How to go crabbing

We always have a laugh when we hit the seaside for a spot of crabbing and John is particularly good at it. Want to give it a go? Look no further for a few helpful tips!

This little crab was feeling quite defensive, but if you hold it by it’s sides or behind, it can’t get you.

Where can you do it?

Wells-next-the-sea in Norfolk is our favourite spot, but nearby Blakeney and the famous Cromer are also good options. There’s also Walberswick in Suffolk and spots in Devon and Cornwall too. A quick google should point you in the right direction.

What do you need?

Most places you can go crabbing will cheaply sell you the stuff you need to go crabbing, but a little bit of preparation can make it even better.

You will need: A bucket, a line and some bait.

The stuff for sale near the coast is usually cheap, but it’s also quite poorly made. We’re really keen to keep plastic out of the sea so we opt to bring our own metal bucket (cost £7.50 and should last a lifetime) but any strong bucket should do. We also make our own lines out of cheap paracord. 8m should be more than enough for most places except perhaps piers. Tie a weight on the end or maybe a collection of large washers and a loop to fix your bait and jobs a goodun’. It’s also a lot nicer on the hands than the usual line.

Wells Harbour also hire similar kit for a couple of quid during the summer, and if you have bought kit you no longer want, they’ll make sure it’s used again.

Bait is easy to aquire at the coast, bacon and bits of fish are all easy to aquire locally and is usually sold as crab bait.

John dangling a crab attached to his bacon over the metal bucket. Daisy, his guide dog, is sunbathing in the background.
He got one! Here you can see our paracord line with a weight. We just hook the bacon through a knot in the line.

How do you do it?

It’s easy. Attach some bait, drop your line in and wait. The challenge is bringing the crabs up to the top without them dropping back into the sea and is all part of the fun.

Crabs need some seawater to hang out in and don’t like to be overcrowded too much. Better to put them back in and start over more regularly keep the crabs happy. You might find you catch the same ones again if they were happy customers. We usually do.

Being awesome at crabbing is easy. Keep plastic out of the sea and keep the crabs happy and healthy. If you were looking for tips on catching lots of crabs, you’ll have to hunt down John and ask him!

John looking into a bucket
John is very happy with his catch!

Take a look at the video from our recent crabbing trip in Wells.

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