Low Country Crabbing

Crabbing in the beautiful low country has been something at the top of my list since moving here.  Often we see folks enjoying the low country by fishing at the local piers and we thought crabbing would be a great way to appreciate all the beauty the low country has to offer while being a bit more active.  While at Kiawah we figured we'd give this bucket list item a big check!

All you need to crab in the low country is:

a crabbing net (we were able to get ours at Seacoast Outfitters on Johns Island for 5 dollars)

twine (found at Seacoast Outfitters on Johns Island for 1 dollar)

raw chicken (we used thinly sliced chicken breasts but we were told that crabs love thicker pieces like thighs)

shoes to wade in the water if you intend to  get in to crab (we didn't pack this and really regretted not having some foot protection since crabs/oysters/shells are underfoot)

twine to use to tie the meat on the net (we cut off a piece of our longer twine to secure the chicken)

Crabbing is most successful 2-3 hours before high tide and 1-2 hours after.  In South Carolina you must throw back any crabs that are less than 5 inches long.  

We were losing our bait at our first location because as the amateur crabbers we weren't aware you MUST tie your bait to the net.  

In our new location we were taught the proper crabbing technique of tying the bait on by a nice man at the river.  

He told me I had to go out in the water to place the crab pot.  This is when some rain boots or throw away sandals would have been very handy.

Blue crab success! We were benevolent crabbers so we threw these guys back and didn't intend to eat anything.  Our net was only out there for about 3-5 minutes before we got the crabs so it does not take long!

So there you have it, another item off the bucket list!  We were already planning our next crabbing adventure!