Floating crabs!
Jim311
Posts: 4,947 Captain
On Sunday I saw dozens of crabs floating in the creek, most of them had been munched on and all their guts were gone, it was basically just a hollowed out shell and some claws. Anybody got any idea what was going on? There were tons of them everywhere and it was clear they'd been eaten. But did they die from something else, and then get eaten? Or were the reds and black drum busy hunting them down and eating them?
Replies
At first I was motoring around scooping up the crabs thinking they'd make great bait, only to realize they were just empty shells
If you had looked around a bit you probably would have seen some doublers(males holding and mating with the soft females).
It's that time of year and will peak either full moon this month or May, then slow down thru the summer until the big fall molt beginning in Sept and running thru Nov.(depending on the early cold weather).
http://www.bluecrab.info/forum/index.php
A chicken neck tied to a cotton cord pitched out into what we called Bonita springs off of SR 40 is all I know about crabs.
Some galvanized buckets , dipnet and yellowflies rounds out the experience.
Except for the cleaning and cooking. Ever eat fried blue crab ?
Old school right there.
You stumbled across the remnants of a redfish feeding frenzy. A half hour sooner and you could have slayed them.
Clean, break the bottom shell with legs on, salt, pepper, lightly flour and fry.
If they are light just crunch down shell and all.. if hard ya might want to pick out the meat and leave the shell outta your innards.
Little painfull the next day...
****, I knew it! :dance