I'll be going to Port A begining of July and would like to take my kids crab fishing. I have no knowledge of crab fishing and any pointers wouuld be great. Also locations of good crab fishing spots would be appreciated.

If you like fishing for crab, give the CrabHawk a try. It's a castable crab catcher.

CrabHawk gets you out where the BIG ONES lay....and where dinner is just a cast away!

www.crabhawk.com

I once watched a lady that had string tied around a beer can and a piece of chicken tied on. She would swing that chicken around and toss it and point the can and the string would come of the end like a spinning reel. Then she'd hold the string and could feel the crabs pulling on the bait. She pulled it in and had a dip net held under the water to catch the crabs when they let go. Also, me and my kids like to go out on the beach at night and shine a flashlight low and paralel to the sand and the crabs will be running every where.

That sounds like a great time. I grew up walking the tidepools and chasing the crab around till I caught 'em. That is truely the best way to go crabbing. That is, until we came up with the CrabHawk.

What time of year is best to catch eatable crab in Texas? I know in other states there are times when the crab are meater. Is this true in Texas as well? Can you only keep males in Texas? TPW is not clear on this.

Crabbing is done usually from mid-March through October...then it gets a little cool for them. Crabs are fuller when the moon is increasing and the best during the full moon phase. You can keep both males and females, but they both have to be 5 inches from point to point on the carapace (top of the shell) and the females may not have sponge(eggs) at any time. They are just as good as the males, but claws are smaller.

Good luck!

I'm going to galveston for vacation in exactly 2 weeks from now. so can i catch some crabs on the bay side. Instead of the ocean side. I was planning on just tying some chicken on the end of my fishing pole and pull them in. does that sound about right?

Crabs are pretty much everywhere around there. Surf, canals, bays, bar ditches, tide pools...most everywhere. Chances are you'll catch some while you are bait fishing or at least get your bait stolen a few times by the little critters.

PiePuncher - those aren't the "eating" kind I believe, but you're probably right!

It just depends on what you like eating.