July 28, 2021 ICW north of Boca Grande

[crabbinggirl]

I'd ben crabbing in the Chesapeake for the last several years and LOVE IT: started with traps off my little 17.5' Skiff, then moved up to trotline off my co-owned Deadrise, which remains in Annapolis.  Finally got my Skiff in the water at our new home in Charlotte Cty, FLA on Tuesday evening.  Decided it was time to see if I could find some Blue Crabs, despite the deluge of fresh water rain we've received over the last several weeks.  I went online and bought a FL fishing license, then immediately headed out. (My husband doesn't fish or crab, but I was fortunate in that my brother from New Jersey was visiting and he loves to live, boat and crab on Barnegat Bay.  While he piloted, I dropped five of my old, but trusty, traps with chicken legs into 4.5'-5.5' of water on the west side of the channel and let them soak for about 20 minutes.  Air temp was about 90 with high humidity and water temp was about 89. Imagine our utter surprise when I pulled the 4th trap on the second run and landed a nice big 7 1/4" heavy Blue.  It's all I got on 4 runs, but the primary point is that I have found the Blues in new water and I am just so darned excited.  Despite only being one, I needed to steam it up and taste it, and I've got to say it was as good as any crab I've pulled from the Chesapeake, and easier eating due to size. My next search is for some new local friends with a bit of boating skill to pilot while I drop and pull.  Can hardly wait for my next trip and will continue to post, as there is so less 'chatter' on the Gulf Reports than there is on the Maryland Reports. I hope more Gulf locals will join and share on this forum. 

[Stabilizer]

Nice crab, thanks for the report.  I think your most fond crabbing memories will remain on the Chesapeake.  But time will tell and exploring you may just find them.  I wish you well in that search.

[tattoo]

nice crab