Help Me and My Friends Catch Crabs

You can do this. I did it one time in New England as a teenager. All you need is an orange net and some old hot dogs. If you want nicer crabs, go for some kind of deer sausage. You're welcome.

This doesn't answer the question, but why are Dungeness crabs verboten? The season opens this weekend, doesn't it? I'm sure there are other places but the little shop near the Berkeley pier attracts many crab fishermen. I'm sure they'd be able to help. The problem with fishing off piers is that your crabs will have been eating all the stuff near the pier, which is nasty. If you go with the pier technique, I'd opt for one that's as close to the ocean currents as possible. As a wild guess(really), for instance, I'd suspect Berkeley of being cleaner than Crockett, since it's right across from the golden gate and gets a rip roaring tidal current. At that same store, I've heard (boat, not pier) crabbers complaining over the last couple of years that their traps have been getting stolen, so maybe don't leave them overnight. They're about $100 each, aren't they?

I did this all the time growing up in Maryland. Chicken necks work really well, because they don't fall apart in the water and the meat is tougher than hot dogs. Bring a bucket to keep your catches in as you're crabbing. Keep the net in the water so that you don't scare the crab off when it's nettin' time. Take silly photos of a crab hanging off your ear, nose, etc. by its pinchers. When you cook them, use Old Bay seasoning.

The pier by the Warming Hut at Crissy Field (near Fort Point) seems to be very popular with crabbers, and the ones I've seen all seem to use raw chicken.

PS: With the chicken necks, I'm talking about crabbing with a line off a pier.

The public pier here in Pacifica is always filled with crabbers (is that the right term?). I've never done it myself, though. I see a lot of people with those little traps that you put on a fishing pole (apparently this is a "crab snare"). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRTtMDwctfg I don't know if they work better or are just less boring than traditional crab traps.

will have been eating all the stuff near the pier, which is nasty Specifically, I'm thinking of the Chevron refinery, San Quentin sewage spill problems, the Richmond (formerly Naval) shipyards, Treasure Island former Naval base, Sacramento valley pesticides, all the crap that washes off the city streets and into the drainage ditches and a thousand other chemical delicacies, not dead critters which are fine and dandy for crab food.

I will stop posting now, but I just got this in my Inbox: Calif. crabbers wait, give catch time to fatten upThe Associated Press November 16, 2010 HALF MOON BAY, Calif. Even though this year's Dungeness crab catch is looking strong, many crabbers are waiting a little longer before filling their boats up this year. While Sunday marked the official opening to the Dungeness season off California's central coast, fishermen say the crustaceans need days or even weeks more to mature and fatten up. Fishermen say the seafloor is crawling with adult male crab this season, following poor catches the past couple years. Yet tests of crustaceans caught from Half Moon Bay to Bodega Bay are being conducted to make sure the crabs have enough meat in the shells. Fisherman, buyers and eaters want crabs with 25 percent of the body weight made up of meat. So far, fishermen say this year's catch needs more time to reach that goal. Most boats are staying in port for now while further tests of the quality are done. "This isn't a stall tactic by the local boats to hold up the season," Chris Lawson, president of the Fishermen's Marketing Association of Bodega Bay," told the Santa Rosa Press Democrat. "We just don't want to shoot ourselves in the foot by catching crabs that aren't ready." Fishermen believe the abundance of crabs has meant more competition for food, so the crustaceans are eating less and growing at a slower pace. Once they fatten up, the season should be the best in years.

Just came in here to say what lockestockbarrel said. Have fun! Crabbing is super fun and rewarding. Cast in different areas til you catch one and then keep casting to the same spot. Crabs chill together. If you catch a spider crab, throw that shit back they are nasty!