Looking for Some Fun This Summer? How About Dip Netting for Crabs!

Do you love the ocean? Are you looking for something different, exciting and fun to do for your next family vacation? I've got the dig for you. Head on over too, Gulf Shores, Alabama for a crab dig.

Residents and visitors us a variety of techniques to claim there share. Crabs and especially blue crabs are prized all along the Southern shores for their delicate taste in crab cakes, salads or steamed platters. Commercial harvesters sell crabs to restaurants and markets, but families can have the fun of trapping or netting their own, to enjoy the fresh of fresher catch.

During the warm season, from April until the return of cold weather in November, blue crabs are active along the coast. The creatures are recognizable by their bluish-green topsides and claws, and white undersides. The tiniest may be two inches across the top, while the biggest measure more than a half-foot.

Blue crabs' favorite haunts are around bridges, pilings, and piers, and in grass flats. Although some stone crabs might be found in Florida, blue crabs are the most common species.

There are many ways to catch a blue crab, ranging from the meat-and-string technique (which resembles fishing) to baited nets, traps and baskets. You can use crab traps baited with fish or chicken parts. These are usually left out overnight, and the crabs harvested in the morning. You can get these traps at most tackle and hardware shops near the coast.
But the recommended way is by dip netting. Dip netting is a fun way of netting crabs in clear, shallow water.

The Orange Beach pier, next to the Arts Center on Canal Road, is a popular spot for crab netting. Other netters try their luck at scooping blue crabs out of the surf with dip nets, but the easiest catch is in the calmer waters, around structures where they tend to congregate.

If you would like to try your hand with the trapping or stringing technique, use old fish heads for bait. Fish houses may give you some free, or for a small fee. The bonier the meat, the better; less bony meat will be picked apart and not last long.

Baited traps are lowered by string to the bottom and checked periodically. For the meat-and-string method, bait is tied to one end of the string and lowered to the bottom, in shallow water.

Once the crab takes hold of the bait, the string should be gently lifted until a net can be lowered to catch the crab. You will know when the crab has hold of the string by seeing it in clear water or by a tug on the line if he can't be seen.

Dipping, or netting, required only a long-handled net, available where fishing supplies are sold, a cooler and some stealth. This can be done any time of the day; the netter can quietly approach a crab and slide the net under it, scooping it off the sandy bottom. Netters need to take cautions and watch where they step. Watch for sharp objects and stingrays. Stingrays can cause serious wounds with their venomous spines. It is recommend that you wear crocs or an old pair of shoes you don't care about. Shuffle your feet as you walk and watch the crabs' path carefully.

Another caution to take care is with handling crabs. This can be a bit risky. It's best to use sturdy tongs or pliers and children should stay back. A stone crab can remove a finger and blue crabs can make a nasty pinch wound.

Once the crab is out of the water, it must be kept alive so it won't spoil in the heat. Some serious crabbers have crab baskets, similar to fish baskets that hold their catch in the water. But most recreational crabbers just us a Styrofoam or hard plastic cooler, with crabs layered between sea-water-dampened sea grass. The cooler must be covered and placed out of the sun, or the crab can be ruined in minutes. A few cubes of ice can help in keeping the crab cool, but they should not be frozen.

Once you have enough crabs for a meal - there's not a lot of meat on even one large crab, so gather a lot - the cooking can begin.