Southcoast MA Report

[masspi]

Well the cold air temperatures are starting.  This is one of the best times of the year for me.  I like the heat, but the humidity can go someplace else.  The crabbing activity observed last week and weekend was minimal at best.  Don't let the cooler temperatures slow you down !!!!  The water temperatures are still very warm, in fact the warmest of the season.  So get out there and get your share.

No activity at the I 195 Boat Ramp over the weekend, the place has changed since last year and a lot of the family activity that existed in the past seems to have moved elsewhere.  Lots of other activity and it is not that great a ramp (typical State design...........poor !!!!).

Some sporadic activity at the Narrows, Agawam and Wareham Rivers.  I actually saw two young boys in a Jon boat handlining in a Jon boat near Nessarella's Farm Stand.  First time ever.  I bet they had a good day as this area is overlooked.

Matapoisett at Eel Pond has some sporadic activity and Fairhaven Crabber has reported that him and his group do some night crabbing in  the spillway.  I still say.......they are the most aggressive crabs I have ever encountered.

Two older folks handlining and scapping at the Kayak ramp on River Road in Marion (this is the Weweantic, close to the Rt. 6 Causeway.  That is it, have a great week !!!!!

[crabbyjim]

is there parking at the kayak ramp?   we only crab from our kayaks they get us to where no one else can go. been a great season so far only missed 1 weekend. tried alot of new spots with minimal sucess always end up going back to your maps.

[tattoo]

great RePORT.

[masspi]

I believe that you need a Marion Town parking sticker, but if you are using a kayak on the Weweantic, you have that access.  That whole side of the river near the west side of the causeway is great crabbing.  I have pulled hundreds of pounds of crabs with traps over the years in that general location.  The general area and to the north (left) in photo.

[scupper]

Great report as usual Masspi!

As far as the Farm stand in Wareham. Do you think there are lots of crab up there?

[masspi]

I do feel that the Agawam River is basically untouched as far as crabbing goes......the conditions are perfect.............shallow, (very shallow), brackish, slow current, no one bothering them.  I have posted for years on the Blue Crab Forum that the crabs in this river and others die of old age more than in some crabbers steam pot.

I always had my places and for the past couple of months in my posts have been openly giving up my "honey holes".  I am too old and partially disabled and want to pass the info on to the next group interested in crabbing and shellfishing in general.  Guys like Rob Curtis on the Canal and Cape area and Fairhaven Crabber and Fingerless are the future. 

When I started as a 6 year old kid, I was determined to get my share...............I did and have for a lot of years.  Now it is your turn.  I posted a photo today in one of my posts..................It was taken from my front yard.  I dragged basket after basket of crabs up that bank for many years...................Spend 50 bucks, get a license and a small boat if necessary and go get yours.  Keep watching and you will hear of more places ..........it never hurts to try a new place or adapt.  Good luck !!!!!!!!!

Dave   

[fingerless]

THANKS FOR THE MENTION DAVE    I AM ON VACATION NEXT WEEK PLAN ON GETTING IN A FEW DAYS ON THE RIVER  MAY HEAD TO THE AGAWAM          WILL POST REPORT    CRAB ON.....

[Fairhaven Crabber]

So gracious of you to share your information to the new breed of crabbers.  Trust me when I say this, if I didn't grow up in Medway, too far from any crabbing activity, and had known about this when I was 6 years old, I too would be fixated with crabbing the entire summer! 

Just something about the thrill of seeing one hiding in the eel grass so you can barely see him, or the other brave ones that seem to snap at your face in the water when they see you as if to say "Stay Back, or Else!"  And then the thrill of actually attempting to grab those fast buggers with my dip net, and finally the climax of realizing that I did indeed catch him and he's big enough for me to go home and eat some crab!

Best way to catch the most delicious edible shellfish ever in my opinion.  Dipping with no bait and wading through the water, or trying to eye them from a flat bottom boat or kayak. 

Personally, I've been dying to try the boat/kayak method because the one downfall you have when wading is that you kick up some of the mud on the bottom and it makes the water cloudy, so if you try to catch one and miss, it takes a bit for the water to clear up again so you can see him.  Doing this from a boat would basically eliminate that problem, not to mention you could always use the boat as a sheild from the wind so the water would be more clear.

Ahhh, sometime in the future when I get a truck with a hitch, I'll find myself a nice small boat and get my wishes!  My son is already old enough to do it from a boat, but too little to do the kind of wading I do (sometimes chest-deep)..

You've peaked my interest talking about the Agawam river.  That will be my next spot to try!  Thanks Masspi!

[robc22]

Dipping from a boat is great fun and you don't have to wait for low tide...........make a window box........I love to get bay scallops this way..........

[crabbyjim]

anyone crab last weekend?

[fingerless]

i am trying to get out thur.  it will be the  maiden voyage for the "cv fingerless 2"       i treated myself    i cant wait   no crab for three weeks makes me grumpy.  i am sure they are stil around  crab on...

[masspi]

I did not post any new activity last weekend because I did not see one crabber in any of the usual places.  That does not mean that there was nothing happining.  If you were out and were successful or unsuccessful, let us know.  The water temperatures are good and there certainly no crowds to worry about.

Go get your share before it is too late.

[crabbyjim]

i plan on trying another new spot on fri afternoon if i can find access

[masspi]

What is the spot...............probally been there already or someone else here has. 

[crabbyjim]

tidal pond off the agawam

[scupper]

I was quahogging in Wings cove. Bunch of blue crabs in there.

[crabbyjim]

is there parking at the ramp?

[Fairhaven Crabber]

I checked out a bridge on an inlet in Fairhaven the other day while on a bike ride, and also checked out Little Bay.  Saw one HUGE crab at Little Bay, so I know there are more there, it's just a question of how many more are there..

saw some guys fishing there too and one looked like he was trying to catch a crab with his pole, so I started talking to him. Turns out he said he got 25 keepers at the fairhaven bridge i went to last week.  So I went there on my bike right after talking to him and saw about 5-6 live ones (kinda small though) just hanging out under the bridge in what appeared to be high tide, waiting for poor fishys to come on by so they could nab em!

Men/ladies, they are STILL THERE.