01/28/2026
How long have I been Shedding out Bay Soft Shell Crabs here at Absecon Bay Sportsman Center? The best answer is Too Long!. I was doing some desk cleaning and I found this picture of mid-shed June 13, 1996. This was the year I went Big-Time. I had added the new plywood and board two story tanks along with another two story section with tanks obtained by another wann-a-be crab shedder that couldn't keep it up. I had already been running at least two years with ground level tanks in the original section. That's over thirty years of spending too much of my summers staring at busting crabs night and day.
Every year is a back breaking gamble that has never completely let me down, but if you add up the hours, I never hit the Jack Pot.
With that much experience, I have put together a group of partners that help me produce the best Soft Shell Crabs North of the Chesapeake Bay, but I must say that I give them a run for their money. I do have help from a great crew of Commercial Crabbers that sell me the Shedder Crabs. A great broker and shipper who gets the big June Run to Market. A string of local Restaurants and Seafood Shops that feature my crabs in their establishments and of course my huge number of Retail Customers that come and pick up the very Softest and Freshest Softshells right out of my tanks.
And don't forget the now elusive Weakfish. I started with my first couple of tanks to hold green shedders until they were perfectly ripe for Weakfish baits. These Days the Weakfish are pretty mich M.I.A, but the demand tor the softshells is better than ever.
The next big question is will I be able to hold up for another season. We'll see, it all starts about the last week in May.
