Crabbing can be as simple as you make it

No license is required to catch crabs and crabbing has few rules. Hard -shell crabs must be 5 inches across the tips of their shell points, while soft shells need only be 1 1/2 inches. Females that are bearing a spongy egg mass on the underside of their carapace under their wide abdominal flap, must be released regardless of size.

• You can not possess more than two claws per crab, so wise guys can't break the claws off egg-bearing females. There is no number or catch limit on crabs, because we are at the northern extent of their range, so a hard winter can literally wipe them all out. Check page 44 in the Connecticut Anglers Guide for all details about crabbing.
• Crabbing is as simple or complex as you make it. Bear in mind that crabs, like lobster, are nocturnal, so even though they can be caught by day, they will be three to 10 times more abundant after dark. The trick is being able to catch them depending on water depth and clarity.
• Spotting and scooping: During daylight hours or after dark with a spotlight, it is possible to walk docks, shallow estuaries or tide creeks or float in these same areas in a small boat. You can spot, then scoop up crabs with a long-handled net as they hang near the surface on rocks, pilings or as they walk along the bottom.
• Baiting: Many people call this chicken-necking, where the crabber uses some sort of bait, either chicken parts (necks and thighs, uncooked are excellent) or racks from filleted fish that are tied to lines and thrown out into the water with one end weighted on a float or tied off some where on shore or to a boat.
• Crab traps: Traps work best in deeper channels and off docks and piers, where the crabs can't otherwise be efficiently caught using other means. There are a number of commercial crab traps available at local tackle shops. All are the same idea. Bait is tied or wired into the bottom of the trap.

(Bob Sampson).

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