Crab weight question

[bean9677]

What makes crabs have more meat than others? We went crabbing in Bayou St. John 6 weeks ago and caught some huge crabs that were completely full of meat. Last week we went back and the crabs were the same size, but did not have a lot of meat at all.

[Crabbyd]

What makes crabs have more meat than others? We went crabbing in Bayou St. John 6 weeks ago and caught some huge crabs that were completely full of meat. Last week we went back and the crabs were the same size, but did not have a lot of meat at all.

the crab went through the sloughing/molting process.  That is how a crab grows.  https://www.bluecrab.info/molting.html


Click on the little crab at the bottom of the page and it will take you to an information page with many topics discussed such as molting.

[bean9677]

If they are light and I put them in a cage, in the same water I caught them in and kept them fed. Would they get fuller, more meat?

[Crabbyd]

If they are light and I put them in a cage, in the same water I caught them in and kept them fed. Would they get fuller, more meat?

Crabs are cannibalistic and would likely kill each other before they became heavy.

[jack1747]

If they are light and I put them in a cage, in the same water I caught them in and kept them fed. Would they get fuller, more meat?

I've done that a couple times..  They eat a lot.  And it takes a couple weeks..

[KC_Jones]

You could do what I do, throw them back and only keep the fat ones.  The pinch test tells the story.