Waz-in-Oz Posted April 2, 2010 Report Share Posted April 2, 2010 Recently went down to my mates place on the beachfront where this large inland river called the Haughton River meets the ocean. With all the rains recently this creek floods and when it settles there is some good crabbing out on the flats in front of his place which is only accessible during the high tides. The idea is that the crabs in the creek system move out onto the flats to get away from the influx of freshwater - well thats our theory anyway. The boat ramp is good but the trip through the mangroves to get to it is ordinary and not meant for shiny fibregl*** boats so we take his tinne with a 40 hp johnson on the back. [image]http://www.mbcforum.com/fbbuploads/1270164354-Crabbing_Trip_c.jpg[/image] We set large round pots with fresh fish frames. [image]http://www.mbcforum.com/fbbuploads/1270164516-Crabbing_Trip_e.jpg[/image] They are then emptyied into the bin for sorting and measuring. No females are allowed to be taken (crab upside down in above picture is a female - markings underneath show this - males have a triangle). All crabs must be 15 cms across the shell and a maximum of 10 per person over the age of 16 years only. [image]http://www.mbcforum.com/fbbuploads/1270164749-Crabbing_Trip_f.jpg[/image] They do get rather cranky and them big nippers will slice through the skin and can even break a bone so you have to be careful. By holding them by the swim flippers they can't bite you. We tie all of them up so you don't have any accidents in the boat. There is a method for this which involves putting your foot on them which I will post by video as you have to count your toes usually after a trip to see if they are all there. [image]http://www.mbcforum.com/fbbuploads/1270165496-Crabbing_Trip_g.jpg[/image] Once they are all tied up they are easy to handle without any incidents - I can tell you once they latch on they dont release and as most people do they either smash the crab on the side of the boat in panic or they break the nipper off which makes it lock into position which then takes some getting off. [image]http://www.mbcforum.com/fbbuploads/1270165591-Crabbing_Trip_a.jpg[/image] As it is hot and thirsty work the Aussie tradition is you must have cold beers on board and some nice cooked prawns to eat whilst on the water. [image]http://www.mbcforum.com/fbbuploads/1270165810-Crabbing_Trip_b.jpg[/image] Once sorted back at the shed it is time for the cooking. [image]http://www.mbcforum.com/fbbuploads/1270166010-Crabbing_Trip_h.jpg[/image] Some nice sized legal bucks. [image]http://www.mbcforum.com/fbbuploads/1270166153-Crabbing_Trip_d.jpg[/image] Prepped and ready for cooking - bring saltwater to boil place crabs in for 15 to 20 minutes once boil has returned. [image]http://www.mbcforum.com/fbbuploads/1270166299-Crabbing_trip_I.jpg[/image] Invite a few friends over add some ice chilled beers and once cooked they are put straight into a saltwater brine with ice to cool them down and stop cooking and I haven't got any photos after this as it gets real messy and you have to hook in because it is like a bunch of rock cods in a feeding frenzy with shell going everywhere. These are a delicacy and a great days fun. Note: Sorry for the double up of pics below but it appears if the size of my photos drops under 100 kb they duplicate and I have tried everything to remove cut etc but haven't found the answer just yet. Cheers Waz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cobiasco Posted April 2, 2010 Report Share Posted April 2, 2010 Wow, those are like our bluecrabs, but on steroids. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TC Posted April 2, 2010 Report Share Posted April 2, 2010 Wow, they look yummy! By the way, what brand of beer is that? I notice XXX on the can? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishhead Posted April 2, 2010 Report Share Posted April 2, 2010 Add one more X and you have the name of the beer. 4X. Nice job there Waz. I can't wait till summer to do some crabbing over here. Have you guys ever cleaned the crabs and then cooked them? We like this method better since none of us care for the green stuff inside. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waz-in-Oz Posted April 2, 2010 Author Report Share Posted April 2, 2010 Yeah understand, Boiling is the most common but I have some mates who clean and break down the crab and then steam in a microwave or wrap in foil and throw in the coals of a open fire. I haven't tried but have heard it is good also. The dump into a saltwater ice brine really draws in that salt taste which is hard to beat though. Waz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishtech Posted April 4, 2010 Report Share Posted April 4, 2010 Awesome report!! Eating prawns and catching crabs, how sweet is that. Those crabs are delicious,too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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