Two big live bushels for Friday, August 19th?

[jginnane]

Hi folks --

I understand recent rule changes have reduced some categories of postings.  But conversely, that's made it harder to find a simple answer to this:

We're planning an event at a friend's restaurant in northern NJ (Clifton) for the above date.  Under the (developing) plan, I'd drive down to MD early Friday morning, load a couple live baskets of #1 jimmies (or larger) in my Element, then head up the Turnpike.  Should be simple... right?

Well -- it's not.  The order is a little big for one guy with a load fresh off his boat, unless he's lucky.   But I can't rely on luck; I need a reliable source that's going to have what I want (without fail) on the day in question.  (I can't show up later with a load of Jersey tomatoes, IOW.)  The Crabs-For-Sale forum seems to have limited history so I can't look and see who might've been selling a couple months ago, and check with him to see what might be available.

I understand that if you drive through the right parts of the state of MD there are folks selling fresh-caught crabs out of the backs of their trucks.  (The ones that don't get sold this way get sold to wholesalers.)  I don't know a good strip to check out -- is Highway 301 too high-speed for this kind of trade?  Should we get over closer to the water, that is, in on some backroads?

While I'd normally ask for a PM reply, this kind of information is more useful to a broader audience of my fellow Jerseyites, so I think a public reply here (that doesn't violate any rules) would be great.  What I'm asking is "to learn how to fish, not just for a fish", to mangle the great religious parable.

Yes -- we may wind up dealing with a wholesaler.  (In that case we'd prefer a more northern location, to save travel time.)

Thanks for all your input!

[jack1747]

Why not post in the wanted section?  I'm sure one of the many commercial crabbers that visit the BCA would contact you via bmail.  Only those that are "Supporting Members" can respond in the open forum.

[Mikie]

Contact Mr. Breeze on here. He is a potter and should have enough volume to sell you some. The roadside trucks normally sell mostly smaller, lighter males and female crabs because they can make more money selling along the road then to a wholesaler.

[jginnane]

Why not post in the wanted section?  I'm sure one of the many commercial crabbers that visit the BCA would contact you via bmail.  Only those that are "Supporting Members" can respond in the open forum.

(Sound of head slapping forehead)  -- Doh!

I went right by that "Wanted" section so many times, because I thought it was just all about crab tackle.  Excellent idea!

Thanks, JG

[jginnane]

Contact Mr. Breeze on here. He is a potter and should have enough volume to sell you some. The roadside trucks normally sell mostly smaller, lighter males and female crabs because they can make more money selling along the road then to a wholesaler.

Thanks, very helpful (and I will).  As far as the roadside trucks ... i didn't want to be driving up and down the road on the Big Day, trying to fill up my bins by pot luck.  But I think I might make a long drive up and down the east Shore next week to get a sense of what (& who) is where.

I'm also partial to someone who'd let me have the wood baskets for cheap, because otherwise I'll have to load up about a dozen ice coolers.  With baskets, I'll just need a plastic tarp, a few bags of ice, and towels or blankets to cover.

(We're treating this an a one-time event for 15-18 people, but if it goes well we could see a monthly repeat until the weather gets too cold, then next year, too.)

[jack1747]

Breeze is the man your looking for....

[Summertop]

http://www.chesapeakesbounty.com/local_seafood

  

[Mutzy crab man]

Where are you coming from in N.J.??

[jginnane]

Where are you coming from in N.J.??

Good old "Exit 98" GSP (Belmar/Wall) -- but the restaurant's in Clifton (off Rte 3, about 5 miles west of Giants stadium).  We're used to planning around weekend Shore traffic, which can turn a one-hour trip into a 5-hour slog.  The Turnpike running north on Friday should be clear in early afternoon, as long as we don't get snarled at the DE Memorial Bridge or going past Philadelphia.

Then, coming back south from Clifton, every hour delayed past 7pm in getting on the Parkway will result in ~75 minutes' less driving time.  (Unless you get into the Friday night bumper-car crowds at 2 am.)

See?  We've got it all planned out.  Now we just need the crabs. It looks like Coveside might be the place, too.

[jginnane]

http://www.chesapeakesbounty.com/local_seafood

In St. Leonard?  Hmm, the website looks good.  If it was a different day of the week, or if I overnighted down there (not likely this time), it could work.  But right now, Google's telling me it's a 5-hour drive to Clifton NJ, on top of almost 4 hours from where I'd be starting.  Traveling back north from Baltimore or even Annapolis is an hour shorter (or 2 hours on the turnaround).

I'm not against long trips.  Montreal is a 1-day drive.  Or -- I made Fort Myers FL from home in 17 hours with 2 15-minute sleep breaks. (But was absolutely worthless for 3 days after.   However ... instant-on and LIDAR (laser) tracking has made my Beltronics detector a bit less useful than a few years ago, and I really enjoy having no points on my license.

[baycrabber1]

dont know about smaller lighter crabs on the side of the road  mine are nice heavy crabs

[elsmere ed]

Try the roadside guys along U.S.40,there are plenty of them.