TILGHMAN ISLAND, Md. - They look nasty, but no delicacy from the waters of the Chesapeake Bay is more sought after than the iconic blue crab.
As much as rockfish have become the attraction for both resident and non-resident anglers of Maryland, nothing is more popular when browsing a menu than the famous symbol of the Chesapeake. Either ordered as crab cakes, as a stuffing or - best of all - steamed and seasoned with Old Bay, blue crabs have filled the stomachs of hungry diners and the bank accounts of commercial crabbers for generations.
At the Harrison House on Maryland's Eastern Shore, a variety of dishes using blue crab as the main ingredient are served in the dining room. Nothing, however, can surpass the experience of eating over the water on the outside dining deck during the warm-weather months with a group of friends enjoying an all-you-can-eat crab feast.
What adds to the experience is supplying some of those crabs by participating in a crabbing trip from the docks of the Harrison House. Recently, a group of 10 anglers who reached their limit of 20 rockfish in less than an hour on a morning charter added to their outing with an afternoon crabbing trip on the Choptank River with Capt. Wade Murphy.
"When we decided to make crabbing part of the services we provide our guests, we wanted the experience to be as complete and authentic as possible," Capt. Buddy Harrison said. "No matter if they crab off our docks and do boat crabbing, we'll be waiting to steam them and serve them up.
"For boat crabbing, half-day charters are available for groups of up to six people, with flexible morning and afternoon packages available. Our charter captains and their crews target the most likely locations for catching blue crab, and guests may keep an entire bushel, which can be as many as 75-80 crabs.
"Here at the Harrison House kitchens we steam our crabs with Old Bay seasoning, which is the only way to properly steam a crab. Then we serve the catch with all the trimmings as a massive crab feast on our deck out over the water."
Murphy, a native of Talbot County, has been crabbing for more than 25 years, dredging oysters for 15 years and hand-tonguing for five years. He operates Miss Arielle Charters, which is equipped to carry a maximum of six passengers and focuses on crabbing, fishing, hunting and Chesapeake Bay heritage tours.
For guests with children, Harrison House is committed to keeping the long-standing Maryland tradition of crabbing alive through its "Kids Krabbing" program. Adults will supervise children as they bait crab lines and traps provided by Harrison House on the southern dock of its huge private pier.
As is the case with boat-crabbing excursions, kids and their parents can keep up to a bushel of crabs, and the Harrison House kitchens can steam the catch the same day. Crabs can also be steamed and packaged to take home, but nothing compares to the taste of freshly prepared crabs.
Unlike the open water of the Chesapeake Bay, where traps are permitted that can catch an unlimited amount of crabs, crabbing in the Choptank River must be done using long lines. This is the traditional way of crabbing done by generations of watermen on Tilghman Island and makes for an interesting hands-on experience.
Murphy uses four, 600-foot lengths of rope that are secured to each other by a clip similar to those used on dog leashes. Each end of the 2,400-foot line is secured to a float, and to attract crabs, a salted, skinless chicken neck is attached every six feet.
Once the entire length of baited line has been laid, Murphy goes back to the starting point and uses a pulley device to bring the line to the surface and captures the crabs in a long-handled catch basket. This procedure is repeated as long as the crabs are biting, but Maryland regulations require crabbing to halt by 4 p.m.
On this trip, the wives rode out to watch the line being set, returned to the dock and allowed the husbands to have the experience of actually catching the crabs. After all, after a morning of battling rockfish, there is nothing like an afternoon nap before enjoying a famous Harrison House crab feast.