My Saffron Bun

Fisherman and boys crabbing off quay, Falmouth

 Wondering what to do with the children this weekend and lucky enough to live on the coast? Why not take the children crabbing? All you will need is a bucket (to put the crabs in), a crabbing line – generally bought from a local seaside shop (or if you are in Falmouth, get yourself down to Trago Mills – on Customs house Quay!), a net and some bait from a local fishmongers or supermarket (Fish heads /tails generally work well and will be free from a fish monger or bacon is also very good – unfortunately not free from a butcher). Becky tells me that her Grandad used to use steak to catch crabs – probably some of the luckiest crabs in the sea.

So armed with your essentials you should wait for high tide and head to the quayside, hook the bait onto the line and lower the line slowly into the water directly beneath you over the edge of the quay. Wait for a few minutes before raising the line, if you are lucky you will have one or more crabs on your line holding on to their ‘catch’. Collect the crabs in your bucket (make sure its has some sea water in there for the little nippers) and the continue lowering and raising your line periodically. When you have finished crabbing carefully tip the crabs back into the water where they belong ready for someone else to catch them another day! Remember if you are going to handle the crabs hold onto their shells from above with you fingers either side away from their pincers. Happy Crabbing!

High and Low Tide Times can be found here