Crab Fishing on The Albemarle…..7/16/2021

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Comment by Bruce Tomaselli on July 18, 2021 at 6:15am

Prices are outrageous. I used to go to a place called the Hen House in Maryland. It was only 2 hours from my home here in PA. They would steam a bushel of fresh caught crabs for $45. We'd put them in coolers bring them home and have a party.

Comment by Jeffrey D. Abney on July 17, 2021 at 2:45pm

• Glad you’ve been able to experience crabbing first hand…..I’ve crabbed my entire life and I never cook crabs the same day I catch them…….to me it’s much easier to handle cold crabs during cooking and they don’t drop their claws when they are cooked.  I also believe the meat firms up for a better end result, add a half cup vinegar to the water boiling and this acts to loosen the meat for easier picking….In fact I cooked c.tabs this morning that we caught yesterday, purged in tap water with table salt amen iced down overnight…..the biggest enemy of crabs is air temperature, the heat is a killer. Hope you get more soon Bruce, the market is crazy this year, 200 to 300 a bushel is not uncommon right now. Makes it nice to have a few places to go catch a mess plus it’s a lot of fun…

Comment by Bruce Tomaselli on July 17, 2021 at 1:30pm

I have fished for crabs in Maryland with chicken and traps. So much fun and so good eating. One year I brought a bunch home on ice and didn't eat them until the next day. Everyone said if they're dead they're no good to eat. The people at my party thought they were fine.

Comment by Jeffrey D. Abney on July 17, 2021 at 1:22pm

Hey Bruce,  the 4” minimum point to point applies to Hard crabs in North Carolina…..you can keep smaller Soft shell crabs which are my favorite to fry……we have established a family minimum of five inches because a smaller crab is harder to pick…the crab pictured was five inches but the blue on the claws is awesome….we love blue crabs and my wife is very deadly with a piece of chicken on a string and a scoop net…..I took her crabbing 40 years ago when we first met and we go every year now……we boil them, make crab gumbo, crab cakes, deviled crab…you name it, everything is better with crab…..have you ever caught any Bruce?

Comment by Bruce Tomaselli on July 17, 2021 at 1:04pm

Hi Jeffrey, I just love blue crabs. Do they still have to be 4' across?