By

 Live Rock Crab

You don’t need much experience to find a Red Rock hot spot when crab fishing. But…finding a Red Rock crab in a restaurant or a grocery store is a rarity, because it’s just a little too small and strong-shelled to be crabbing  for commercially.  Fortunately, they are just the right size for your dinner table and easy to catch once you do find the right spot.

 

Most people, myself included, fish for these crabs for two reasons:

  1. By fluke, when you pull up the trap that was set out for Dungeness crab and catch some Red Rock crabs or…
  2. When you’re not fishing in a Dungeness crab habitat and have to settle for the next best thing.

 

We, who live in the Pacific Northwest, are a spoiled bunch…

Did you know that Red Rock crabs tend to be larger than the Southern Blue Crabs?  

They are typically 5 inches to 7 inches making them a worthy meal for a single serving.

 

Red rock crab is tender with sweet meat–just as delicious as its relative, the Dungeness crab. The one downside to eating red rock crab, though,  is that their shells are extremely strong and can be harder to break through than other crab species. But if you’ve been crab fishing all day and you haven’t caught any Dungeness, then the extra work with red rock’s shell is worth it for your yummy meal.

 

These crustaceans don’t have the same gill filter that other sandy/muddy bottom dwellers have. Because of this they prefer to be shielded by the sand and mud in rocks. Named after their natural habitat, Red rock crabs prefer to  hang out in rocky areas, such as outcrops or rocky headlands. They also like to live in places that have rocky bottoms anywhere that prevents them from being suffocated by the sand. So it makes sense that you will find these guys in the rocky areas of the sea.

 

You will find them in waters  10 ft. deep to waters 79 meters deep.

 

If you are in area of the Pacific Northwest where there is a rocky ocean floor, there’s a great chance you will find yourself a crab feast.

Crab Fishing for Red Rock Crabs
 
 
A tough crab to crack.
:
: Main
: 1
Ingredients
  • Rock Crab

 

 

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