When do crabs run

However, you should always keep in mind the climate. Mid-May is great for sheer number of crabs but there have been some opinions that suggest crabs are meatier later in the year during the fall months. Crabs only live for a few years and to give an example, male blue crabs reach sexual maturity around They spawn mostly during May-August time frame so if it takes Thus, fall would be an apt time to catch the meaty ones. Yes, you can crab year-round. And yes, there is a semi-best time to crab but what time during the day should you crab?

I was curious so I did some research. Expert Crabbers say that the best time to go crabbing is during slack tide. Slack tide usually starts 2 hours before high tide and lasts up until around 2 hours after. This is when the water moves the most, which makes sure you bring in the most crabs possible. Blue Crabs are smart creatures. Instead of relying on their legs to move around like other species of crabs, they use their two back fins to swim.

Not only that, but they also utilize the tides to glide through the water much faster than they ever would using their tiny legs. This allows Blue Crabs to travel far distances and cover large areas of water. Knowing this simple fact about Blue Crabs can be very beneficial to us recreational crabbers. We can utilize the times when the tides make blue crabs active in order to catch the most crabs in the shortest amount of time.

Your goal, as the crabber, is to catch crabs as they move with the tides. During incoming high tide, crabs are hyperactive and your traps will pull up more crabs than during slack tide. The trick to utilizing the tides is to go crabbing when the tide is moving water from saltier waters towards you. But once the water reaches high tide, the water becomes still again, and crabbing becomes more difficult.

Crabs live their lives without regard to dates on the calendar, but the same can't be said for humans. Every state has its own laws to determine when you can catch crabs, so it's important to know when the season is open in your home state. Seasons often change from one year to the next, as fishery scientists assess crab populations to determine how much fishing the local crab population can withstand.

In Florida, for example, different regions are closed to crabbing for a few weeks at a time throughout the year. On the Chesapeake Bay, fishing for blue crabs is typically open from April 1 to mid-December.

In California, you can catch rock crabs year-round, but fishing for dungeness crabs is tightly regulated. Just as seasons vary from state to state, so do crabbing rules and regulations. Grab your crab gauge and measure your catch. There are plenty of legal sized crabs out there, just keep trying! Without doubt the Peel and Harvey Estuaries near Mandurah are the most famous for their runs of crabs, but the Swan River is home to bigger and tastier specimens.

Cockburn Sound supports a productive commercial fishery and, for those in the know, a very productive recreational fishery. Further south, Australind and Bunbury have a well-known population of these tasty crustaceans, as does Geographe Bay near Busselton. Some of the biggest crabs live in the Hardy Inlet close to the town of Augusta, whilst some absolute monsters call the Irwin Inlet at Denmark home. Although they are not as big as the monsters caught in the south of WA, their delicate and salty flesh is enough to put them near the top of the list for eating quality.

Found from the Northern Territory border in the north to the South Australian border in the south, although they are most common between Albany and Karratha. They are found mainly in the lower reaches of estuaries but also sheltered bays and some inshore waters. They are most often associated with sandy bottoms as they hide in the sand during the day. This species is not easily mistaken for other crab species. It has flat, disc-shaped hind legs and long claws that may be blue or purple and white in colour.

The carapace is pointed at its widest part and has nine small horns on its carapace between its eyes. Blue swimmer crabs can reach up to 25cm across their carapace they are measured from point to point on the carapace. Berried females are totally protected.

They can be identified by the presence of a spongy mass of eggs around the abdominal flap. You can legally catch crabs using a wire hook, drop net, scoop net or by hand. Diving for crabs is also permitted. Catching crabs by any other method, including crab rakes, fishing nets, prawn trawls or dip nets is illegal and any crab caught this way must be released.

Stay up to date with the latest rules and regulations by downloading the Recfishwest App available for iOS and Android. Crab gauges are available from tackle shops. Measure from the tips of the spikes across the widest part of the shell. Using a drink can or ruler to measure your catch is inaccurate and can lead to costly mistakes, so make sure you remember to bring your crab gauge with you.