Severn River Crabs are not there!!

[davecobb319]

I have been running 20 traps in the Severn all year and yeilding 2/3 bushel on average by 8:45-10:00. Last Sunday, all of a sudden they seem to have left. Same 20 traps only yeilded 1/2 bushel and had to crab till after 11:00. Today, we ran 1000 foot of line and barely brought home 1/2 a bushel. DNR also told us the mosty he had seen today was 1/2 a bushel and this was at 10:30! What gives? Someone mentioned Red Tide. If I understand them, that means the oxygen level is low and the crabs are staying in the mud. The water does have a red tinge to it. What does it take to break the Red Tide? Is that the case? THANKS AND HAPPY BOATING!!!!

[JohnnyEvans]

the same thing on the magothy on fri i put out 30 traps crab till 1pm and got 1\2 a bushel of mix look like the red tide was in there to.

[SteveL]

The red tide is an algal bloom and when the algae die and decompose it uses up the dissolved oxygen and the crabs have to move if it gets bad enough--they can't stay in the mud if there is not enough oxygen. It may be time to try other places.

[Cornraker]

i experienced this too on friday. i managed 28 keepers in four hours. bad red tide up near smiths

[davecobb319]

Yes, I live across the street from Smiths. I use a private ramp right next to the marina. Its still bad out near the bay.

[redbeard]

i've noticed crabs that have moved in to the area that i'm crabbin that seem to have come there in the last 2 weeks or so. some are covered with black stains thatdon't rub off these crabs also have a line of stain that goes up to their faces like they were buried recently. if i didn't know bettert i say these crabs just came out of the mud ,they all look dark and heavy buttt, they are not heavy, if you sqeeze the tip they're paper shells - whiteys. seems strange and i suspect that some enviromental thing forced them into the mud for awhile. this river is up the bay from both the severn and the magothy any one else see crabs like these? also overnight from this past sat. to sun. morning a differant grade of crabs have moved in also, much better than i had so the crabs are on the move for whatever reason.

[bighuka]

In my opinion the crabs aren't biting as well because this time of year in the Magothy and Severn the breeding starts to pick up and the big males are all pre-occupied chasing and mounting up on peelers. It happens every year. If the red tide was a factor then all the small crabs we see on the pilings would not be there but the bottom line is there are as many as ever. It will be like this for the next 2.5 weeks then heavy feeding will resume.

[davecobb319]

That makes alot of sense bighuka. It does seem that the heat of summer the crabbing slows for a bit every year

[Piscophile]

True red tides are usually a phenomena associated with ocean or near ocean waters. The gulf coast and Florida are frequent victims. Red tides usually cause major fish kills as the algae bloom not only uses up the oxygen but also releases a toxin.
People living close to the water during a red tide event frequently experience respiratory and eye irritation.

Multigenerational waterman on the Bay can tell stories about crabs leaving and area or walking out of the water to avoid high water temps and the low dissolved oxygen that comes with it.

[davecobb319]

I have heard storys of the crabs all on the surface and walking out onto land. Maybe this is a minor case?

[Burchbeer]

I have heard those stories also. While I dont wish the event to happen I would still like to experience it just to see Ma Nature at work. Maybe help myself to a few select # 1's too.

[richie410]

Male crabs don't chase female peelers.I use to think that to but then found out other wise. The female is the one that does the seeking looking for the biggest males. That is how a peeler pot works. You put in a male in the bait trap and the female peelers go in to try and mate. Redtide is likely with the excessive heat we have had and little rain lately. I had a home owner on the chester river tell me that when it hits the crabs walk right up on shore and they pick them up she said it is real freaky like an old Alfred Hitchcock movie.

[bighuka]

Easiest day of crabbing I ever had was 8-10 yrs ago when I came down to the Magothy one day and the crabs had all left the water due to lack of oxygen. I dipped about 3 dozen in 5 minutes; they were all up on the bulkheads and sand beach, completely out of the water. All nice big crabs----it was easy pickins!!!

[davecobb319]

My Dad told me of a time he was on the bay at the mouth of the Magothy years ago and there were crabs covering the surface. They filled the back of the boat with a couple bushel like it was nothing

[bighuka]

Male crabs don't chase female peelers.I use to think that to but then found out other wise. The female is the one that does the seeking looking for the biggest males. That is how a peeler pot works. You put in a male in the bait trap and the female peelers go in to try and mate. Redtide is likely with the excessive heat we have had and little rain lately. I had a home owner on the chester river tell me that when it hits the crabs walk right up on shore and they pick them up she said it is real freaky like an old Alfred Hitchcock movie.


Try putting a "rank" peeler in the baitwell, and see what happens. You will see that, yes, the males come to the peelers. This time of year I generally put nothing but peelers in my traps and catch big males exclusively. The males are put in the traps in the spring-----