Tuesday, April 10, 2012

just like my dad taught me

When I was growing up, one of my dad's hobbies was crabbing.
Summertime in NJ was peak time to buy chicken necks, set it as bait inside the crab nets (they were technically cages, but Dad called them nets), and then hope the crabs were biting. 

Dad taught us all the art of crabbing and we all love it to this day.


Spring break for us this year was all about going to the beach at Edisto Island, South Carolina, with the hope of crabbing maybe once. Austin found some crab traps on eBay and I bought them. 

On day two, I took him crabbing for the first time. We caught 1 blue crab which was too small so we threw it back. It's body has to be a minimum of 5 inches.
Austin got the crabbing bug, nonetheless, so we went back day after day.


There is great joy in the catch. When you pull that trap up from the bottom of the water, snap it closed quickly as you begin to pull, you anxiously await whether or not a big enough crab will be accompanying your chicken neck. 

Another very sneaky method of crabbing is using a drop line. You put more of your chicken at the end of a line, drop it down in the water, and a few minutes later you slowly pull it up. A second person is waiting with a scoop net already at the surface of the water to scoop up any greedy crab that is being tugged while munching away. Much to its dismay he is sitting in a net not knowing what just happened. You then drop him in a bucket to bring home a little later.


We were somewhat successful throughout the week catching 9 blue crabs, 5 stone crabs, and 5 shrimp. We waited until we got back to Michigan to cook it all up Bobby D style- he always made spaghetti and crabs.


That's what we did last night. 
The girls and I are not lovers of seafood, but I did enjoy a little of it. 


The men in the family were blissfully happy at the dinner table cracking away at crab legs and building a personal pile of crab debris to be cleaned up later.

Edisto Island was wonderful in many ways. More pictures and stories to come of our family's spring break 2012. 

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hello Carol,

My husband would be very impressed…he and his family love this sort of stuff. All of our children love seafood.

Your pictures are wonderful! Your family is darling.

I look forward to reading more about your spring break adventures.

☺Hope

Kat said...

Being from Maryland, crabbing is a way of life. Nothing like Chesapeake Bay crabs. We don't get to the Bay ourselves but we do love crabbing off our dock when we go South for vacation each year. We throw the cage off the dock and just check it once or twice a day. When we sit on the dock for fishing someone pulls out the line. It is so hilarious watching my gang go in for the kill with the net!

Hugs,

Kat

Mikki said...

Oh how fun!!!

Growing up in MD - crabbing was a BIG thing. I only actually did it a few times, but I've sat at ate crabs more than I can count!!

What a great way to share some great memories with your family!!

Tara Steffen Fotos said...

Yummy and how neat to pass that tradition on to your kids!!!

Joyce said...

Crabs might be my favorite food, especially the Maryland blue crab. We used to catch them with chicken necks off the end of our neighborhood pier. I love them steamed with Old Bay and eaten at a picnic table beside the water. Messy and delicious!

Anonymous said...

Hello Carol,

For the time being, I am off blogging. My children need my full attention, and I don’t want blogging to get in my, or their, way. I have taken away their Nintendo DS’s, iPod, laptop, and cellphones for the rest of the school year so that they can focus clearly on preparing for their end of the year testing. So, I thought that it was only fair that I also stay off the computer until then, to set a good example for them.

I setup a Mailbox blog for anyone who cares to leave a message. I might start blogging again this summer.

Until then,
♥Hope