Crabbing is a simple, inexpensive and rewarding hobby, requiring only a trap, some rope, bait and a good recipe. The pastime is relaxing and the prize delectable.

Crabbing
To try catching crabs firsthand, we borrowed two traps and arrived at the desolate Pacifica Pier at 7:15 a.m. on Oct. 28. All the crabbers faced their traps south, near the middle of the pier in moderately deep water, so we followed suit, baiting the traps with some leftover chicken and flinging them out Frisbee style. When the traps sank to the bottom, we fastened them to the pier’s ledge and waited.

Twenty minutes later, we pulled up our first crab, a five-inch female Cancer productus (red rock crab) we called “Little Buddy.” Our second trap had a crab clinging to the outside that fell off as we pulled it up. Slightly despondent, we dropped the traps back in the water and spoke with the veteran crabbers, who advised us to use more putrid-smelling bait. After finding two medium-sized female red rock crabs in one trap and none in the one closer to shore, we tried some sardine heads the crabbers had given us. They didn’t attract a plethora of crabs, but they did lure our largest one, another red female. Our neighboring crabbers, having had much more success with their large bait cages packed with sardines, gave us a crab missing its pincers. We left grateful and satisfied.

Rock crabs such as the ones we caught can be just as sweet as market crabs. Some even prefer them over the Bay Area’s prized Dungeness crabs. Though crabs can be quite delicious, don’t get too greedy. The California Department of Fish and Game limits each person to 35 per session, at least four inches wide across the shell’s widest part. Rock crab season is all year round, no license needed. Catching Dungeness, on the other hand, is only legal with a license during its season, starting around Nov. 15. The limit is six crabs per person, six inches minimum. Dungeness females are always off-limits, with a $5,000 fine for violations.

The claws and tail flap reveal species and gender. Only Dungeness crabs have white-tipped pincers and a rounded tip on the tail flap. Rock crabs have colored pincers and pointy tail flaps. Females have broad tail flaps, while males have small ones.

Location, location, location
The Bay Area offers several spots for crabbing. Aquatic Park, Crissy Field and the Pacifica Pier are among the most popular.

But crabbers, beware. The San Francisco Bay has a long history of pollution. Fish and crabs caught in the Bay contain harmful levels of mercury, polychlorinated biphenyls (a chemical used in electrical transformers until it was banned in the 1970s) and pesticides. Children and mothers should consume such seafood no more than once a month and adults no more than twice a month, according to the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment’s sport fish consumption advisory. Crabs caught outside the Bay, however, are safe to eat. Crabs are the fourth cleanest seafood, in terms of PCB and mercury levels, according to the American Medical Association.

Once you find a safe location, equipping yourself is simple: Buy a ring net trap and a large bait cage -- available for a cheap $19 at the Liberal Fishing Tackle store on 6th Street -- a generous amount of rope and some bait.

Strategy
You may not catch the legal limit the first time, but several tips can prevent utter failure. A rotten stench is a crab magnet. “The stinkier the bait, the more crabs it will attract,” crabber Ron Yee of Fremont said. “I use squid, chicken liver and sardines.”

To ensure safety, crabber Mike Wong of San Jose advises against crabbing during stormy conditions. “Don’t crab if it is too windy or if the waves are too high,” he said.

Lastly, beware of the crabs’ pincers, and keep an eye on the traps. Tie down traps before throwing and throw them as far out as possible, to avoid having them drifting under the pier. Make sure the traps touch the sea floor, and when reeling in crabs, be careful not to drop them, like we did.

Consumption
The best part of crabbing is, of course, eating the crabs. And crabbing may be a great way to save money. Last year’s Dungeness cost on average $6 per pound, according to a November 2005 San Francisco Chronicle article. With this year’s El Nino, prices may be even higher. “El Nino brings warmer water,” science teacher Katherine Melvin said. “Dungeness prefer to live in colder water. As temperature changes, nutrients in the water will also change and will cause the crabs to move elsewhere.”

Crabs can be prepared in a variety of ways — some complicated, some simple.

“Most people don’t have steamers, so you want to just boil the crab,” said chef Todd Hansen of the A. Sabella seafood restaurant on Taylor Street. “Start with a live crab. Season a pot of water with lemon, salt and pickling spice, and cook the crab for 20 minutes.”

Michael prepares the crabs

Hansen, however, prefers roasting his crabs. “I like the flavor of roasted crab with lemon and garlic, because it’s better than the flavor of the steamed crabs,” he said.

To extract the meat, pick through the insides of the crab’s body, carefully separating the meat from the shell pieces. Crack the legs with a nutcracker and pull the flesh out with your fingers or some sort of small pointy tool.

We tried three different recipes with our crabs — Hansen’s roast garlic crab, chef Anthony Paone’s green dipping sauce, which he serves at the Sea Salt restaurant in Berkeley, and the Weir family’s favorite soy lime dipping sauce.

The chefs’ recipes were somewhat complicated, but we, two other staff members and several Weir family members agreed that they were worth the trouble. The soy lime sauce was also popular for its simplicity and tangy lime flavor.

The green dipping sauce had a “freshness and liveliness” from the cilantro and spices that paired well with crab and was “so good I can drink it!” one taste-tester said. The original recipe called for three jalapeños and red chili flakes, which was too hot for us, so we omitted the chili flakes and used only two jalapeños. Though the sauce was mildly spicy, the olive oil and butter base helped tone it down.

The sauce took an hour to prepare, mostly because the recipe called for crab boiling liquid, which meant waiting for the crabs to finish cooking.

Although all the recipes were excellent, everyone in the kitchen just couldn’t wait to try Hansen’s roast garlic crab, after enjoying the aroma of garlic and fennel that filled the kitchen while the crabs were roasting in the oven. The taste was as good as the smell. Taste-testers appreciated the intense garlic flavor, which perfectly complemented the crab. The fennel had a mild sweetness, and its texture “balanced the crab’s stringy texture,” a taste-tester said. The potatoes were flavorful, having absorbed the olive oil, garlic butter and crab juices.

Cracking the crabs and extracting the meat was the most difficult part of the recipes. But with everyone picking the crabs on a sunny porch, talking and laughing, the task wasn’t so tedious.

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