Crabbing In New Jersey – Wildwood 2022
If you are looking for the best crabbing spots in New Jersey, then we have you covered.
For the past 30 years, my family and I have been crabbing every inch of the Wildwood bays and even started our own group called The Contino Crabbing Commission.
Crabbing In New Jersey – Wildwood 2022
Usually the second weekend in August Contino Crabbing Commission, or CCC for short, rents boats out at Pier 47 Marina located at 3001 South,. (that is right off of NJ Route 47).
What makes our trip special is that a trophy is awarded to the group or person with the most crabs. The winner gets to walk away with the Golden Crab trophy!
The Golden Crab trophy is exactly what is sounds like. It’s a golden grab on a trophy. Sure it’s no Academy Award but it does the trick.
Some years we have a few boats going out for this award but this year it was seven of us on one pontoon boat.
At the bottom of this page, there is a video from this year’s Contino Crabbing Commission meeting. Every minute of the trip was documented so be sure to sit down with a bag of popcorn before you press play.
A few questions were sent to us during the trip to let’s answer them.
What are the best spots and times of day to go crabbing?
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We always find that the best time to go crabbing is when the tide is coming in. This pushes the crabs into your bait. The best spot for us has been deep into the back bays.
What is the best bait for crabbing?
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Bunker seems to be a winner out of all the bait we have tried.
What are the New Jersey laws when it comes to crabbing?
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Law-wise, crabs 4.5 inches and you can’t keep pregnant female crabs. On top of this if you plan to bring a commercial pot then you need to get an NJDEP Division of Fish and Wildlife license. Hand lines and collapsible traps do not require a license.