Itchy Kayak Family Fun (Video)

Last Sunday, I took the kids and cousin Michael to my local spot for some kayak crabbing. We rented one tandem and one regular sit-on-top kayaks from Paddle or Pedal in Chesapeake Beach. The kids and Michael explored Fishing Creek while I dropped the traps and set everything up. Everyone was enjoying themselves. The water temperature was about 67-70 degrees depending on the depth. Tide was rolling in hard and fast. I thought it may be good conditions for catching some Jimmies, but crabbing was slow. We were barely catching any small ones. It was a bit disappointing. We did catch two monster keepers after 6-7 runs. Halfway, through the trip things turn for the worst. Watch the video to see what happened.

 *Please click on the gear icon in the video's tool bar and select to watch it in 1080p HD.

So, I did ended up in the ER. The doctors gave me two shots of antihistamines and one shot of steroids. I called my wife to pick me up from the hospital. My cousin and the kids picked up my kayak from where I left it and brought it with the rest of the gear home for me. He then took the kids to the beach to keep them from worrying about me. He stayed with them until my wife an I got home from the hospital. They even brought home the two Jimmies that we caught earlier. I steamed them up in my kitchen and had them for dinner. All in all, it turned out to be a decent day. The kids and my cousin got to go out and learn some kayak crabbing, got to play in the beach, and I got to have two jumbos for dinner.

The kids playing at the beach
Photo by: Michael Odulio

A Beautiful Day for the Worst Day of Crabbing

Loaded up the Jetta to start the day

I have been waiting for this day for weeks now. The weather forecast called for 77 degrees and sunny. And I planned on taking on the open waters of the Chesapeake Bay. The kayak was loaded up by 8 o'clock with the rest of the gear. It was so nice today even the dog wanted to join me for the trip.

I was on the water by 8:30 am and started my crabbing trip. I turned on the fish finder and it was working as it should. Awesome. Having a fish finder is definitely a game changer. It is really nice to know water depth and temperature. But as I came close to passing the jetties, the fish finder stopped working. So, I turned around and planned to dry dock for a quick trouble shoot. Before I could reach the boat ramp, it started to work again. OK? Maybe it is not a fan of salt water. I don't know. I gave up my attempt to crab the Bay and decided to just stay on the creek where I have had caught some crabs before.

Crab Traps Came In Today

But I have to mail it back...

After waiting for a couple weeks, my crab traps finally arrived via UPS. These are the ones that I ordered from Captain Bruce. Wow, they do look good. Captain Bruce's traps are way better than Foxymate or any other brand traps I have seen around. These babies are handmade and built tough. The rigging he uses are thick and easy on the hands. I am very happy with them.

Caveat: He sent me the wrong size traps. I ordered the 10.5"x10.5" which fits perfect inside a milk crate. He actually sent me the Bigfoot 12x12 model. Arrgghh!!! I called him immediately after realizing the issue and Captain Bruce told me that he will mail me the correct size traps with postage for the wrong ones. Hey, I don't mind it when companies make mistakes (**it happens), it's how they fix it which matters.

OK, I am still waiting on Captain Moose's crab traps. As soon as I get both, I will do a side by side comparison/ review. So, stay tuned.

Update: The correct 10.5"x10.5" traps came in the next day. They fit perfectly in an old milk crate.