Blue Crab(Callinectes sapidus)
Quick Facts
- Size Range: They can grow up to 8 inches.
- Native Species?: Yes
- Food Value: Some work to pick the meat, but excellent flavor and well worth it.
The ever-popular blue crab is highly sought for its tasty meat by recreational and commercial anglers. Simple gear and some smelly bait is all that is required to chase this prevalent delicacy. They have a grey, blue or brownish green back and white underside. The males have bright blue accents on their claws.
Blue crabs live in coastal and inshore waters including brackish areas. They can catch live prey items as well as scavenge on anything they track down with their acute sense of smell. They hide in marsh grass and oyster beds and on mud or sandy bottoms. They help clean up organic material and also provide an excellent source of food for fish, animals and people.
They are caught in traps, hoop nets, seines, dip nets and baited dropper lines. Anglers use all types of bait to catch crab, but some top choices are chicken parts and fish heads.
Blue Crab Rules and Regulations
| Bag and Possession Limit : | 12 dozen per person, daily and in possession |
| Seasons : | Crab |
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Related Fishing Methods
Dead Bait
Dead bait consists of many different types of bait that is no longer alive. Dead bait is still attractive to many fish as they are normally feeding by smell and dead bait is the ticket for smell. Fresh cut fish, dead shrimp, half crab, shucked clam, cut squid and all popular examples of bait that will catch a wide variety of fish. Many sport fish that are predators, will gladly take the opportunity to slurp up a fresh dead bait. A redfish is equally happy to chase down a baitfish or slurp up a dead shrimp on the bottom. Dead bait has the benefit is being easy to obtain, maintain and transport, as opposed to live bait which takes livewells, quality water control and can be harder to obtain.
