Scales and Tales

Since snappers and blue crabs often share the same inshore waters, it's fun to try for both on the same trip. Once you've got the snappers figured out, catching a few blue crabs shouldn't be much trouble.

● Start by bringing a long-handled crab net. Although blue claws are known for swimming near the surface after dark, they also come to the top on occasion during the day. Having a net handy will allow you to scoop up any crab that happens to swim past.
● Blue crabs can often be found hanging onto bulkheads. Simply peak over the edge and look carefully, especially in areas where a ladder enters the water, the bulkhead comes to a corner, or a loose plank juts out into the water. Here the crabs will perch in the shade, picking away at small organisms which lie hidden in the moss or weeds that grow on the submerged wood or concrete. (Be careful not to trip over dock lines, boat cleats, etc., while looking over the edge).
● Bringing along a crab trap is probably the most effective way of taking crabs while snapper fishing. Simply toss out a trap or two and give a check every five or ten minutes. Some days it's possible to take a dozen or more crabs in this manner while collecting enough snappers for dinner. Bait the trap with chicken wings, a whole bunker or a fish rack secured to the trap floor with a length of wire.
● For more sport, leave the traps at home and use a simple drop-line with a chicken leg for bait. You’ll need a net to scoop any crab that takes this offering – and you'll miss as many as you catch – but it is a lot of fun.