Nueces Bay 3/12/2012

[Swimmerl Crabber]

Sorry. I forgot the camera again.

Did not pull traps on the weekend. Went to an auction.

After work at 5pm, headed to Portland, TX to get boat. The spring break traffic tied up the Harbor bridge to about 1 hour.

After launching at Nueces bait stand, it was 1808. We headed to backbay for about 5 miles and started pulling traps. A few empty traps. The most was five crabs to the trap. Got the crab line tangled in the propeller the first time this year. Tried to follow the rule and stopped pulling traps at about 2000.

Total catch from about 40 pulled traps are 71 crabs, two soft shells and 1 lb of legal stone crab right claws. I sold 5 dozen mixed Jimmies for $65 dollars. Normally $15 a dozen. It was late and I could not eat all the crabs. I need to get the gas money. Keep about 11 crabs. The jimmies are very good now. Full of sweat meat for the ones that are close to the nueces river. I ate two with cold bear.

No crabs in the river. I did put 18 traps in the Nueces river already.

Will remember to bring camera when pulling traps this Friday. Will have total 81 traps in the water and another 13 traps going in Friday.

[tattoo]

Nice caqtch ,thanks for the report.

[IGOTCRABS,LLC]

i haven't had stone crab claws in years. that's a nice bonus for you. when i was a kid, we had a camp in fourchon and we used to dig them out of the crossties we used as a bulkhead.

[Swimmerl Crabber]

The stone crab claws in texas needs at least 2.5 cm from point to the first joint. They is no limit. The meat is also sweet, just like lobster. We had a bunch of them when I started commercial crabbing last year. It was a lot of work crack it open after boiling in water with a little bit of salt. After cooking twenty mins and then put in cold water, the meat will not stick to the shell. There is a market for them here. I was selling them 6 to 8 dollars a pound. One restuarant sells 30 dollar a pound cooked.

I will definitely go tomorrow morning. I will post pictures tomorrow or Saturday. I will go to San Antonio for temporal work for 6 hours. Maybe will run trap again on Sunday.

[John WAsmuth]

Man thats cool! Can't wait to get down there and do some much needed crabbing and fishing!

[Swimmerl Crabber]

Hi, John,

Do not know if you know any good spot or how you crab.

If you have boat, laguana madra next to kennedy causeway is good.

If you do hand line on the bank, bayside, a small town north of portland can be good. We use to catch 60 crabs in three hours with chicken neck and handline, except that the crabs are not as full as the crabs from deep water.

My company bought a place next to the causeway on the water at south tip of portland, where I will eventually land and sell live, boiled or bbq crabs. The property has a kayak shop on it that we rent out the space. You are welcome to stop by.

Ning

[fangard]

The stone crab claws in texas needs at least 2.5 cm from point to the first joint. They is no limit. The meat is also sweet, just like lobster. We had a bunch of them when I started commercial crabbing last year. It was a lot of work crack it open after boiling in water with a little bit of salt. After cooking twenty mins and then put in cold water, the meat will not stick to the shell. There is a market for them here. I was selling them 6 to 8 dollars a pound. One restuarant sells 30 dollar a pound cooked.

I will definitely go tomorrow morning. I will post pictures tomorrow or Saturday. I will go to San Antonio for temporal work for 6 hours. Maybe will run trap again on Sunday.

Great info, but I think you mean 2.5 inches.

[Swimmerl Crabber]

Hi, Fangard,

Thanks for checking. I do mean 2.5 inches, not 2.5 cm.

Ning

[John WAsmuth]

Hey there! Yes, have a small jon boat we play around with with a modified bow for stacking crab post, 5 of them, to drop off and then hit some of the spots we find for croakers, the occassional red, trout and mangrove snapper. Mostly just for goofying off and family time.

[Swimmerl Crabber]

Hi John,

I plan to have my own crab landing on the bay next to the causeway between portland and corpus christi this summer. I may get a small crab shack ready on the water this summer. In five to ten years, we may build a marina. We have 5.5 ac dry land(including some wetland) and, if general land office agree, another 14 ac underwater next to the causeway. Come visit us if you can. I least out one building for a kayak shop already. So if you find yak shack portland, texas, you will find us.

Ning

[John WAsmuth]

Man that would be great! I am supposed to have thur and fri off next week and hope to get down there to just crab, fish, get my butt wet, and get coastal! Hope to take the boat maybe and line sone pots out near the sea wall up from the bait shack, maybe fish the wreck off the point? We'll see but I need a break.

[Swimmerl Crabber]

Hi, John,

I will be pulling crabs next Thursday or Friday.

My property is at 101 hwy 181, portland, texas and it is on the neuces bay side of indian point pier.

You are welcome to visit.

The crowd of spring breakers are gone by next week.

Ning

[John WAsmuth]

Wow! That'd be great! Hoping like anything to get down there at least for a day, either thur or friday, be better if we could do over night but with everything we've got goin on who knows, lol! I'll keep ya posted.

[Swimmerl Crabber]

Hi, John,

If you know how to do sail line, our property is a great spot with prevailing southeast wind. I heard someone catching 19 red fish one friday night last year with cut mullet. 

Ning