Plan your crabbing trip for months containing the letter R. Those are the months that the blue claws, also referred to by Aussies as "blue swimmers," burrow from their sandy-bottom haunts and migrate inland to breed. February is reportedly the height of crab season, though March and April are productive as well.
Purchase crab traps and either charter a ride with "Catch a Crab" or set out on your own. There are three basic kinds of traps used by recreational crabbers: hoops, star or pyramid traps and box traps. All are easy to use, but the hoop traps are the least expensive. They consist of a large metal hoop (about 3 feet across) and a smaller ring (usually about a foot) that are attached by netting all the way around. A rope is run through a ring above the larger (top) hoop and tied in three spots. Tie smelly bait to the mesh on the bottom hoop and drop it into the water. Give it about 10 minutes and pull it up smoothly, hopefully with a crab or two nibbling away at the bait. The star or pyramid and box traps work like one another --- they're just shaped differently. Both are metal with sides that swing open so they lie flat on the bottom of the seabed.
Crab at low and high tides, usually early morning and evening hours, for the best results. That's when the crabs will un-burrow themselves in search for food and/or a mate. The best spots to lower your nets or traps are sandy patches surrounded by weed or around piers, docks, jetties or rocky ground. Check your nets every 5 to 10 minutes, or the crabs will eat the bait and head off in search of more food. Squid is one of the preferred baits because it takes time for the crab to devour the muscled armatures. Day-or-two-old kangaroo meat will draw crabs because of the pungent aroma; cuttlefish, octopus, lamb bones are also commonly used. The smellier the bait, the better.
Pull up on the rope gently, starting as close as possible to the exposed rope at the top of the water, hand over hand, creating as little disturbance to the trap as possible. The pressure from the water will help keep the crab or crabs in place inside the trap, but a jerking motion will likely startle the crabs and give them time to escape. In shallow, clear water with little wind, you may see the crab crawl into the net. Let it start feeding before pulling up the trap.
Enjoy! Blue crabs are a delicacy no matter how they are prepared.
