THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, August 4, 1996 TAG: 9608010274
SECTION: CAROLINA COAST PAGE: 8 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MILES DANIELS AND JENNIFER MCMENAMIN, STAFF WRITERS
DATELINE: COLINGTON LENGTH: 97 lines
Dave Dawley was standing on a bulkhead along Colington Creek when he spotted a bug-eyed, greenish-blue creature swimming toward him.
Hoping to snag one more before he called it a day, the New York vacationer reached for his green dip net.
``Stay back. Don't let him see your shadow,'' he warned his children, who were peering anxiously into the water. ``Here he comes.''
The big blue crab drew closer to the bulkhead as Dawley slid the net into the murky waters of what is fondly known as ``Chicken Neck Creek.'' With one swipe, the 40-year-old proudly raised the net to display his catch: a sodden, fleshy chicken neck the crab had been dragging.
``Oh man, I thought I had him,'' he said, removing the discarded bait from his net. ``Son of a gun! Boy, when they see you they just take off.''
This well-practiced escape frustrated and amused first-time crabbers who used everything from inexpensive fish scraps and chicken parts to more costly cages and contraptions in their attempts to lure the crustaceans from the creek.
With supplies in tow - a long-handled net, a bucket or cooler, string and some form of bait - amateur crabbers frequently line Outer Banks' bulkheads, bridges and piers, seducing crabs with the strong scent of fish carcass and poultry pieces.
``It's pretty much the same as fishing, except you're catching a different species,'' explained Dawley's 12-year-old son, Kyle. ``Crabbing is a little bit harder because when they grip it, sometimes they let go.''
In addition to tangible tools, veteran crabbers suggested a healthy dose of patience.
``There isn't a lot to it other than just going out,'' said Dan Scott, a vacationing crabber from Washington, D.C. ``A lot of it is just luck.
``And a lot of patience,'' added Scott, who has been crabbing regularly for the last decade across the Outer Banks, Maryland, Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana and the Gulf Coast area.
Scott learned his tricks of the trade from two old fishermen and crabbers in Biloxi, Miss. He continued that tradition of sharing tips last week as first-timers along Colington Creek struggled with baiting the line, steadily towing the line and netting crabs without spooking them.
``With a hand line, you have to keep a little tension on the line,'' Scott explained. ``When the line moves the way it shouldn't - sideways, up and down - you know for sure you have a crab. He's trying to swim with the bait.
``Slowly bring him in until you see him just under the surface. Then come in from the side and scoop under him. Bring the last foot to foot-and-a-half up real fast because as soon as they see you, they'll drop off.''
Some of the younger anglers became crabby as the cool breeze died down, leaving them to sit in the hot sun waiting for their lines to stir. One youngster amused herself - but not her family - with the repetitive song, ``I know a song that gets on everybody's nerves.''
Even the less-experienced crabbers were teeming with tips.
``Green nets work better than the white ones because they can't see it coming as well,'' volunteered 12-year-old Jeff Strauch, a first-time crabber from Pennsylvania. ``It doesn't scare them off.''
``When you throw it out far, you have farther to come in,'' said 16-year-old Greg Munz from Pennsylvania. ``So they tend to drop off quicker.''
Munz had caught most of his six crabs with chicken drumsticks bait after abandoning the less-successful chicken necks.
Others relinquished their lines altogether.
``We lost a few big ones this morning because of our net,'' said Frank Strauch, 44, returning with two cages. ``That's the way I used to do it when I was a kid on the New Jersey shore.
``They're not dumb. They don't want to get cooked.''
Frank Strauch and his clan of crabbers spent more than two hours trying to catch enough critters for a dinner of eight. But they had to throw 10 crabs back since they did not meet the 5-inch minimum length from point to point.
But that did not deter the vacationer.
``It's like eating potato chips,'' Strauch said. ``You get one and then you want another one.'' MEMO: GOING CRABBIN
What you need: A long-handled net, a weighted line or string, chicken
or fish pieces for bait and a storage bucket or cooler. Seafood and
tackle shops usually carry all these items. Licenses are not required
for recreational crabbing.
Storage theories range from coolers of ice to buckets of the water
from which you catch the crabs. Some crabbers even let their catch crawl
around in an empty bucket.
We also recommend bug spray, sunglasses, cold drinks and a partner.
Crabbing in pairs allows one person to ease in the line while the other
waits, poised to scoop the catch with the net.
Cost: Usually under $10 for all of the supplies.
Where to go: Fertile crabbing grounds, veteran crabber Dan Scott
said, include older piers and bulkheads with accumulated growth and
less-visited areas, such as privately owned piers.
``Many private property owners will let you go out on their dock if
you ask,'' he said.
When to go: Very little, aside from turbulent storms, affects crab
populations for the recreational crabber.
``They're there all the time,'' Scott said. ``Before a rain, after a
rain, morning, afternoon - the crabs are always feeding.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by DREW C. WILSON
Danielle Norcini, 6, of devon, Pa., untangles her line before
dropping the crab bait into the water at Colington by CNB