The weekend brought a welcome relief from work but also a promising result for a new bait technique. Friday I acquired some turkey necks from the local grocery store and that evening slipped out into the water to set gear. High tide was forecast for 8:40pm so I launched the Whitehall Spirit around 7:30 despite an impending rain storm and heavy cloud cover. As I scouted my crab spot I noticed that night was rolling in a bit early because of the storm and made a rapid deployment of my gear before heading back to the dock. By the time I pulled the boat from the water it was completely dark but I was satisfied that my crab pots were in the water.

Saturday afternoon I ventured out to check the bait and was extremely happy to find many crab in all three pots. The turkey neck held up nicely though it smelled quite foul. I knew that I'd be busy the next evening when I returned and was anxious to count my crab but I nonetheless returned home and patiently waited for the next day's haul. Sunday was a perfect day and when I pulled the pots with the help of my trusty brother-in-law first mate I managed to gather 26 total with 5 undersized and 21 keepers.

Later that evening I iced down the catch in a cooler to make them dormant and then processed the catch. Each half crab piece was carefully placed on a baking sheet and frozen for easier storage in a few large freezer bags. Each of the bags made the long trip home and I now have a nice store of fresh crab meat at the ready. Now all that's left is to find a few stout souls who'll enjoy the crab extravaganza with me.

The photo tour begins here

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At long last the crabbing crew returns to the backwaters of the Cape Fear River.

The RCGL has been renewed and there are several new items for the expedition most importantly a pair of "homemade" crabbing gloves. For the past year I've struggled with how to protect my hands and to still keep them dry. A typical set of work gloves protect fairly well but easily absorb water and become soaked rather quickly. Alternatively a set of rubber gloves provide little protection but will repel water and more importantly the muck that clings to the bottom of the pot. My answer was to double up the gloves by buying a pair of tight fitting cloth gloves and to wear a thick pair of rubber ones over top.

Another key item on my list was a crab gauge. The gauge is nothing more than a plastic stick for measuring legal "keepers" and I've even fashion my own in the past. This nifty red one comes directly from a marine retailer and features a 5", 5 1/2" and smaller measuring section. I've also opted to strengthen my cordage with 25' worth of 3/8" sinking line. The line along with two stout bricks should prevent any pot loss especially in the shallow branches of Bald Head creek.

My last addition for this trip is a pack of Turkey necks which I'll use as bait. The meat is considered scrap but is still useful to crabbers because it's tough and will last when submerged in the ocean. Professional crabbers may scoff at the proposition of using such bait but it's one of the few options for recreational fishers who don't have a stock of fish heads lying around. Hopefully the new bait will attract a lot of crabs and will last throughout the weekend. No loss if it doesn't since the bait is cheap and readily available.

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Thanksgiving marked my return to the crabbing waters of the island since my last adventure in September. Little had changed gear wise, but I was happy to welcome aboard my first two volunteer crab mates for the journey. I was joined on the expedition by my brother in law and my sister-in-law's husband who were both eager to see what this crabbing business was about. On Thursday the three of us boarded the venerable White Hall Spirit and set out into the backwaters to set the gear. The tide was high so as a precaution we set our gear so that it wasn't too deep, ideally on a bank that will remain shallow during high tide but still be covered with water during low.

Bait is always a tricky thing especially on the first day. Previously I'd frozen fresh bait so I wouldn't have to rush to the store and buy dried out menhaden which lacks much of the fish oil that attracts the best crab. The frozen bait is delicate and tends to dissolve in salt water so I packaged the fishy goodness inside a small plastic bag which I proceeded to pierce with a knife. The bag protects the bait but the holes allow the fish ooze into the water. So far I haven't noticed any appreciable difference with this technique and simply dumping the bait inside the trap.

Friday we set out to the beach for a little surf fishing and hopefully some fresh bait. I'd secured a set of smaller hooks, #6 Eagle Claws, which are the some of the smallest you can find. These hooks are perfect for catching mullet, Pinfish and various other small bait fish which the crab find delicious. After ten or fifteen minutes we landed two nice size mullets using a small bit of squid. It's been said that anything, fish wise at least, will bite on squid bait. The unfortunate fact is that it's very fragile and doesn't last long in heavy surf. It's also too expensive per pound to be suitable in a crab pot. It will however last for several trips when used as fish bait.

With two fish heads in hand we headed back out to the crab pots at low tide. To our amazement one pot was partially submerged and the second pot was completely high and dry. The first pot only had two crab inside most likely because it had flipped over during the night. The second pot was bone dry but the cool weather meant that the eight keepers inside where alive and well. We gathered our crab and returned three undersized rascals to mother sea. I dropped the fresh fish heads inside the gear and we made for deeper water.

What we didn't realize at the time was that the full moon had caused the tides change to be very extreme so we were experiencing the largest swing in our short experience. As I've mentioned before the crab pots aren't reinforced with rebar or any other type of weight and the buoy lines are rather short. The mistake we made that day was to drop the pots into the deeper side of the creek. This would come back to haunt us the next day.

Crab Pot Rack

When we set out on Saturday I must admit that we all had dreams of jam packed crab pots in our head. Usually the second day's catch is much better since the bait is fresher and the placement is usually superior. Imagine my surprise when I saw the first pink buoy floating near the entrance of the creek branch. It had become beached on a sand bar before entering the main, more swiftly moving portion of the creek. As we headed up the branch my anticipation grew, but slowly it was replaced by the dreaded thought that I may have lost my gear. After a long, long row we decided to call off the search and to return to the one pot we had already found. I was heartbroken, but thankfully my spirits were lifted by the seven large crab inside.

Once the pot was cleaned and aboard the boat we searched and bit more for the second pot. Gear loss is inevitable I guess but at least I learned a sharp lesson from the experience. First you need a much longer lead line on your pot. Second you really should add ballast if you want the pot to stay put and right side up. I contemplated this the entire way back and on into the night as I cleaned my catch.

As I boiled and cleaned my crab there was one other important lesson that I learned: It takes a long time to clean enough crab to make really good crab cakes. Luckily my mother-in-law is a bang up chef and made eight of the best crab cakes I've ever tasted. The fresh crab meat was very sweet and almost buttery. When coupled with a light breading the dense white meat makes an excellent flavor combination. I still think the crab would be better enjoyed fresh from the shell but since time was short and the weather cold I decided not to host a crash course in crab cleaning.

I must say that while I'm sad to lose a pot I'm hopeful that my new baiting practice will help ramp up the numbers in the pots. I was also able, with some help, to build a nice crab pot rack inside the garage which can easily hold five pots. I've also garnered the interest of my in-laws who were ready to subsidize the crab pot operation in return for a few more of those delicious crab cakes. At this point though I am going to hold off until next season when I will hopefully have some sort of coated rebar ballast system in place to prevent further gear loss. I will certainly keep the inquisitive minds apprised of those developments.

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