Check out the latest installment in our monthly crabbing series from George Turner, the self-proclaimed Crab King of Annapolis.

Photo courtesy The Crab King/instagram
Photo courtesy The Crab King/instagram

Well May 2017 is in the record book as the best May I have had crabbing the Severn River in 60 years. My written records go back to 1991, and they show that you start getting crabs mid-May and by June you are getting enough to have friends and neighbors over for a feast. This year we had four feasts in the month of May (benefits of global warming). Now in the beginning of June with water temperatures in the low 70s, the great crab season of 2017 continues.

The male crab shed came in mid-May (two weeks early) with a lot of small five-inch males becoming large six and half-inch keepers. They are a little light (normal after they shed) but as of the first week in June they are starting to fatten up. They are very hungry and biting on anything you put out to catch them. Right now I am averaging 20 crabs a day in four pots (two piers). The only down side is the percentage of #1 Jimmy’s which is only running around 25 percent. That will change as the light crabs put on weight as we move through June.

I have always found Father’s Day to be a real turning point in getting those #1s that are so full of meat you can only eat four before you are full. I have not seen many doublers (male and female together) which is normal this time of the year. It is hard to mate when the male crabs are shedding and are soft (if you know what I mean). The ones I have gotten in my pots have had the biggest male crabs on top which again is normal. On the bottom of the river the bigger crabs get the ladies similar to the pick-up seen at Ladies Night at your local bar. As the Summer heats up, I think we will see more and more good crabs coming into the rivers from the Bay.

The only negative thing I have seen this spring is the water quality. The past two years the water has been very clear; you could see down four to five feet. This year it has been much murkier. I know it was a problem at the beginning of our Trophy Rockfish season due to the opening of the Conowingo Dam on the Susquehanna River but it has stayed cloudy. Also with the warmer water we are going to see more and larger algae blooms as the water heats up. This will not be good for crabbing if the oxygen in the rivers is low due to the algae blooms. We will have to wait and see. As of now it looks like full steam ahead for The Great Blue Crab Season of 2017.

Crab Tip of the Month: Crab Cooking 101

You’ve gone out and collected a fine bunch of our Maryland blue crabs  and if you have the ability to hold them and fatten them up you have something to be proud of. So call your friends and neighbors to come over and eat the best crabs they will ever have. One thing left to do, cook them up and don't mess up. It is like football. You caught the pass and have run 90 yards and are on the five yard line. Do not fumble!

I like cooking my crabs outside. Everyone likes the smell of cooking crabs but I do not want my house to smell like crabs for the next two days. It is usually a hot summer day so outside is the best. Invest in one of those outdoor burners that you hook your propane tank to and a stainless tub that can hold about a bushel of crabs. This is not cheap but my set up has lasted 20 years and still going strong. Those burners on the side of your outdoor grill do not put out enough BTUs for a good crab steam.

The first thing I do is get the crabs I am going to cook in the basket and cool them down. I put them in the garage refrigerator or you could put them in a cool spot with a bag of ice on them. This makes them lethargic so when you go to cook they are not biting each other; they just lay down in the pot. This way they will not lose their claws while cooking. Nothing worse than that eight inch show crab you have losing both claws in the cooking process. I put a raised grill in the bottom so I can put in enough water to steam them but they are not down in the water. Once the pot comes to a boil I put them in, layering on the Old Bay till I have the pot full. Then I take one beer (vinegar is also okay) to wash down the Old Bay into the steam below. One more sprinkle of Old Bay on the top and you are ready to go.

Now the hard part: how long do you steam them? If you under cook them they come out watery and if you over cook them they will be mushy and if you burn them they are ruined (and so is your pot). Burning is when you boil all the water away in the bottom of the pot and it keeps cooking. This is not good! It is different for each cooker and you will have to see how much steam your burner produces. Each burner puts out a different amount of heat. I have found my sweet spot at 22 minutes where the meat pops out of the shell without sticking. Try different times until you find your sweet spot. Then enjoy! If you want daily reports, follow me on Instagram at crabking72.

by George Turner (who has been crabbing on the Severn River for 60 years)