crabbing report from rubee inlet Va beach 6-8-12 to 6-9-12

[crabberVA]

 We went crabbing out of rubee inlet the 8-9th  and ended up  catching somewhere around 80 crab although we caught 10 under size and 20 sponges which where obviously released. The crabbing got a little slow around slack tides. Had a lot of fun  and took home about 50 crab to have a great meal of 4 keeper flounder and any way to cook crab I could think of and it was incredible. All in all it was a great 2days of fishing and crabbing .   Ohh and the biggest crab was around   7.5in

[Nette]

How many crab-pots did you use?  Was it an unusual day/location?

[tattoo]

Nice catch

[Tom Powers]

All of Rudee Inlet is considered a channel (by VB city code) and thus you can only use a crab pot if it is tied to a pier.

On the other hand it is not loaded up with commercial pots and it holds a strong crab population.  Especially this time of year when the ocean waters are also closed to crab pots, both commercial and recreational.

[jack1747]

All of Rudee Inlet is considered a channel (by VB city code) and thus you can only use a crab pot if it is tied to a pier.

On the other hand it is not loaded up with commercial pots and it holds a strong crab population.  Especially this time of year when the ocean waters are also closed to crab pots, both commercial and recreational.

This doesn't apply to the seaside of the Eastern Shore.  It's not part of the Virginia Blue Crab Sanctuary. http://www.mrc.state.va.us/regulations/crab_sanctuary.pdf

[Tom Powers]

And there are no restrictions on recreational crab pots in the area covered in state code which applies to only commercial crabbing.

§ 28.2-709. Closed season for taking crabs in certain area; penalty.

It is unlawful for any person to take or catch crabs for resale from the following area except during those periods established pursuant to regulations adopted by the Commission. Ownership of a current license to take or catch crabs shall be prima facie evidence that such taking or catching of crabs was for resale. The limits of the area are defined as follows:

Beginning at the point of origin of the center line of the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel facility where such facility commences in the City of Norfolk, Virginia, and following the shoreline in a general easterly direction, and also extending 200' out from the mean low-water mark of such shoreline into the Chesapeake Bay, to Ocean View Fishing Pier, and thence in a general northerly direction to Thimble Shoal Lighthouse; thence running in approximately a northeasterly direction to Cape Charles Lighthouse, located on Smiths Island; and thence in approximately a southwestern direction to Cape Henry Lighthouse, and bounded by the shoreline; and thence following the shoreline in a general westerly direction back to the point of beginning.