We are going to the coast this weekend to do some fishing and beach bumming....haha...the main thing the kids want to do is catch Crabs.
In the past we have caught a few little ones here and there but never enought legal ones to eat...so if any of you "salty ones" have a special technique for catching them please share....
....I have also read that steaming crabs is better than boiling them, and it sounds much easier....so if you have some thoughts or recipes that you dont mind sharing id appreciate it as well.... Thanks.

Chicken part (neck, etc.) tied on a length of cheap string. Long handled net for catching. Recipe: salt the water, add a bag or two of Zatarains crab boil and a good dose of the liquid boil, garlic, lemons, onions and boil together for five minutes. If it takes your breath away trying to smell the pot, its good. Add crabs, bring back to an easy boil, cook three to five minutes, turn off burner and soak for twenty or thirty minutes, then remove. Dont waste your money on the powdered crab boil in a bag, the first ingredient is salt. Buy the bags of spices and the liquid concentrate.

Clean the crab -- pop the top shell off, break the lower part of body in two, remove inards and lungs, wash -- brush with a mixture of melted butter old bay and garlic then grill for a few minutes on each side until done much better than boiled or steamed.

I grew up catching blue crabs in MD, and worked at a seafood place cooking them through HS. To catch them it depends where you are and how deep you are. The easiest thing to do is get some string and some chicken necks or thighs. Tie string to chicken and toss it off dock/pier. You'll see the line get tight, then slowly pull the string back tand have a long net handy. Do not lift the crab out of the water, use the net and come in well beneath the crab.

Yes, steaming is the only way to cook blue crabs. IMHO adding seasoning before hand doesn't do much. At the market we would always add more after just for the appearance. Usually steamed them about 18 min but we would just check by looking at the shell.

EDIT: Use Old Bay or JO #3 (which you probably won't find). The crabs in my sig pic came from the Severn river in MD. Also, cold beer is a must from start to finish in the entire process.

This guy from MD knows what he is talking about. I was stationed in the Army at Ft. Meade, MD for three years and prowled around Glen Burnie, Jessup, and Laurel a lot. Steamed crabs were sold at every corner market/gas station and were unbelievable to eat. They know how to fix them there like no one else. Putting Old Bay on them and steaming is the key.

^ word. We lived in Arlington, va. One year. Dad rode the metro to work and most Friday's, he took the train north, bought steamed crabs in a paper bag, and we could not wait til he got home.

I grew up in Louisiana and have had many a blue crab, but after living in Maryland close to the Chesapeake Bay, steamed is the only way ta go. Ruined a lot of blue crab boiling em like crawfish. Their meat is delicate and sweet, and way too easy to over season.

Thanks for the replies....we brought home about 25 nice sized Crabs...one thing i figured out down there is that crabs will hold onto a fish head much longer than a turky neck....cant wait to cook them.