The Chesapeake Bay blue crab is one of the most iconic animals — and cuisines — of our region, but to those of us who aren’t watermen, they may be a bit of a mystery. If you’re interested in catching and cooking some crabs of your own but don’t know where to start, this guide is for you.

History & Environment

Crabbing on the Chesapeake has been around for centuries, although efficient commercial crabbing didn’t truly begin until the proliferation of the crab pot in the 1930s and 40s. Patented in 1928 to Benjamin Franklin Lewis, an Illinois-born waterman living on Virginia’s western shore, the wire mesh crab pot looks nothing like a pot. Perfected over the years, modern crab pots are essentially a cube of chicken wire, usually with three openings to allow crabs in, a compartment for bait in the middle, and smaller culling holes to allow undersized crabs out. Watermen will disperse them in rows tied to identifying floats and return to collect the crabs and replenish the bait the following day.

Although the crab pot drastically increased the efficiency of catching crabs, it also had an unfortunate impact on their population, which remains in limbo today. In addition to commercial pressures, the blue crab faces threats from the loss of underwater grass beds, nutrient pollution leading to areas of little to no oxygen (known as “dead zones”), and climate change, which affects the Bay’s temperature and salinity. With these threats in mind, it is essential that crabbing be done responsibly.

Regulations, Tackle, & Technique

Recreational crabbers don’t need a license to use a dip net, hand line, or up to 2 crab pots. Dip nets and hand lines are allowed year-round, while up to 2 pots are allowed from March 17 through November 30. Additional crab pots, pound nets, or trotlines will require a license ranging from $10 to $46.

Dip nets can be purchased from marine supply stores and bait shops for around $25. The best way to catch crabs using only a net is by finding a pier; crabs like to hang out on the pilings, usually a foot or so below the surface. If you’re slow and quiet with the net, submerge it a few feet behind the crab, slowly bring it up to the piling, and scoop up the crab.

Hand lining is also known as “chicken necking” because chicken necks are the traditional bait, although hot dogs or other chicken parts also work. This is the most hands-on method, requiring patience and skill. Find a pier low above the water or a calm beach. You’ll need a spool of crab string, similar to cooking twine, or a designated hand line, which includes a lead weight on the end and a rigid wire to stab the bait. You’ll also need bait, a net, and a bucket. Attach your bait to the end of the string and chuck it in the water (if you’re on a beach, aim for knee-deep water). Very slowly pull the string back in when you feel light tugging or it’s been a while. If a crab is clinging to your bait, use your net the same way as before — gently submerge it a few feet behind the crab and scoop it up.

Crab pots can be tied to piers or set on floats, but you’ll need access to a private pier or boat to leave them for most of the day or overnight. Fill the bait cage and tie a rope to the top (a quarter-inch thickness is good). Chicken necks work well, as do baitfish like menhaden (crabs are scavengers and will eat almost anything, including each other, so while some baits work better than others, whatever expired meat you have in your fridge will work in a pinch). Set them in 5 to 15 feet of water from a pier and tie the rope to a piling. Bowlines will be helpful knots, and there are numerous tutorials online. From a boat, only use the length of rope required for the depth you’re in; too much extra rope floating around can be a hazard to your boat’s propeller and others. Also, be mindful of float marking regulations: they must be painted with the last 4 digits of your social security number or driver’s license number preceded by “R” for “recreational,” and the numbers must be at least 1 inch in height. Make sure you set it outside of commercial shipping channels and navigation channels. If you have access to a boat, you or the boat’s owner should know where the channels are. Return to your pots later or the next day, pull them up, and open the bungee cord to dump the crabs into a bucket.

Given that most people don’t have access to a private pier or boat to set crab pots, the best option for crabbing that requires less skill than dip nets or hand lines is crab traps. Don’t get these confused with crab pots — crab traps require a license, which will cost $6, and unlike crab pots; you still have to watch them. Crab traps are folding or collapsible traps that open up when they touch the bottom and close when pulled up. You’ll need a trap, which can be found at a bait shop for around $25, rope (again, a quarter-inch thickness is good), bait, and a bucket. Find a pier: in this case, public piers are an option since you won’t be leaving the trap. There is a huge variety of collapsible traps on the market, but they all have a spot for bait in the middle. Like pots, set the bait (extra string or zip ties may help), set the trap in the water, and wait. Pull the trap up to close it and lift it out of the water when you see crabs, or it’s been a while.

Transferring crabs from nets, pots, or traps into buckets can be a pain. These suckers have a tight grip and are incredibly stubborn. They can usually be persuaded out of a pot or trap with vigorous shaking, but if they’ve pinched onto a net, you may have to wait them out by putting the whole net into a bucket of water until they let go. Always pick up a crab from the back if you need to pick it up. Those claws hurt, and the only place they can’t reach is backward. If you’ve dropped a crab onto a dock and it has its claws up, ready to strike, give it something else to grab instead and use that to lift it into your bucket. If crabbing for a while, add some water to your bucket from whatever body you’re crabbing in and keep it in the shade, so they don’t overheat. A closed cooler for transport is a good idea. However, don’t fully submerge them in a bucket, or they can drown.

**Editor’s Note: If you’ve got a bucket of rowdy crabs, waving your hands over the top of the bucket rapidly for a minute or two will calm them down.** 

You’ll likely need to find a public pier for all of these methods besides crab pots. There are plenty in the Norfolk area, including Bennett’s Creek Park, Elizabeth River Boat Landing, Portsmouth City Park Fishing Pier, and Ocean View Fishing Pier, among others. Before you go, make sure that the gear you have is appropriate for your spot, i.e. you’re not bringing a handline to a pier that’s high above the water. Be sure to follow any posted signs regarding crabbing and fishing for all piers and beaches. Going early or on a weekday can help you avoid crowds, and bringing your own folding chair, cooler, water, snacks, sunscreen, and trash bag will make a long day more comfortable. You should be able to find crabs at pretty much any pier over brackish (moderately salty) water, but they’ll change their preferred depth with temperature. In the early and late seasons, when the water is colder, they’ll be deeper, but in warmer months, they’ll be anywhere from ankle-deep to twenty feet.

All recreational crabbers are limited to 1 bushel of hard crabs (a volumetric measurement equivalent to about 40 pounds) and 2 dozen peelers per person per day. Every crab must also meet sizing requirements, which depend on what type of crab it is. Jimmies are males, and you can tell because their underside looks like the Washington Monument, while sooks are mature females, and theirs looks like the Capitol building. She-crabs are immature females whose underside looks like an average of the two, basically a triangle. Hard crabs are any of those that are not molting, meaning their shells are hard. Peelers are about to molt, and identifying the signs takes some practice. One way is to look at the swimming back fins: peelers’ fins will have pink or red edges. Peelers are desirable because they are about to turn into soft-shell crabs, but only if you keep them in a special shedding tank. Size is measured between the tips of the shell on either side. Hard crabs must be 5 inches across to keep, while peeler crabs need to be only 3.25 inches.

Sponge crabs are pregnant females. Their underside is open, and a “sponge,” which is an egg cluster, is protruding out of it. The sponge could be anywhere from a bright orange in color to a deep brown or black, depending on what stage of development the eggs are in. There are specific rules regarding when and which kinds of sponge crabs can be kept, but the easiest thing to do is throw them all back as a conservation measure.

Cooking & Picking

Now that you have your crabs, you’re ready to cook them. It’s a simple process, but it requires a big pot, the best option being the same kind of large stainless steel pot you might use for other seafood boils or frying a turkey. These can be pricey but may be cheaper secondhand or at restaurant supply stores. Consider a backyard propane burner if your stove isn’t large enough for this. Fill your pot with water and add plenty of your seasoning (Old Bay is the common choice, although J.O. Seafood Seasoning is technically the more traditional Chesapeake flavor profile, but I might get some lash back for that statement). Once it’s boiling, add your live crabs one at a time and boil for about 10 minutes. Strain the water, and you’re ready to pick. The amount of meat you’ll yield varies, but generally, it takes around 8 to 10 medium-sized crabs to get a pound.

In my opinion, picking crabs doesn’t require anything but your hands and a small knife. But to make it easier, a wooden mallet or nutcracker will help. Don’t wear anything you care about staining, have a trash can or several large bowls ready, and cover your table with something disposable or washable. Start by removing the back fins and legs by twisting them off. Sometimes some meat, which is white and firm, will come out with them, and sometimes it won’t. Discard the fins and legs into your trash can or one of your bowls. Now twist the claws off the same way. Hit each segment with your mallet or use your nutcracker to get the claw meat out. The claw meat is often a little darker, but this is normal.

To get the inside meat, flip the crab onto its back and use your knife to get under the Washington Monument or Capitol building part and remove it, opening up a gap between the upper and lower shell. Then wedge your knife up the back from the bottom, in the gap, to separate the upper shell from the rest of the crab. If done well, all the guts will remain in the upper shell, and that whole thing can be discarded. If not, use your fingers to scoop out the yellow stuff, sometimes called “mustard.” This stuff is edible, and some people love it, but I’m not personally a fan. The gills, however, are not edible. They are the grayish feathery-looking organs sitting on top; just pull them off.

Now, split the body sans upper shell in half using your hands. Everyone has their own technique for getting all of the meat out of each of the chambers of the crab’s body. I pull out what I can see, then crush open a new section and pull out what’s in there. Be sure to pick out all the shell fragments.

Traditional pick-and-eat crabs usually involve a large gathering of people and a long table with cooked crabs dumped across it, with everyone eating the crab meat as they pick. If you want to make something out of the meat instead, gather the meat in a separate bowl as you go. Classic recipes include crab cakes, served with tartar sauce, and crab cake sandwiches, served on a burger bun. Crab dip is a favorite of mine, and although my personal recipe is a closely guarded secret, most crab dips are variations on crab, cream cheese, mayonnaise, sour cream, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, cheddar cheese, and Old Bay, served with pretzels, chips, or crispy bread. Seafood mac & cheese is also a great option.

Acquiring all the tools needed to catch and cook crabs is an investment, but a thrifty crabber can get everything they need for less than $100. Learning to catch and cook them requires patience and practice, but it’s worth it to partake in a regional staple of both recreation and cooking. Use available resources to help, especially the Virginia Marine Resource Commission’s website for regulations and local bait and tackle shop insight for tricks of the trade. If you really want to nerd out about the Chesapeake Bay blue crabs and the history of the fishery, take a weekend trip to Virginia’s Tangier Island. You’ll have to get there via private boat or by driving up the Eastern Shore to one of the ferries, but you’ll have access to a watermen’s island so full of history that multiple books have been published on it, as well as, of course, the freshest crabs on the Bay aside from the ones you catch yourself.

Sources & Additional Reading:

• Earl Swift, Chesapeake Requiem: A Year with the Watermen of Vanishing Tangier Island
• Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC), “Recreational Crabbing Rules” https://mrc.virginia.gov/regulations/VA-recreational-crabbing-rules.shtm

Kelsey Bonham

Berkley, NFK

I moved to Berkley in 2022 after graduating from Colgate University with my bachelor’s in Environmental Geography. I grew up on the Chesapeake Bay, living in DC, Annapolis, and southern Maryland, and have been on boats since before I could talk. I’m passionate about the environment, outdoor recreation, and science communication, and I currently work as an educator for the Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center and boating journalist for SpinSheet magazine. When not writing or educating, you can find me sailing with my boyfriend, Nic, aboard our 31-foot antique sailboat or fixing something on it.