Soft Shell Crab

[ecu1984]

Sandwiches for dinner tonight, just pulled out a few.
Will fry up a handful of fresh Carolina shrimp to go with them.

Soft Shell.JPG

[trkykilr]

My favorite food. Only got them twice this year.

[Saltydog235]

They boys had a trap out the other day. Damn thing has about 40 in it, 11 were soft shell.

[Geetch]

They boys had a trap out the other day. Damn thing has about 40 in it, 11 were soft shell.

I’ve seen crabbers set up a table with fresh water flowing over it, just enough water to cover the crabs to get them to molt quicker. This was in Steinhatche

[santee11]

Anyone have a good connection to get them? I will take them frozen.

[duckz]

They boys had a trap out the other day. Damn thing has about 40 in it, 11 were soft shell.

What were the rest?

[ecu1984]

I’ve seen crabbers set up a table with fresh water flowing over it, just enough water to cover the crabs to get them to molt quicker. This was in Steinhatche

Those were tables for the "peelers", a peeler sheds its shell and becomes a soft shell.
A peeler is a virgin crab and will do this until bred and then doesn't do it again.
When I lived in Hatteras, I had a neighbor on the sound side, he ran 200 crab pots and had Peeler tables in his back yard
with lights over it and monitored them. Had pvc pipe and a pump bringing water from the canal to the tables.

[ecu1984]

oh, and they were wonderful

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IMG_5095[8642].jpg

[Saltydog235]

What were the rest?

Just regular old hard shell blue crabs. Don’t think they had one under legal. The adults cooked them up and fed the kids pizza. They’d netted a bunch of big mullet earlier the day before. That trap had more bait in it than a Deadliest Catch boat.

[nitro5x6's]

Softshells are divine. Definitely one more reason to live near the Coast. We dang sure don't get them over here.

[MKW]

Never ate one.

[Highstrung]

I only ate like two real ones this year, frozen ain't the same.. but I'll still eat the tar out of them, and they're pretty easy to get.

[JJ1965]

Never ate one.

I tried them once. Don’t know if it is me, or the cook, or bad crab, but it was like eating a $hit sammitch.

Me and lil’ Jake....#neveragain

[willk]

I've had a couple few.

[Biggie1976]

Never had one either. I def would try one given the chance

[Relentlous]

Before I became a lineman almost 13 yrs ago I worked as a striker on a crab boat, picked oysters harvested horseshoes, etc.
we didn’t start peeler fishing intentionally until my last spring with that dude. The best bait for a peeler crab is to put a Jimmy in the baitwell. We had a dude that had peeler tables that would harvest horseshoes also. He’d bring us endless sandwiches every night! I haven’t had on since though!

[Gut_Pile]

Dammit I love a soft shell.

Only had them once this year

[kquinn]

I like them guts out versus guts in

[willk]

Before I became a lineman almost 13 yrs ago I worked as a striker on a crab boat, picked oysters harvested horseshoes, etc.
we didn’t start peeler fishing intentionally until my last spring with that dude. The best bait for a peeler crab is to put a Jimmy in the baitwell. We had a dude that had peeler tables that would harvest horseshoes also. He’d bring us endless sandwiches every night! I haven’t had on since though!

How often did you check traps with that tactic?

[Relentlous]

How often did you check traps with that tactic?

Depended on demand but no more than every other day. We’d put one menhaden in the baitwell too. Close the cull rings to if you don’t have peeler pots. Some weeks we’d run them every day. We’d usually catch 5-600 or more peelers running 100 traps. It’s been a while man! Lol