Drifting Easy by Sue Foster
“I want to take the kids crabbing. Where should I go?
What should I take?”

Crabbing is a fun experience for the kids. It is
inexpensive, fun, and relatively easy to do. You may not
come home with a bushel of crabs, but if you are patient,
you may catch a dozen or so. If not, you still have the fun
of catching and releasing smaller crabs.

“Where can we go?”

Large public areas for crabbing are few, but there are lots
of little “out of way” places one can find to go crabbing.
Any empty lot on a canal or lagoon in the Ocean City area
has crabs. Any piece of marsh you can walk out on or end of
any street that is not personal property has crabs. There
are creek areas that are a short drive out of town that are
also good, though you may need someone to drop you off. Some
of these areas have limited parking.

One of Ocean City’s most popular crabbing locations is the
pier at Northside Park at 125th Street. This recreational
area has a long pier jutting out into the bay. It is not
deep here, so it is important to crab on the higher tide.
There is also a deeper saltwater pond there that holds some
crabs as well.

The pier and bulkhead behind the Convention Hall at 42nd
Street also has some crabbing.

Another good public crabbing area is the pier on Assateague
Island. You will see the pier and boat ramp on the left
immediately before crossing over the Bridge going to the
island.

For some reason, crabs have been more plentiful in the
upper reaches of the bay and not so plentiful near the inlet
areas. Some think this happened when the Rt. 50 Bridge was
reinforced with rocks that made the tidal flow greater.
Whatever the reason, it is best to stay in the upper reaches
of the bay to catch blue crabs.

If you don’t mind a little hike you can crab from the
bulkhead from the island in the middle of the Rt. 90 Bridge.
Going West on Rt. 90 at 62nd Street, make a left at the
light at the first island after crossing over the first
bridge. There is a sign designating the “Isle of Wight.”
Park in the parking area and walk west towards Ocean City
and crab from the bulkhead. (About a quarter mile from the
parking area.) Be sure to take a can of bug spray when
crabbing in these natural marshy areas.

Some crabbers like to crab along the marsh located across
from Shark’s Cove in the Fenwick Ditch. This is an area you
would want someone to drop you off, as parking is limited.
You can get here by traveling to the end of 146th Street or
by taking a left on Rt. 54.

There is also good crabbing at Herring Creek (between Ocean
City and Berlin on Rt. 50. Another creek area is Ayres
Creek on Rt. 376 which is located by going down Rt. 611
towards Assateague and taking a right on Rt. 376. These
areas are also limited parking so you may want to arrange
transportation.

“What do I need?”

First of all, you must decide whether you would like to
crab with lines or traps. If you have kids to occupy, lines
are the way to go.

You can use a piece of string and tie on a chicken neck and
a sinker to weight it down. Or, you can buy a “crab throw
line” that is made out of a triangle of wire with a weight
molded into it. It is wrapped with 25 feet of nylon string
and works like a big safety pin. Simply unwrap the desired
amount of string, pierce the chicken neck with point of the
pin, and throw the line out into the water. You will see
the line pulling when a crab comes along and tries to carry
the chicken neck away. What you want to do is “very slowly”
pull in the string. When you see the crab, position the
crab net below the crab and quickly net it. If there is a
current, position the net so the crab will actually fall
into the net if the crab lets go. The most common mistake is
to hit the crab with the rim of the net and scare it away.

Note: larger male crabs will drop off a line quicker than
a small or female crab. Move slowly, be quiet, and be
patient.

This way of crabbing is quite inexpensive. All you need is
4 or 5 crab lines, a crab dip net, and a couple packages of
chicken necks. You can buy all this for between $10 and
$15. Another item you will need is a container for your
crabs. You can use a 5- gallon bucket, a cooler with an ice
pack, or a simple box. Crabs keep best if they are cool,
shaded, and their shells are damp. Always make sure the
crabs are sitting with their backs up and their bellies
down. Do not put water in the bucket or cooler. This will
kill them. (Some vacationers find a simple pair of crab
tongs helpful.)

“I want to use traps.”

Traps are good when you are crabbing in deeper water or
where there is a stronger current. There are many crab
traps on the market and some work better than others.
Always make sure your crab trap is in working order before
heading out to the pier. I prefer the box style of crab
trap to the star trap. Star traps have springs in them that
can foul up and make crabbing frustrating.

My favorite crab trap is the “Sure-Catch” crab trap because
it is already assembled, heavy-duty, and comes with a “bait
holder”. Another good trap is the “Chesapeake Crab Trap.”
This trap is collapsible so you can store it flat at the end
of the day. The relatively new “Snap Trap” is also
collapsible. It is not as heavy-duty as the others and does
not come with a “bait holder” but is relatively inexpensive.

For the crabber on a strict budget there is the “crab
ring.” The crabber simply ties the crab bait in the center
of this cloth net, along with a 2 to 4 ounce sinker if he is
crabbing in a current, and throws it into the water. Every
5 to 10 minutes, the net is quickly pulled up. Some anglers
use these traps like a trout line. You can put a float on
the line, walk out into the water, and drop them to the
bottom.

Be sure to abide by the laws. Make sure your male crabs
measure 5 inches tip to tip of their shell. Mature females
can be kept if desired. Immature females should be returned
to the water. Do not keep any sponge crabs. (Pregnant
females with a cluster of orange or brown eggs on their
undersides.)

Like fishing, tides are important when crabbing. You will
catch larger crabs if you crab three hours before high tide
and three hours after high tide. Low tide will give you
shallower water and smaller crabs. When the tide stops, the
crabs may quit biting for a short period of time, but be
patient. They will start to feed again, as soon as the tide
begins to move.

Good crabbing….