Though crabs are around all the time, Gault said the most productive times for recreational crabbing are late summer and fall - but that’s also when they are cheapest to buy. Professional crabber Jerry Gault said most crabs are caught in deeper water in the winter and in shallow water in the warmer months. Commercial crabbers who work both creek and ocean waters harvest both male and female crabs, but individuals, who often crab in creeks and from docks, catch mostly male crabs. After breeding and molting in brackish waters, they migrate back to oceanfront areas where they spawn a couple months later. After our extended drought of a couple years ago, crab concentrations were found as far up the Combahee River as Cherokee Plantation, and on the Ashepoo River, they were fully two miles west of the US 17 bridge.įemale crabs, on the other hand, spend most of their time closer to the oceanfront and migrate farther up the creeks only to molt and breed. Male crabs spend most of their time in our saltwater creeks, settling in brackish water that has their most favored concentration of salt, so excess rainfall - or more often, drought - causes them to concentrate in different areas. There are a few other restrictions, but essentially, you can catch as many legal-size crabs as you wish, almost anywhere in saltwater for the price of a saltwater license. Pots can not be placed within 200 yards of a public boat landing for obvious reasons: to prevent the lines from getting tangled in outboard motors. Two pots are permitted per person and they must have an attached yellow buoy with your name and address or license number if you are going to leave your pots unattended. ![]() There are a few restrictions for those fishing with traditional crab pots. There is no limit on the number of crabs you can keep, but they must be five inches wide from point to point on the body, and any females with visible egg masses - called sponges - must be returned to the water unharmed. Outh Carolina law allows anyone with a saltwater recreational fishing license to harvest crabs. South Carolina also has a strong commercial and recreational harvest annually. ![]() Just walk down to a public dock or shoreline at the right time and catch your own.īlue crabs have a scientific name Callinectes sapidus, which roughly translates to “savory beautiful swimmer.” They are native to the Atlantic coast from Massachusetts to Texas, most heavily harvested in the Chesapeake Bay, North Carolina and Louisiana. Yes, our own local blue crab is one of the finest delicacies in the seafood world but, in spite of its revered reputation, any residents and visitors in South Carolina’s Lowcountry with a string and a chicken neck can catch a bucketful and enjoy them for free.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |