Crabbing according to the moon

Truth

I've always heard that too, but have not found it to be true.

I don't believe it. Crabs are scavengers, they eat all the time. You can go crabbing and catch eaual "full" crabs to kites.

Full moon, full crabs.

In short, yes... yes it is

I think the moon certainly affects the number of crabs that you catch...however, I don't think the crabs mysteriously get full of meat on any particular moon......

I've heard that. Never ran any tests to confirm. Maybe they spawn on the full moon like trout, and thus feed up to prepare?

Personally I've found crabs to be greedy all year round.

A full moon can induce molting response in immature crabs. Crabs cease feeding in an advanced pre-molt stage and do not resume feeding until they harden, usually a couple days, post-molting. For this reason, it’s common to see a drop in catch (traps) for a few days immediately prior to, during, and after a full moon. The same thing occurs with crawfish, but it appears to be more pronounced with crabs. Most soft shell crab producers will confirm increased molting in shedding trays during a full moon.

Once crabs reach sexual maturity they cease to molt, so it’s possible one might observe larger, mature crabs in the catch during a full moon. I can’t speak to “fullness” or meat yield.

Of course not crabs, or crawfish, molt simultaneously and other environmental factors can play a significant role in catch, so even though these observations have biological validly, one can’t expect them to occur with certainty throughout an entire harvesting season.

Full moon means higher tides, crabs ride the tide in and come closer to shore with the incoming tide. The high incoming tide brings the dead fish and crap in to the shorelines.

Same thing with flounder. Always best to flounder gig on an incoming tide.