Stone Crabbing Secrets: Our Top Tips for a Successful Season

Florida’s stone crab season is officially underway! These iconic crustaceans are a local favorite, prized for their sweet, succulent claws. What makes stone crabbing so unique is the sustainable nature of the fishery. Only keeper-sized claws are harvested, allowing the crab to survive and grow them back, ensuring healthy populations for years to come. If both claws are keeper size, you are legally allowed to harvest both, but we usually take just one claw to give the crab a stronger defense against predators. 

When it comes to bait, we’re big fans of pigs feet. They’re durable, stinky, and take a long time to decay, but chicken thighs, chicken necks, and fish carcasses work well too. Fish carcasses decay quickly, so traps should be checked every three to five days, whereas pigs feet allow for a longer soak of around ten days. For the best results, we like to combine fish carcasses and pigs feet to attract crabs quickly and keep them feeding for longer. 

So, where should you drop your traps? We like 5 to 15 feet of water over rocky or mixed bottoms and avoid sandy areas. Stone crabs thrive in spots with plenty of current and structure, so look for rocks, shells, or other debris that give crabs cover. Our top crabbing spots often change from season to season, so finding the right areas usually comes down to trial and error. At the start of the season, we put traps in several spots and narrow it down to one or two as production guides us. 

Once you’ve got your claws, cook them as soon as you get back to the dock. One of our best tips is to grab a bucket of clean seawater while out crabbing (please don’t grab water from the ramp!) and boil the claws in it on your stove. Depending on the size, boil for 8 to 10 minutes at a rapid boil, then let them cool. Serve on ice or enjoy warm with some drawn butter! 

For more details and a step-by-step How To video, click here. We share tons of stone crabbing tips, tricks, and advice to help make your season a success. Whether you’re a seasoned pro or trying it for the first time, there’s nothing quite like pulling up a trap full of claws on a sunny Florida morning.