Figured I’d share a little information and photos of a little side hustle of mine. Gill netting bait for the local crabbers. Menhaden ( bunker ) is a common bait used for catching blue crabs in crab pots ( wire crab traps ). I geared up about ten years ago to catch and sell the commercial crabbers bait. This requires a commercial fishing license, a skiff , gill nets of all sizes, anchors , flags and poly balls to mark your nets. For the bait handling I bought freezers, a foot operated box stapler, and I get pallets of waxed boxes to freeze the fish in. The fish are frozen and sold in 40 lb boxes, known as “flats”. Normally I start fishing around mid February and fish through the end of April, sometimes into May ( or I get busy farming ). There’s always a market for this bait, crabbing is a Pretty big industry along Maryland’s coast.
I set the nets in the evening. Each net is anchored on each end with a danforth style anchor. Each end is marked with either a flag or poly ball, attached to the net. In the morning , I take my skiff to the nets to work them. I pull the nets in my boat, and shake the fish loose onto the deck. The fish are then shoveled into baskets, and put into the waxed boxes before freezing. The frozen fish are sold to different crabbers to be used as bait.

More

anyone ever try smoking those?

we used to get smoked chubs all the time and they are seldom available any more

I git a cousin smoking and filletting white fish that is some great stuff,
he was just sayin in Bayfield WI where the whitefish fishery is strong every local place has white fish fish fry

he fishes Green bay and has been doing well , has every pound he catches sold

Back when I had my offshore boat in the gulf, we bought at least one flat of pogeys - as we called them - every-time we left the dock. Could catch almost anything on them.

Once my freezers are cleared out, I’ll take a couple flats John.

I wonder if anyone has looked into usin

Nice!

People eat blue crab?!,,,,, …. I guessing you need old bay on that…..

Very interesting.

Hey John, what do you charge for a flat of bunker? Steamed blue crabs with old Bay seasoning are delicious.

The old bay or the crab?

Very interesting! Thanks for the pictures!

Hey! I have that same skiff!, use it for blue and green crabs and everything else. Used to enjoy gillnetting in the spring, sold lots of bunkers.
I buy all my bait now, a good friend of mine seines a couple hundred thousand pounds every year and used to get them at his price, cheap, lol
I no longer have a big freezer to work out of and now have to go to the bait dealer. Been paying through the nose for bait now....and too much of it is already sour....I get 10 flats at a time and put them in an outside chest freezer. You have a nice operation, would rater deal with you!, lol

Nice! Hard work and a good way to live. Priceless experience for your kids. My sons grew up fishing on the boat and it has carried them far in life

They were tough to come by this time last year over here on the DE coast... had to start the year out with a couple flats of freezer burnt last years bunker... haven't checked this year yet.

I've been approached by Oregon crabbers for band sawed chunks of beaver carcass for crab bait. The norm has always been mink carcasses for commercial crabbers.

I used to use anise oil,,, it worked good for catching,,,, not so good for eating…

Coop, I hear from guys trying to net perch in the Delaware Bay this year that they are getting filled up with bunker. Can’t hardly catch perch for bunker so we should have plenty of crab bait this year.

I have always said there are two ways. You can tell when somebody’s not from Delaware or Maryland. One is they do not eat blue crabs and two they don’t eat scrapple.

Steamed crabs Kool Ice, Cambridge Md. yesterday.

#!'s @ $150/bushel
#2's and sooks @ @100/bushel

Florida or Louisiana crabs this time of year.