Just look for the grey mounds in the sand that often signal a crab is in residence. The best months for crabbing are September to April as the waters are warmer and more productive.
The primary season for all crab species is October to January, when they are often at their largest and populations are highest after spawning. Some regions even stretch crabbing season into July. It depends on the area and specific type of crab to know when the season is and when crabs will be their freshest.
The Blue Swimmer Crab is widely distributed throughout the inshore waters of South Australia, particularly in areas with extensive sandy bottom and seagrass meadows in Gulf St Vincent and Spencer Gulf.
Blue Swimmer crabs are seasonal and come into the shallow waters in the warmer months and as a general guide, you should be able to catch them between spring to autumn, or any month with an “r” in it.
Portunidae (Swimming Crabs). Season. Available year round with peaks from January to April in Queensland and NSW and from May to August in NT. Size and Weight. Commonly about 17cm in carapace width and 500g-1kg, but can grow to 28cm and 3kg.
You want to get out in the water at high tide and then as the water moves with the tide the crabs are more likely to be moving also. Thompson's Beach is also another great spot to go crabbing in Adelaide. On this day in particular we managed to round up 30 crabs of size in under an hour.
A: Crabs like fresh bait, so some crabbers will change bait twice a day. Fresh fish or frames and heads are excellent, in particular whole mullet (score the flesh down the the bone). Chicken carcass or necks, and kangaroo meat and bones are also good but the secret is: it has to be FRESH.
There is a well-known saying among locals that “any month with an 'R' in it is good for Blue Swimmer Crabs”. The months of October, November, December, January, February, March and April are the prime time for productive crabbing on Yorke Peninsula.
Fishing limits
Minimum size: 11 cm measured across the carapace from the base of the largest spines. All crabs must be measured as soon as they are caught and any undersize crabs immediately returned to the water. Personal daily bag limit: 20 – combined limit with Sand Crabs.
The minimum legal length of blue swimmer crabs in NSW is 6 cm CL. Catch rates of blue swimmer crab harvested using crab potting for NSW. Two indicators are provided: (1) median catch rate (lower solid line); and (2) 90th percentile of the catch rate (upper dashed line).
In South Australia, blood, bone, meat, offal, and skin of any animal other than fish, worm, or insect cannot be used as bait within 2 nautical miles from shore. Therefore, fish is used as bait exclusively land based or within 2 nautical miles from shore. Our favoured baits for Blue Swimmer Crabs are: Flathead Heads.
Crab bait: Crabs are notoriously greedy and have a super sense of smell, so the smellier the bait the better. Firm favourites are raw liver, bacon, sardines, squid and fish heads (if they are a couple of days old then even better!), all of which can be found at local butchers and fishmongers throughout the region.
The best bait to use for blue crabs is raw chicken, or oily fish like saltwater catfish or mullet, but crabs are bottom feeders so don't think too hard about what scraps you come up with.
Crabbing 1-2 hours before high tide all the way through 1-2 hours after high tide the water will have good movement and this is when you have the best chance to catch the crabs. Beware for water currents though. This can move your traps or even make them stuck in the mud.
The biggest, heaviest crabs are typically harvested during the fall months (September to mid-November).
Answer and Explanation: Crabs are mostly found during the full moon because they feed before the full moon. Because of this reason, crabs have a heavy diet to fulfill their nutrition requirement and make themselves buried in the sand so that they may be protected from predators.
How many crabs to get. A good rule of thumb is about 6-10 Maryland Blue Crabs per person. If you are serving other food, we recommend about a 1/2 dozen crabs per person. A bushel of large crabs will feed 8-10 people.
How Many Per Person ??? As a rule of thumb, if you have crab lovers we recommend about 1 1/2 pounds per person. If you have some big eaters you might want to go with 2 pounds per person.
If you are just serving crabs, a good rule of thumb is about 8-12 crabs per person. If you are serving other food, we estimate about a 1/2 dozen crabs per person. To put it in short, a bushel of large crabs will feed approx. 8 people.
While summer is the most well known season for crab feasts and enjoying special times with family and friends, The fall months of September, October and November are traditionally the best time of year to get the largest and heaviest Maryland blue crabs at the best prices.
because the toxin can bio accumulate the best way to stay safe is not to eat mussels at all and to clean crabs thoroughly by removing the crab guts including the head mustard and gills before freezing cooking or eating.
It depends on water temp, if it's still warm, there's crabs, when it cools off, they disappear, during winter you will still get the odd one, you just have to decide if it's worth the effort, right now, there's plenty around, and winter is only a few days away.
Once the season is in full swing, it's usually best to concentrate between five and seven feet of water. Still, however, savvy crab-trappers will set a few test-traps in different depths just to be sure. Weather and tide can sometimes drive the crabs to congregate in depths that you hadn't necessarily expected.
Crabbing Equipment
The simplest way to catch crabs is with a dip net. Another easy method is to drop a fishing line with bait at the end. Simply wait for a tug then pull the crab in, catching it in a net.