CT River - 9/23 pm -> 9/24 am

My first report!

Inspired by Ax Man’s Essex post I chose the best weather night based on the wind forecast. I had gone kayaking with my son last weekend and was surprised by the clarity of the CT river and was hopeful for ideal conditions Wed night thru Thurs morning. If I could see the crabs I was mentally prepared to pull an all nighter going after them.

Launched Scrappy Doo (our 1648 Jon Boat) a little after 9pm and it was game on. I had the best conditions that I have experienced crabbing - no wind, dead flat water and excellent water clarity. I didn’t even have to drop the outboard in to go find them, just poled around a few feet from shore through the night and into the morning, for a total of 6 hours.

The great conditions made the crabs easy to spot. I focused on the doublers as most of the singles were widowed sooks. I was very happy with the size and quality of the Jimmy’s I collected, and left many widows to fend for themselves. 4 softshell sooks were taken home for the frying pan. It was a beautiful night with clear skis, a great view of the stars and the music of crickets.

I was all packed up and headed home by 4am. A few hours of sleep and then 3 batches of steaming in the pot with some sautéing on the side. A few days later now and we have many happy neighbors!

Safe crabbing,

Yargnatas