Crabbing in the UK

[lordy]

Hi all
First post here so hope I'm in the right place.

I am entertaining a couple of younger relatives for a few days this summer and they want to go crabbing. Quite partial to eating crabs myself so am wondering if anyone could tell me of some suitable UK venues where we could catch edible crabs, cook them and eat them?

Any other tips would be good too.

I am based in London, a day trip is preferred but an overnight stay is also possible.

TIA

G

 

[BorderReiver]

Evening Lordy.

The North Norfolk coast is a good place for crabs and not too far from London.

 

[jimford]

Your backyard - the Thames, for Chinese Mitten Crabs!

Apparently they're O.K..

Jim

 

[lordy]

Thanks for the replies.

The Thames is a long river and I know nothing about fishing or crabbing, so if anyone can actually tell me a location, that would be good.
Doubt their Mum (my sister) would be too pleased, but I'm up for having a go.

Norfolk, home to Cromer crabs, as I understand, sounds like a plan.

Is there a minimum size that can be taken and eaten?

Thanks again.

Lordy

 

[philaw]

On a family holiday in Devon when we were catching crabs for sport with the youngsters, my wife decided to cook and eat them. Some were only three inches across. I didn't like the idea of not identifying them first, but it did no one any harm.

 

[John Fenna]

Hi Lordy - welcome!
I cannot help you with the crab thing but I am sure someone will!

 

[Wallenstein]

I caught crabs on Cromer pier on my stag weekend.

But enough about my love life (arf!).

North Norfolk (Blakeney, Cromer, Sheringham etc) is fantastic for crabs, best in the UK And it's less than 2hrs from London, so makes a great day trip.

May is the peak of the crab season, but you're unlikely to catch any large crabs on the shore (this is true for most of the UK, I fear). Most of the biggies are taken from crab pots further out in the sea.

Best way to catch 'em is some smelly bacon (let it "go off" for a few days!) and one of those net bags you get with washing tablets. The crabs get caught up in the net trying to get the bacon and you can lift them out. Check the tide times - an incoming tide tends to be more successful.

But you're likely to get tiddlers - better to buy a couple of biggies from a local fisherman and eat them at your leisure!

There are limits on commercial catches - Crabs with a shell width of less than 115mm are to be thrown back in North Norfolk (it varies around the North Sea) - that won't stop you catching little 'uns with your youngsters though, but doubt you'll be able to eat them.

 

[sam_acw]

My grandparents live in Wells-next-the-sea in North Norfolk and there are always people catching crabs off of the harbour wall. You can buy bait and fishing kit cheaply in all the tourist tat shops.
You do need to pick a day when the tide is in at a sensible time though!
If you don't have a lot of luck, though you should, you can sometimes buy crabs straight off the boats at a good price.

 

[Hunter_zero]

Best place to get crabs..... okay the best place to get edible craps is your local Quayside! (lots of food waste in the water) When I was but a nipper, my mother and farther used to go to Milford haven quay, where we used to buy crabs the size of dinner plates for very little money at all and very nice they were too!
I have often set crab lines only to catch nothing at all and a few years back was told why by a Seaman (I was killing cockroaches on their ship at the time), He said that the coast line is just too clean these days to catch good crabs, it was as simple as that. Yes you might find smaller crabs in the rock pools but nothing worth eating. In fact he went on to say, you have more chance of catching a lobster than a good crab (?). The best way I have seen was shown to me by an old chap who lived on a caravan site just outside of St Davids where I spend most of my summer holidays as a kid. He used to take a lobster pot and climb down a rocky path to some deep water (very dangerous) and throw his pot right off the edge of the cliff at the bottom. Now and then he would drop a fresh crustacean in to our caravan which was quickly boiled and consumed. Some of the finest meals I have ever eaten. I would hazard a guess you would be better off trying to catch some crayfish than crabs! Crayfish traps can be got for as little as a fiver and so I am told are very easy to catch in numbers. I am not sure about the legalities of catching crayfish but a family member is going to take me cray fishing very soon. He often drops in a dozen or so for us and so he tells me is having big trouble getting rid of the amounts he is catching.


John

 

[Kerne]

When I was a kid we would walk out after a low spring tide at Oxwich Bay on the Gower and catch crabs by listening for their scurryings in the rock crannies then sticking in a metal hook about 18 inches long. The daft b****ers would cling on for dear life and we would pull them out and pop them into a carrier bag. We always let the green ones go and only eat the red ones -I don't know if this was the right thing to do as their shells turn reddish when cooked anyway. We also only ate those more than 3 - 4 inches across.

 

[Bushwhacker]

Chesil beach Dorset from May and into summer is the annual Spider Crab invasion.
They are bloody everywhere!

 

[BorderReiver]

Thanks for the replies.

The Thames is a long river and I know nothing about fishing or crabbing, so if anyone can actually tell me a location, that would be good.
Doubt their Mum (my sister) would be too pleased, but I'm up for having a go.

Norfolk, home to Cromer crabs, as I understand, sounds like a plan.

Is there a minimum size that can be taken and eaten?Thanks again.

Lordy

I think it is 115 mm across the back in North Norfolk but it's always best to check locally.

 

[andybysea]

Bit of a trek from London to here(South east Scotland) and wrong time of year(late August) we went snorkeling just about 50yrds from shore and the rocks and cliff walls where full of edible crab from very small to very large.

 

[Slaine]

Toddle along to the nearest bait shop and get yerself some frozen squid. I go crab fishing on the North Kent Coast (Whitstable, Herne Bay, etc) and the little devils go crazy for it. The record, in my family, so far is 13 on the line at the same time held by my youngest of six although we had to modify his score after he lifted it out of the sea as they all fell off just as he landed them. Well, we can't have the kids beating the Dad's now can we ? They are only tiddlers but we have landed a few red ones around 10 cm across. Not sure on their species as we only go to amuse the kids, nothing serious.

 

[sxmolloy]

Poole Quay, Dorset (not sure how far it is from your location) brings back fond childhood memories of crabbing, caught hundreds (put them back though) too. I think we used to go early evening IIRC. Frozen squid, as previously mentioned is a good bait, its tough meat too so the crabs rarely manage to nick it before you land them.

 

[EdS]

I

Best way to catch 'em is some smelly bacon (let it "go off" for a few days!) and one of those net bags you get with washing tablets. The crabs get caught up in the net trying to get the bacon and you can lift them out. Check the tide times - an incoming tide tends to be more successful.

.

greeat idea - bet it will work of American Crayfish. Tie the bag to the end of fishing rod and off you go (with valid rod license and permit) - I figure no need for trapping documents as you are rod fishing

 

[Sisyphus]

A lot of the time the crabs will drop off when they reach the surface.

I have an ingenious crab net which I bought in Australia that solves that problem - it's perfect for using on piers and breakwaters where there is a sheer vertical drop to the sea bed, and great fun if you can just make out the bottom aswell. I'm sure you can buy something like them here. It's more interactive for the kids aswell rather than just lobbing over a pot.

Basically 2 concentric metal wire hoops, both about 2feet in diameter, the outer a tiny bit bigger than the inner, net lines the base and forms a wall up to the second outer ring. A small wire mesh bait pouch and a bit of ballast is attached to the base. A rope is attached to three points on the outer/upper hoop, with a small float/bouyant object to hold the ropes above the trap when underwater.

When you drop it down, the whole thing lies flat, you watch the crabs crawl in (or wait a while if you cant see the bottom) and then when you haul it up the sides come back into shape to stop them escaping.

 

[Labrador]

Try Walberswick in Suffolk (t'other side of the river Blyth from Southwold).
They hold the British Crabbing Championships there evey year so shoud be good & only a couple of hours up the A12 from London!

 

[jimford]

My grandparents live in Wells-next-the-sea in North Norfolk and there are always people catching crabs off of the harbour wall. You can buy bait and fishing kit cheaply in all the tourist tat shops.

Very popular with kids - mine did it! The only crabs I've seen caught there are the green shore crabs and velvet swimming crabs (very aggressive). Neither are suitable for eating. The crabs are very obliging and as they get put back, I guess get caught over and over again!

Jim

 

[jimford]

When I was a kid we would walk out after a low spring tide at Oxwich Bay on the Gower and catch crabs by listening for their scurryings in the rock crannies then sticking in a metal hook about 18 inches long. The daft b****ers would cling on for dear life and we would pull them out and pop them into a carrier bag.

A variation on the above, which my relatives in Carnoustie used, was to feel for the crabs with the hook (locally called a 'cleek'). You could tell the difference between a stone and crab by the hollow sound of a crab when tapped. You then pulled the crab out with the hook.

Jim