels in the upper section for the crabs to enter the pot. Once inside the upper section of the pot, the crabs find their way to the lower section through a funnel, attracted by the bait chamber. Once the crabs find their way into the lower chamber, it is almost impossible for them to find their way out again; however recent new crab pots are required to have culling rings which allow undersized crabs to escape. A rope line and float are attached to the pot to allow the pot to be found, pulled up, emptied of crabs. Because of their effectiveness, recreational crabbers are limited to operating two crab pots on their own private pier.
A word about bait. Crabs will eat just about anything at all, as long as it's meat. In fact, they'd even probably eat you if they had the chance! Chicken necks, eel, or small fish such as menhaden, or spot are all used successfully. Truly, you could just about grab any random meat out of the fridge and use it - crabs are bottom dwellers and aren't picky in the least.
Release any crabs that are too small back into the water. For the ones you keep, put them in a container with water. Make sure they are alive right up until the moment you are going to cook them, because crab meat goes bad immediately. Also, take a lesson from the scene in Annie Hall and don't give crab or other shellfish a chance to escape. You will be amazed at how fast a crab can run sideways or backwards and find the most inaccessible spot in the house to hide in. Also, in handling crabs, remember that the huge claws are not just for show. They will be quite capable of pinching and hanging on, and the bigger ones may even be strong enough to break a finger bone.